Feature-family-based reliability analysis of software product lines

Tese (doutorado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2017.Contexto: Técnicas de verificação têm sido aplicadas para garantir que sistemas de software atinjam níveis de qualidade desejados e atenda a requisitos funcionais e nãofuncionais. Entretanto a aplicação dessas técnicas de verificação em linhas de produto de software é desafiador devido à explosão combinatorial do número de produtos que uma linha de produtos pode instanciar. As técnicas atuais de verificação de linhas de produtos utilizam model checking simbólico e informações sobre variabilidade para otimizar a análise, mas ainda apresentam limitações que as tornam onerosas ou inviáveis. Em particular, as técnicas de verificação do estado da arte para análise de confiabilidade em linhas de produto são enumerativas o que dificulta a aplicabilidade das mesmas devido à explosão combinatorial do espaço de configurações. Objetivo: Os objetivos dessa tese são os seguintes: (a) apresentar um método eficiente para calcular a confiabilidade de todas as configurações de uma linha de produtos de sotware composicional ou anotacional à partir de seus modelos comportamentais UML, (b) fornecer uma ferramenta que implemente o método proposto e, (c) relatar um estudo empírico comparando o desempenho de diferentes estratégias de análises de confiabilidade para linhas de produto de software. Método: Esse trabalho apresenta uma nova estratégia de análise feature-family-based para calcular a confiabilidade de todos os produtos de uma linha de produtos de software (composicional ou anotacional). O passo feature-based da estratégia divide os modelos comportamentais em unidades menores para que essas possam ser analisadas mais eficientemente. O passo family-based realiza o cálculo de confiabilidade para todas as configurações de uma só vez ao avaliar as expressões de confiabilidade em termos de uma estrutura de dados variacional adequada. Resultados: Os resulstados empíricos mostram que a estratégia feature-family-based para análise de confiabilidade supera, em termos de tempo e espaço, quatro outras estratéfias de análise do estado da arte (product-based, family-based, feature-product-based e family-product-based) para a mesma propriedade. No contexto da avaliação e em comparação com as outras estratégias, a estratégia feature-family-based foi a única capaz de escalar a um crescimento do espaço de configuração da ordem de 220. Conclusões: A estratégia feature-family-based utiliza e se beneficia das estratégias feature- e family- ao domar o crescimento dos tamanhos dos modelos a serem analizados e por evitar a enumeração de produtos inerentes a alguns métodos de análise do estado da arte.Context: Verification techniques are being applied to ensure that software systems achieve desired quality levels and fulfill functional and non-functional requirements. However, applying these techniques to software product lines is challenging, given the exponential blowup of the number of products. Current product-line verification techniques leverage symbolic model checking and variability information to optimize the analysis, but still face limitations that make them costly or infeasible. In particular, state-of-the-art verification techniques for product-line reliability analysis are enumerative which hinders their applicability, given the latent exponential blowup of the configuration space. Objective: The objectives of this thesis are the following: (a) we present a method to eciently compute the reliability of all configurations of a compositional or annotationbased software product line from its UML behavioral models, (b) we provide a tool that implements the proposed method, and (c) we report on an empirical study comparing the performance of dierent reliability analysis strategies for software product lines. Method: We present a novel feature-family-based analysis strategy to compute the reliability of all products of a (compositional or annotation-based) software product line. The feature-based step of our strategy divides the behavioral models into smaller units that can be analyzed more eciently. The family-based step performs the reliability computation for all configurations at once by evaluating reliability expressions in terms of a suitable variational data structure. Results: Our empirical results show that our feature-family-based strategy for reliability analysis outperforms, in terms of time and space, four state-of-the-art strategies (product-based, family-based, feature-product-based, and family-product-based) for the same property. In the evaluation’s context and in comparison with the other evaluation strategies, it is the only one that could be scaled to a 220-fold increase in the size of the configuration space. Conclusion: Our feature-family-based strategy leverages both feature- and familybased strategies by taming the size of the models to be analyzed and by avoiding the products enumeration inherent to some state-of-the-art analysis methods

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

NEOTROPICAL XENARTHRANS: a data set of occurrence of xenarthran species in the Neotropics

Xenarthrans—anteaters, sloths, and armadillos—have essential functions for ecosystem maintenance, such as insect control and nutrient cycling, playing key roles as ecosystem engineers. Because of habitat loss and fragmentation, hunting pressure, and conflicts with domestic dogs, these species have been threatened locally, regionally, or even across their full distribution ranges. The Neotropics harbor 21 species of armadillos, 10 anteaters, and 6 sloths. Our data set includes the families Chlamyphoridae (13), Dasypodidae (7), Myrmecophagidae (3), Bradypodidae (4), and Megalonychidae (2). We have no occurrence data on Dasypus pilosus (Dasypodidae). Regarding Cyclopedidae, until recently, only one species was recognized, but new genetic studies have revealed that the group is represented by seven species. In this data paper, we compiled a total of 42,528 records of 31 species, represented by occurrence and quantitative data, totaling 24,847 unique georeferenced records. The geographic range is from the southern United States, Mexico, and Caribbean countries at the northern portion of the Neotropics, to the austral distribution in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. Regarding anteaters, Myrmecophaga tridactyla has the most records (n = 5,941), and Cyclopes sp. have the fewest (n = 240). The armadillo species with the most data is Dasypus novemcinctus (n = 11,588), and the fewest data are recorded for Calyptophractus retusus (n = 33). With regard to sloth species, Bradypus variegatus has the most records (n = 962), and Bradypus pygmaeus has the fewest (n = 12). Our main objective with Neotropical Xenarthrans is to make occurrence and quantitative data available to facilitate more ecological research, particularly if we integrate the xenarthran data with other data sets of Neotropical Series that will become available very soon (i.e., Neotropical Carnivores, Neotropical Invasive Mammals, and Neotropical Hunters and Dogs). Therefore, studies on trophic cascades, hunting pressure, habitat loss, fragmentation effects, species invasion, and climate change effects will be possible with the Neotropical Xenarthrans data set. Please cite this data paper when using its data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using these data