Improving Spectrum-Based Localization of Multiple Faults by Iterative Test Suite Reduction
Dylan Callaghan, Bernd Michael Fischer · 2023
Spectrum-based fault localization (SBFL) works well for single-fault programs but its accuracy decays for increasing fault numbers. We present FLITSR (Fault Localization by Iterative Test Suite Reduction), a novel SBFL extension that improves the localization of a given base metric specifically in the presence of multiple faults. FLITSR iteratively selects reduced versions of the test suite that better localize the individual faults in the system. This allows it to identify and re-rank faults ranked too low by the base metric because they were masked by other program elements.