Bug propagation and debugging in asymmetric software structures

TL;DR

This paper investigates how failures propagate in asymmetric, scale-free software dependence networks and examines the challenges of locating faulty components depending on the extent of failure spread.

Contribution

It introduces the analysis of failure propagation in asymmetric software networks and evaluates the difficulty of debugging based on failure propagation patterns.

Findings

Software dependence networks are scale-free and asymmetric.

Locating faults is easier when failures are localized.

Failure propagation complicates debugging in software networks.

Abstract

Software dependence networks are shown to be scale-free and asymmetric. We then study how software components are affected by the failure of one of them, and the inverse problem of locating the faulty component. Software at all levels is fragile with respect to the failure of a random single component. Locating a faulty component is easy if the failures only affect their nearest neighbors, while it is hard if the failures propagate further.