DeltaImpactFinder: Assessing Semantic Merge Conflicts with Dependency Analysis

TL;DR

DeltaImpactFinder is a tool that detects potential semantic merge conflicts in version control by analyzing and comparing the impact of changes across branches, helping to prevent bugs caused by incompatible concurrent modifications.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach using change impact analysis to identify semantic merge conflicts through delta-impact comparison, enhancing merge safety.

Findings

Effective detection of semantic merge conflicts.

Reduces bugs caused by incompatible changes.

Automates conflict identification process.

Abstract

In software development, version control systems (VCS) provide branching and merging support tools. Such tools are popular among developers to concurrently change a code-base in separate lines and reconcile their changes automatically afterwards. However, two changes that are correct independently can introduce bugs when merged together. We call semantic merge conflicts this kind of bugs. Change impact analysis (CIA) aims at estimating the effects of a change in a codebase. In this paper, we propose to detect semantic merge conflicts using CIA. On a merge, DELTAIMPACTFINDER analyzes and compares the impact of a change in its origin and destination branches. We call the difference between these two impacts the delta-impact. If the delta-impact is empty, then there is no indicator of a semantic merge conflict and the merge can continue automatically. Otherwise, the delta-impact contains what are the sources of possible conflicts.