End-User Tracing for Software Replay

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

Software bugs currently cause the large majority of computer failures. Unfortunately, the current culture of software development tolerates the release of software with numerous bugs. The best solution to this phenomenon is more thorough testing. This project seeks to increase the amount of testing and effective debugging undergone by modern software. This research enables end users to serve as effective testers by tracing a program's execution automatically and submitting the trace as a bug report. Such traces contain all information needed for the software developer to reproduce the failure, even if that failure is non-deterministic. The goals of this trace-and-replay system reflect the end-user environment it is targeted for. The tracing system should have low-enough overhead to be left on during normal use. The tracing system should translate or encode the trace to maintain the user's privacy. The trace-and-replay system should be easy to use by the end user; for example, it should not need to modify the kernel or system libraries. If successful, the resulting system will dramatically increase the base of effective testers and hopefully result in more reliable software.