{"id":"https://openalex.org/W4206639582","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ase51524.2021.9678535","title":"On the Real-World Effectiveness of Static Bug Detectors at Finding Null Pointer Exceptions","display_name":"On the Real-World Effectiveness of Static Bug Detectors at Finding Null Pointer Exceptions","publication_year":2021,"publication_date":"2021-11-01","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W4206639582","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ase51524.2021.9678535"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.1109/ase51524.2021.9678535","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ase51524.2021.9678535","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4363608212","display_name":"2021 36th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"2021 36th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE)","raw_type":"proceedings-article"},"type":"article","indexed_in":["crossref"],"open_access":{"is_oa":false,"oa_status":"closed","oa_url":null,"any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5085151902","display_name":"David A. Tomassi","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8434-7122"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I84218800","display_name":"University of California, Davis","ror":"https://ror.org/05rrcem69","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I84218800"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":true,"raw_author_name":"David A. Tomassi","raw_affiliation_strings":["University of California, Davis, United States of America"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"University of California, Davis, United States of America","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I84218800"]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5010991469","display_name":"Cindy Rubio-Gonz\u00e1lez","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0861-3763"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I84218800","display_name":"University of California, Davis","ror":"https://ror.org/05rrcem69","country_code":"US","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I84218800"]}],"countries":["US"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Cindy Rubio-Gonzalez","raw_affiliation_strings":["University of California, Davis, United States of America"],"affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"University of California, Davis, United States of America","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I84218800"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":2,"corresponding_author_ids":["https://openalex.org/A5085151902"],"corresponding_institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I84218800"],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":4.5379,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":23,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.96058835,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":true},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":94,"max":99},"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":"292","last_page":"303"},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10260","display_name":"Software Engineering Research","score":0.9998999834060669,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10260","display_name":"Software Engineering Research","score":0.9998999834060669,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10743","display_name":"Software Testing and Debugging Techniques","score":0.9997000098228455,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1712","display_name":"Software"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T12423","display_name":"Software Reliability and Analysis Research","score":0.9980999827384949,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1712","display_name":"Software"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.7782577276229858},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/java","display_name":"Java","score":0.688854455947876},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/leverage","display_name":"Leverage (statistics)","score":0.6230236887931824},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/pointer","display_name":"Pointer (user interface)","score":0.6066192984580994},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/javascript","display_name":"JavaScript","score":0.5716437697410583},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/debugging","display_name":"Debugging","score":0.5660887956619263},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/software-bug","display_name":"Software bug","score":0.5504891276359558},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/static-analysis","display_name":"Static analysis","score":0.5498778223991394},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/null","display_name":"Null (SQL)","score":0.4962530732154846},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/programming-language","display_name":"Programming language","score":0.442141056060791},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/source-code","display_name":"Source code","score":0.43045103549957275},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/trace","display_name":"TRACE (psycholinguistics)","score":0.42539703845977783},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/software-engineering","display_name":"Software engineering","score":0.33675312995910645},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/data-mining","display_name":"Data mining","score":0.29662543535232544},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/artificial-intelligence","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","score":0.27047720551490784},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/software","display_name":"Software","score":0.18768543004989624}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.7782577276229858},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C548217200","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q251","display_name":"Java","level":2,"score":0.688854455947876},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C153083717","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6535263","display_name":"Leverage (statistics)","level":2,"score":0.6230236887931824},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C150202949","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107602","display_name":"Pointer (user interface)","level":2,"score":0.6066192984580994},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C544833334","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2005","display_name":"JavaScript","level":2,"score":0.5716437697410583},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C168065819","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q845566","display_name":"Debugging","level":2,"score":0.5660887956619263},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C1009929","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q179550","display_name":"Software