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An Empirical Study of Fault Triggers in the Linux Operating System: An Evolutionary Perspective

Publication ,  Journal Article
Xiao, G; Zheng, Z; Yin, B; Trivedi, KS; Du, X; Cai, KY
Published in: IEEE Transactions on Reliability
December 1, 2019

This paper presents an empirical study of 5741 bug reports for the Linux kernel from an evolutionary perspective, with the aim of obtaining a deep understanding of bug characteristics in the Linux operating system. Bug classification is performed based on the fault triggering conditions, followed by an analysis of the proportions and evolution of the bug types as well as comparisons among versions, products, and repair locations. In addition, an analysis of regression bugs and the relationship between the types of bugs and the time needed to fix them are presented. Moreover, a procedure for the analysis of bug type characteristics based on complex network metrics is proposed, and four network metrics, i.e., degree, clustering coefficient, betweenness, and closeness, are utilized to further investigate the relationship between bug types and software metrics. In this paper, 22 interesting findings based on the empirical results are revealed, and guidance based on these findings is provided for developers and users.

Duke Scholars

Published In

IEEE Transactions on Reliability

DOI

EISSN

1558-1721

ISSN

0018-9529

Publication Date

December 1, 2019

Volume

68

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1356 / 1383

Related Subject Headings

  • Operations Research
  • 4612 Software engineering
  • 4010 Engineering practice and education
  • 0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • 0803 Computer Software
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Xiao, G., Zheng, Z., Yin, B., Trivedi, K. S., Du, X., & Cai, K. Y. (2019). An Empirical Study of Fault Triggers in the Linux Operating System: An Evolutionary Perspective. IEEE Transactions on Reliability, 68(4), 1356–1383. https://doi.org/10.1109/TR.2019.2916204
Xiao, G., Z. Zheng, B. Yin, K. S. Trivedi, X. Du, and K. Y. Cai. “An Empirical Study of Fault Triggers in the Linux Operating System: An Evolutionary Perspective.” IEEE Transactions on Reliability 68, no. 4 (December 1, 2019): 1356–83. https://doi.org/10.1109/TR.2019.2916204.
Xiao G, Zheng Z, Yin B, Trivedi KS, Du X, Cai KY. An Empirical Study of Fault Triggers in the Linux Operating System: An Evolutionary Perspective. IEEE Transactions on Reliability. 2019 Dec 1;68(4):1356–83.
Xiao, G., et al. “An Empirical Study of Fault Triggers in the Linux Operating System: An Evolutionary Perspective.” IEEE Transactions on Reliability, vol. 68, no. 4, Dec. 2019, pp. 1356–83. Scopus, doi:10.1109/TR.2019.2916204.
Xiao G, Zheng Z, Yin B, Trivedi KS, Du X, Cai KY. An Empirical Study of Fault Triggers in the Linux Operating System: An Evolutionary Perspective. IEEE Transactions on Reliability. 2019 Dec 1;68(4):1356–1383.

Published In

IEEE Transactions on Reliability

DOI

EISSN

1558-1721

ISSN

0018-9529

Publication Date

December 1, 2019

Volume

68

Issue

4

Start / End Page

1356 / 1383

Related Subject Headings

  • Operations Research
  • 4612 Software engineering
  • 4010 Engineering practice and education
  • 0906 Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • 0803 Computer Software