Summary: Theory and Practice of Log File Analysis
James H. Andrews
Report No. 524
May 1998
Department of Computer Science
University of Western Ontario
London, Canada
N6A 5B7

Abstract: Large software systems often keep log files of events. Such
log files can be analyzed to check whether a run of a program reveals faults in
the system. We discuss how such log files can be used in software testing. We
present a formal framework for analyzing log files, and describe a language
for specifying analyzer programs and an implementation of that language.
The automated analyzers act as test oracles; we discuss the use and efficacy
of these oracles for unit­ and system­level testing in various settings. We
explore methodological issues such as efficiency and logging policies, and
the scope and limitations of the framework. We conclude that testing using
log file analysis constitutes a useful methodology for software verification,
whose level of rigour and ease of use is somewhere between that of current

Source: Andrews, Jamie - Department of Computer Science, University of Western Ontario

Collections: Computer Technologies and Information Sciences