Detraque: Dynamic execution tracing techniques for automatic fault localization of hardware design code.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Software Engineering
• Hardware Description Languages

Background:

• Fault localization in Verilog is time-consuming, often relying on experienced developers.
• Existing static analysis methods for Verilog fault localization can miss certain types of faults.
• Early fault detection and repair significantly reduce development costs and time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel fault localization approach for Verilog programs.
• To address the limitations of exclusively using static analysis in Verilog debugging.
• To improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Verilog fault localization.

Main Methods:

• A new fault localization approach named Detraque was developed.
• Detraque utilizes dynamic execution tracing obtained from test cases.
• It calculates a suspicion score for each Verilog statement to rank potential faults.

Main Results:

• Empirical research was conducted on 61 faulty versions of real Verilog programs.
• Detraque achieved an EXAM score of 18.3%.
• The results demonstrate Detraque's ability to improve fault localization effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• Detraque effectively localizes faults in Verilog programs.
• Dynamic analysis, as implemented in Detraque, complements static analysis methods.
• The proposed approach enhances the overall fault localization process for Verilog development.