Automating the Saff Squeeze

Posted by Uncle Bob on 11/30/2008

I want the JetBrains and Eclipse people to automate The Saff Squeeze

Imagine that you have a Feathers Characterization test that fails. You click on the test and then select Tools->Saff Squeeze. The IDE then goes through an iteration of inlining the functions in the test and Jester-ing out any code that doesn’t change the result of the assertion.

I think that by using internal code coverage monitoring to see the paths being taken, and by intelligent monte-carlo modification, you could automatically reduce the code down to the minimum needed to maintain the defect.

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- Markus Gärtner about 1 hour later:
  - - That would be really cool. Unfortunately Eclipse seems to be limited to inlining a function. That’s why Kent needed to add the appendix chapter on how to modify a function in order to be able to have it inlined by Eclipse. I think on the way to automating the Saff Squeeze there might be other obstacles, that need to be addressed as well…

- Sebastian Kübeck about 1 hour later:
  - - Andreas Zeller describes algorithms for automatized debugging in his Book “Why Programs Fail”. Maybe someone can used those techniques to automatize Saff Squeeze too.

- demimore about 1 year later:
  - - Andreas Zeller describes algorithms for automatized debugging in his Book “Why Programs Fail”. Maybe someone can used those techniques to automatize Saff Squeeze too.

- jeack about 1 year later:
  - - That would be really cool. Unfortunately Eclipse seems to be limited to inlining a function. That’s why Kent needed to add the appendix chapter on how to modify a function in order to be able to have it inlined by Eclipse. I think on the way to automating the Saff Squeeze there might be other obstacles, that need to be addressed as well…
    - pandora uk over 2 years later:
      - I think that by using internal code coverage monitoring to see the paths being taken, and by intelligent monte-carlo modification, you could automatically reduce the code down to the minimum needed to maintain the defect.