Locating program features using execution slices

Abstract

An important step towards effective software maintenance is to locate the code relevant to a particular feature. We report a study applying an execution slice-based technique to a reliability and performance evaluator to identify the code which is unique to a feature, or is common to a group of features. Supported by tools called ATAC and /spl chi/Vue, the program features in the source code can be tracked down to files, functions, lines of code, decisions, and then c- or p-uses. Our study suggests that the technique can provide software programmers and maintainers with a good starting point for quick program understanding.