CS598: Advanced Software Testing and Debugging

Course Overview

The purpose of this course is to teach the principles and practices of software testing and debugging. We will together explore advanced testing and debugging techniques to detect, diagnose, localize, and fix software bugs for real-world software systems from various application domains. This course will not only expose students to the cutting-edge research of software testing and debugging, but will also encourage students to explore the bidirectional synergy between software testing/debugging and other research areas, such as formal methods (FM), programming languages (PL), machine learning (ML), and security. This is a research-oriented seminar course with a major course project, including topics on:

Class Organization

This is a research-oriented seminar course, which does not have any textbook. In each class, the students will participate in the discussion of two research papers related to the same topic. Note that usually the primary paper will be formally presented and discussed in details, while the optional paper will be briefly discussed (especially its differences with the primary paper). During the class, the students will be randomly chosen to answer questions related to the papers, such as:

Grading Details

There is no exam! The grading will be mainly based on the following aspects:

Based on your points, you will get at least these grades: A (93%), A- (90%), B+ (87%), B (83%), B- (80%), C+ (77%), C (73%), C- (70%), D+ (67%), D (63%), D- (60%), and F (for less than 60%). The instructor reserves the right to lower the number of required points but will not increase them.

Tentative Schedule

Date Topics/Readings Memo
01/18 Course Introduction
    		 Presenter: Lingming Zhang (Slides)
    01/20 Program Analysis Basics (I)
      		 Presenter: Lingming Zhang (Slides)
      01/25 Program Analysis Basics (II)
        		 Presenter: Lingming Zhang (see above link)
        01/27 Formal Methods Basics Presenter: Lingming Zhang (Slides)
        01/29 Presentation Choice Submission (11:59pm) Submission Link: [Link] (Illinois account required)
        02/01 Guided Unit Test Generation Presenter: Lingming Zhang (Slides)
        02/03 Symbolic Execution Presenter: Lingming Zhang (Slides)
        02/08 Spec-based Testing Presenter: Lingming Zhang (Slides)
        02/10 Mutation-based Fuzzing Presenter: TG
        02/15 Grammar-based Fuzzing Presenter: LY
        02/17 Proposal Presentation Each team should prepare 4-5 slides to present your proposal in class for about 5min, including:
        • Problem: the problem you want to work on and the background
        • Proposed solution: how you want to solve it
        • Evaluation: how you will evaluate it (e.g., with what benchmarks/subjects and what metrics)
        • Initial results: what you did so far
        • Future plan: what you will do in the midterm and final reports
        02/21 Proposal Submission Each team should submit a formal proposal, named as proposal.txt (together with your slides) to Canvas (assignment: "Project Proposal"), including:
        • Problem: up to 80 words describing the problem you want to work on
        • Background: up to 80 words describing background or related work
        • Proposed solution: up to 80 words describing how you want to solve it
        • Evaluation: up to 80 words describing how you will evaluate it
        • Initial results: up to 80 words describing what you did so far
        • Future plan: up to 100 words describing what you will do in the midterm and final reports
        Note that you should sign up for your corresponding project group before your submission since this is group-based assignment. You can click "People"->"Groups" to join a group on Canvas, or email me your group info if it does not work. You only need to sign up for your group once, and your later midterm/final report assignments can reuse your group info.
        02/22 Learning-based Fuzzing Presenter: SY (Primary+Optional), MP (NEUZZ)
        02/24 Differential Testing Presenter: YO
        03/01 Metamorphic Testing Presenter: SW
        03/03 Runtime Checking Presenter: MC
        03/08 Human-assisted Bug Finding Presenter: SH
        03/10 Regression Testing Presenter: OH
        03/15 Spring Break
        03/17 Spring Break
        03/22 Fault Diagnosis and Localization Presenter: AK
        03/24 Search-based Program Repair Presenter: MZ (Primary+Optional), BL (two additional papers)
        03/29 Semantics-based Program Repair Presenter: JL
        03/31 Revisiting Program Repair Presenter: YW
        04/05 Project Midterm Presentation Each team should prepare 8-9 slides to present the midterm progress report in class for about 8min (plus 2min for Q&A), including:
        • Problem: the problem you are working on
        • Solution: how you are currently solving it
        • Evaluation: how you are evaluating it
        • Current results: what you did so far and whether you have met your midterm goal
        • Future plan: what you will do in the next month to wrap up the project
        04/07 Project Midterm Report Submission Each team should submit the slides and a report with around 3 pages (excluding references) to Canvas (assignment: "Project MidTerm Report"). The report should use standard ACM Article Template (more specifically using \documentclass[sigconf]{acmart} for Latex, or Interim-layout.docx for Word), including the following sections:
        • Abstract: a brief summary of all the following sections.
        • Problem (Section 1): the problem you are working on and also some necessary background information
        • Solution (Section 2): how you are solving it (including the link to your GitHub repo)
        • Evaluation Setup(Section 3): how you are evaluating it, including the benchmarks/subjects and metrics used, as well as the experimental process
        • Result Analysis (Section 4): your current experimental results
        • Future Plan (Section 5): what you will do in the next month to wrap up the project
        04/07 Syntax-Guided Program Synthesis (SyGuS) Presenter: YD (Primary), CX (Jigsaw)
        04/12 Learning-Based Program Synthesis Presenter: Jacob Austin, Charles Sutton (Google Research)
        04/14 Testing&Debugging: Flaky Tests Presenter: YC
        04/19 Testing&Debugging: FM Solvers Presenter: YH
        04/21 Testing&Debugging: ML Systems Presenter: Anjiang Wei (Stanford)
        04/26 Testing&Debugging: Operating Systems Presenter: JL6
        04/28 Testing&Debugging: DB Systems Presenter: YB
        05/03 Project Final Presentation Each team should prepare 10-15 slides to present the final report in class for about 12min (plus 3min for Q&A), including:
        • Problem: the problem you are working on
        • Solution: how you are currently solving it
        • Evaluation: how you are evaluating it
        • Current results: what you did so far and whether you have met your final goal
        • [Optional] Future plan: some potential future work if you still have bandwidth after the course
        05/10 Project Final Report Submission Each team should extend the midterm report to prepare a final report with 5 pages (excluding references) to Canvas (assignment: "Project Final Report"). The report should use standard ACM Article Template, including the following sections:
        • Abstract: a brief summary of all the following sections, especially your main achievement.
        • Problem (Section 1): the problem you are working on and also some necessary background information
        • Solution (Section 2): how you are solving it (including the link to your GitHub repo)
        • Evaluation Setup(Section 3): how you are evaluating it, including the benchmarks/subjects and metrics used, as well as the experimental process
        • Result Analysis (Section 4): your final experimental results
        • [Optional] Future Plan (Section 5): some potential future work if you still have bandwidth after the course

