Bit Rate of Programs

TL;DR

This paper explores the concept of bit rate in programs, analyzing information generation through finite state systems and black-box models using data compression and Fourier analysis.

Contribution

It introduces algorithms for identifying information-rich components in finite state programs and studies bit rate signals for black-box programs.

Findings

Algorithms for info-rich component detection

Bit rate signals for black-box testing

Spectral analysis of execution information

Abstract

A program can be considered as a device that generates discrete time signals, where a signal is an execution. Shannon information rate, or bit rate, of the signals may not be uniformly distributed. When the program is specified by a finite state transition system, algorithms are provided in identifying information-rich components. For a black-box program that has a partial specification or does not even have a specification, a bit rate signal and its spectrum are studied, which make use of data compression and the Fourier transform. The signal provides a bit-rate coverage for testing the black-box while its spectrum indicates a visual representation for execution's information characteristics.