---
title: "Diagnostic Reasoning in Software Fault Localization"
authors:
  - "Robert L. Sedlmeyer"
  - "William B. Thompson"
  - "Paul E. Johnson"
doi: ""
url: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1983/6"
pdf: "https://ijcai.org/proceedings/1983/0006.pdf"
venue: "Proceedings of the Eighth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence"
year: 1983
pages: "29-30"
track: "Automatic Programming"
keywords:
---

# Diagnostic Reasoning in Software Fault Localization

Robert L. Sedlmeyer, William B. Thompson, Paul E. Johnson

*Proceedings of the Eighth International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence*, pages 29-30.

## Abstract

We present a diagnostic model of software fault localization. A diagna~tiQ approach to fault localization has proven effective in the domains of medicine and digital hardware. Applying this approach to the software domain requires two extensions: a heuristic abstraction mechanism which infers program function from structure using recognition and transformation tactics; and a search · mechanism which integrates both prototypic and causal reasoning about faults.