Simplifying Contract-Violating Traces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a methodology and tool to simplify traces of contract violations, making it easier to analyze and debug long traces that surface after software deployment.

Contribution

It presents a novel approach and tool for simplifying contract-violating traces, aiding in efficient debugging of post-deployment contract violations.

Findings

Effective trace simplification reduces debugging time.

Tool improves accuracy in identifying violation sources.

Method scales to large software systems.

Abstract

Contract conformance is hard to determine statically, prior to the deployment of large pieces of software. A scalable alternative is to monitor for contract violations post-deployment: once a violation is detected, the trace characterising the offending execution is analysed to pinpoint the source of the offence. A major drawback with this technique is that, often, contract violations take time to surface, resulting in long traces that are hard to analyse. This paper proposes a methodology together with an accompanying tool for simplifying traces and assisting contract-violation debugging.