Code evaluation based on failure prediction

• US 8,495,581 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2011
• Issued: 07/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Choppakatla, Satya R. P., Rajamanickam, Logeswaran T., Ramakrishnan, Arun, Shetty, Rohit
• Primary Examiner(s): DENG, ANNA CHEN
• Application Number:
  US13/101,549
• Publication Number:
  US 20120284697A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 717126-128, 717/130, 717/131
• US Class Current: 717/126
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/008 Reliability or availability analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3612 by runtime analysis performance monitoring G06F11/3466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3616 using software metrics
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3676 for coverage analysis

Abstract

A method and apparatus for evaluating code. A likelihood that a set of segments of the code will not run as desired based on a policy is identified. A risk of the code not performing as desired is evaluated based on a result from a code coverage test and the likelihood that the set of segments of the code will not run as desired.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating code, the method comprising:

identifying a set of segments of the code that will not run as desired based on a policy;

evaluating a risk of the code not performing as desired based on a result from a code coverage test and the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired; and

instrumenting the code to identify a segment of code as the segment of code that is run during the code coverage test, and wherein the evaluating step comprises;

assigning a risk value to the segment of code when the segment of code is identified as being run during the code coverage test, wherein an identification of the segment of code as being run is a portion of a result;

assigning a value to each of a set of related segments that is related to the segment of code when the segment of code is identified as being run during the code coverage test; and

identifying the risk of the code not performing as desired using values generated while running the code coverage test.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

running the code coverage test to generate the result, wherein the result identifies portions of the code run during the code coverage test.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired based on the policy comprises:

assigning the risk value to a segment in the set of segments based on at least one of whether the segment is run during the code coverage test and a feature for the segment as defined by the policy.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

running the code coverage test to generate the result with a coverage of the code prior to evaluating the risk of the code not performing as desired based on the result from the code coverage test and the segments of the code that will not run as desired.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

selecting an order to run code coverage tests in a group of code coverage tests based on a set of particular segments in the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired based on the policy.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

generating the code coverage test based on a set of particular segments in the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired based on the policy.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the policy identifies a feature for a segment and a set of rules to assign a risk value to a group of segments in the code based on an event involving the segment based on the feature.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a segment is selected from one of a line of the code, a loop, a function, and a module.

9. A computer comprising:

a bus;

a storage device connected to the bus, wherein program code is stored on the storage device; and

a processor unit connected to the bus, wherein the processor unit is configured to run the program code to identify a set of segments of code that will not run as desired based on a policy;

evaluate a risk of the code not performing as desired based on a result from a code coverage test and the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired; and

instrument the code to identify a segment of code as the segment of code is run during the code coverage test and wherein in being configured to evaluate the risk of the code not performing as desired based on the result from the code coverage test and the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired, the processor unit is further configured to assign a risk value to the segment of code when the segment of code is identified as being run during the code coverage test in which an identification of the segment of code as being run is a portion of a result and assign the risk value to each of a set of related segments that is related to the segment of code when the segment of code is identified as being run during the code coverage test; and

identify the risk using risk values generated while running the code coverage test.

10. The computer of claim 9, wherein the processor unit is further configured to run the code coverage test to generate the result, wherein the result identifies portions of the code run during the code coverage test.

11. The computer of claim 9, wherein in being configured to identify the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired based on the policy, the processor unit is further configured to assign the risk value to a segment in the set of segments based on at least one of whether the segment is run during the code coverage test and a feature for the segment as defined by the policy.

12. The computer of claim 9, wherein the processor unit is further configured to run the code coverage test to generate the result with a coverage of the code prior to evaluating the risk of the code not performing as desired based on the result from the code coverage test and the segments of the code that will not run as desired.

13. A computer program product comprising:

a computer readable storage device;

first program code for identifying a set of segments of code that will not run as desired based on a policy;

second program code for evaluating a risk of the code not performing as desired based on a result from a code coverage test and the set of segments of the code that will not run as desired; and

third program code for instrumenting the code to identify a segment of code as the segment of code that is run during the code coverage test, and wherein the second program code comprises program code for assigning a risk value to the segment of code when the segment of code is identified as being run during the code coverage test, wherein an identification of the segment of code as being run is a portion of a result, assigning a value to each of a set of related segments that is related to the segment of code when the segment of code is identified as being run during the code coverage test, and identifying the risk of the code not performing as desired using values generated while running the code coverage test, wherein the first program code and the second program code and the third program code are stored on the computer readable storage device.

14. The computer program product of claim 13, wherein the computer readable storage device is in a data processing system, and the first program code and the second program code and the third program code are downloaded over a network from a remote data processing system to the computer readable storage device in the data processing system.

15. The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the computer readable storage device is a first computer readable storage device, wherein the first computer readable storage device is in a server data processing system, and wherein the first program code and the second program code and the third program code is downloaded over a network to a remote data processing system for use in a second computer readable storage device in the remote data processing system.