MZoltar: automatic debugging of Android applications

Abstract

Automated diagnosis of errors and/or failures detected during software testing can greatly improve the efficiency of the debugging process, and thus help to make applications more reliable. In this paper, we propose an approach, dubbed MZoltar, offering dynamic analysis (namely, spectrum-based fault localization) of mobile apps that produces a diagnostic report to help identifying potential defects quickly. The approach also offers a graphical representation of the diagnostic report, making it easier to understand. Our experimental results show that the approach requires low runtime overhead (5.75% on average), while the tester needs to inspect 5 components (statements in this paper) on average to find the fault.