Empirical Evaluation of Frequency Based Statistical Models for Estimating Killable Mutants

Konstantin Kuznetsov (Vortragende:r), Alessio Gambi, Saikrishna Dhiddi, Julia Hess, Rahul Gopinath

Publikation: Beitrag in Buch oder TagungsbandVortrag mit Beitrag in TagungsbandBegutachtung

Abstract

Background. Mutation analysis is the premier technique for evaluating test suite quality estimating residual software defects. However, the reliability of mutation analysis is hampered by equivalent mutants which are undetectable by test cases. Reliably detecting and eliminating killable mutants is difficult as it is highly program and location dependent. Statistical estimation of killable mutants seems to be a promising approach to tackle this problem. Aims. Frequency-based species estimation methods have been proposed as a solution for several related problems in software testing. This paper investigates whether such frequency-based estimation methods can accurately estimate the number of killable mutants. Method. We conducted a large-scale empirical study on the ability of twelve widely known frequency-based estimators to predict the number of killable mutants in ten mature software projects. Result. Our investigation finds limited or no evidence that any of the statistical estimators are able to consistently predict the number of killable mutants in projects evaluated. Conclusion. We found that the investigated estimators lack sufficient predictive power and cannot produce reliable and useful estimates of killable mutants.
OriginalspracheEnglisch
TitelESEM '24: Proceedings of the 18th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement
Redakteure/-innenXavier Franch, Maya Daneva, Silverio Martínez-Fernández, Luigi Quaranta
Herausgeber (Verlag)Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Seiten61-71
Seitenumfang11
ISBN (Print)979-8-4007-1047-6
DOIs
PublikationsstatusVeröffentlicht - 2024
VeranstaltungESEM '24: ACM / IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement - Barcelona , Barcelona , Spanien
Dauer: 24 Okt. 202425 Okt. 2024

Konferenz

KonferenzESEM '24: ACM / IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement
Land/GebietSpanien
StadtBarcelona
Zeitraum24/10/2425/10/24

Research Field

  • Dependable Systems Engineering

Fingerprint

Untersuchen Sie die Forschungsthemen von „Empirical Evaluation of Frequency Based Statistical Models for Estimating Killable Mutants“. Zusammen bilden sie einen einzigartigen Fingerprint.

Diese Publikation zitieren