        Academic Integrity Policy

        The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Student Code should also be considered as a part of this syllabus. Students should pay particular attention to Article 1, Part 4: Academic Integrity. Read the Code at the following URL: http://studentcode.illinois.edu/.

        Academic dishonesty may result in a failing grade. Every student is expected to review and abide by the Academic Integrity Policy: http://studentcode.illinois.edu/. Ignorance is not an excuse for any academic dishonesty. It is your responsibility to read this policy to avoid any misunderstanding. Do not hesitate to ask the instructor(s) if you are ever in doubt about what constitutes plagiarism, cheating, or any other breach of academic integrity.

        Students with Disabilities

        To obtain disability-related academic adjustments and/or auxiliary aids, students with disabilities must contact the course instructor and the as soon as possible. To insure that disability-related concerns are properly addressed from the beginning, students with disabilities who require assistance to participate in this class should contact Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES) and see the instructor as soon as possible. If you need accommodations for any sort of disability, please speak to me after class, or make an appointment to see me, or see me during my office hours. DRES provides students with academic accommodations, access, and support services. To contact DRES you may visit 1207 S. Oak St., Champaign, call 333-4603 (V/TDD), or e-mail a message to disability@uiuc.edu. Please refer to http://www.disability.illinois.edu/.

        Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

        Any student who has suppressed their directory information pursuant to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) should self-identify to the instructor to ensure protection of the privacy of their attendance in this course. See http://registrar.illinois.edu/ferpa for more information on FERPA.

        Statement on Mental Health

        Diminished mental health, including significant stress, mood changes, excessive worry, substance/alcohol abuse, or problems with eating and/or sleeping can interfere with optimal academic performance, social development, and emotional well-being. The University of Illinois offers a variety of confidential services including individual and group counseling, crisis intervention, psychiatric services, and specialized screenings at no additional cost. If you or someone you know experiences any of the above mental health concerns, it is strongly encouraged to contact or visit any of the University's resources provided below. Getting help is a smart and courageous thing to do -- for yourself and for those who care about you.

        Counseling Center: 217-333-3704, 610 East John Street Champaign, IL 61820

        McKinley Health Center:217-333-2700, 1109 South Lincoln Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801

        University wellness center: https://wellness.illinois.edu/

        Statement on Anti-Racism and Inclusivity

        The intent of this section is to raise student and instructor awareness of the ongoing threat of bias and racism and of the need to take personal responsibility in creating an inclusive learning environment.

        The Grainger College of Engineering is committed to the creation of an anti-racist, inclusive community that welcomes diversity along a number of dimensions, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity and national origins, gender and gender identity, sexuality, disability status, class, age, or religious beliefs. The College recognizes that we are learning together in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, that Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous voices and contributions have largely either been excluded from, or not recognized in, science and engineering, and that both overt racism and micro-aggressions threaten the well-being of our students and our university community.

        The effectiveness of this course is dependent upon each of us to create a safe and encouraging learning environment that allows for the open exchange of ideas while also ensuring equitable opportunities and respect for all of us. Everyone is expected to help establish and maintain an environment where students, staff, and faculty can contribute without fear of personal ridicule, or intolerant or offensive language. If you witness or experience racism, discrimination, micro-aggressions, or other offensive behavior, you are encouraged to bring this to the attention of the course director if you feel comfortable. You can also report these behaviors to the Bias Assessment and Response Team (BART) (https://bart.illinois.edu/). Based on your report, BART members will follow up and reach out to students to make sure they have the support they need to be healthy and safe. If the reported behavior also violates university policy, staff in the Office for Student Conflict Resolution may respond as well and will take appropriate action.

        Please send feedbacks and questions to lingming@illinois.edu.