bug","level":3,"score":0.5504891276359558},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C97686452","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7604153","display_name":"Static analysis","level":2,"score":0.5498778223991394},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C203763787","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q371029","display_name":"Null (SQL)","level":2,"score":0.4962530732154846},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C199360897","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9143","display_name":"Programming language","level":1,"score":0.442141056060791},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C43126263","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q128751","display_name":"Source code","level":2,"score":0.43045103549957275},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C75291252","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1315756","display_name":"TRACE (psycholinguistics)","level":2,"score":0.42539703845977783},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115903868","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q80993","display_name":"Software engineering","level":1,"score":0.33675312995910645},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C124101348","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172491","display_name":"Data mining","level":1,"score":0.29662543535232544},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.27047720551490784},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2777904410","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7397","display_name":"Software","level":2,"score":0.18768543004989624},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C138885662","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5891","display_name":"Philosophy","level":0,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41895202","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8162","display_name":"Linguistics","level":1,"score":0.0}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.1109/ase51524.2021.9678535","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.1109/ase51524.2021.9678535","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4363608212","display_name":"2021 36th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE)","issn_l":null,"issn":null,"is_oa":false,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":null,"host_organization_name":null,"host_organization_lineage":[],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"conference"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":"publishedVersion","is_accepted":true,"is_published":true,"raw_source_name":"2021 36th IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering (ASE)","raw_type":"proceedings-article"}],"best_oa_location":null,"sustainable_development_goals":[{"display_name":"Partnerships for the goals","score":0.4399999976158142,"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/17"}],"awards":[],"funders":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/F4320306076","display_name":"National Science Foundation","ror":"https://ror.org/021nxhr62"}],"has_content":{"grobid_xml":false,"pdf":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":32,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W777621473","https://openalex.org/W1491178396","https://openalex.org/W1504196925","https://openalex.org/W1536098516","https://openalex.org/W1541063262","https://openalex.org/W1986453394","https://openalex.org/W1987809485","https://openalex.org/W1989657183","https://openalex.org/W2019230987","https://openalex.org/W2058895276","https://openalex.org/W2074937108","https://openalex.org/W2093094052","https://openalex.org/W2097915232","https://openalex.org/W2098337300","https://openalex.org/W2106355420","https://openalex.org/W2120979736","https://openalex.org/W2126508237","https://openalex.org/W2129065328","https://openalex.org/W2146182821","https://openalex.org/W2150874411","https://openalex.org/W2152225177","https://openalex.org/W2154985136","https://openalex.org/W2156723666","https://openalex.org/W2162635569","https://openalex.org/W2162762034","https://openalex.org/W2170612356","https://openalex.org/W2514084604","https://openalex.org/W2888223970","https://openalex.org/W2898686857","https://openalex.org/W2954738632","https://openalex.org/W2956069715","https://openalex.org/W2968585938"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W4214504500","https://openalex.org/W1566603754","https://openalex.org/W2290206096","https://openalex.org/W2527850347","https://openalex.org/W2949337025","https://openalex.org/W2148261527","https://openalex.org/W2740264376","https://openalex.org/W2621181330","https://openalex.org/W2584011092","https://openalex.org/W4206999239"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Static":[0],"bug":[1,23,55,93,124],"detectors":[2,24],"aim":[3],"at":[4,25],"helping":[5],"developers":[6],"to":[7,42,89,126,164],"automatically":[8],"find":[9,142],"and":[10,61,70,81,100,109,122,131,161,170],"prevent":[11],"bugs.":[12],"In":[13],"this":[14],"experience":[15],"paper,":[16],"we":[17,114,159],"study":[18,47,66,140],"the":[19,49,79,119,123,129,134,137,150,166],"effectiveness":[20,50],"of":[21,51,118,133,145],"static":[22,54],"identifying":[26],"Null":[27,31],"Pointer":[28,32],"Dereferences":[29],"or":[30],"Exceptions":[33],"(NPEs).":[34],"NPEs":[35,72],"pervade":[36],"all":[37],"programming":[38],"domains":[39],"from":[40,73],"systems":[41],"web":[43],"development.":[44],"Specifically,":[45],"our":[46,65,157],"measures":[48],"five":[52],"Java":[53],"detectors:":[56],"CheckerFramework,":[57],"ERADICATE,":[58],"INFER,":[59],"NULLAWAY,":[60],"SPOTBUGS.":[62],"We":[63,84],"conduct":[64],"on":[67,156],"102":[68,146],"real-world":[69],"reproducible":[71],"42":[74],"open-source":[75],"projects":[76],"found":[77,95,152],"in":[78],"BUGSWARM":[80],"DEFECTS4J":[82],"datasets.":[83],"apply":[85],"two":[86,102],"known":[87],"methods":[88,104],"determine":[90],"whether":[91],"a":[92,97,116],"is":[94],"by":[96,153],"given":[98],"tool,":[99],"introduce":[101],"new":[103],"that":[105],"leverage":[106],"stack":[107],"trace":[108],"code":[110],"coverage":[111],"information.":[112],"Additionally,":[113],"provide":[115],"categorization":[117],"tool\u2019s":[120],"capabilities":[121],"characteristics":[125],"better":[127],"understand":[128],"strengths":[130],"weaknesses":[132],"tools.":[135],"Overall,":[136],"tools":[138,167],"under":[139],"only":[141],"30":[143],"out":[144],"bugs":[147],"(29.4%),":[148],"with":[149],"majority":[151],"ERADICATE.":[154],"Based":[155],"observations,":[158],"identify":[160],"discuss":[162],"opportunities":[163],"make":[165],"more":[168],"effective":[169],"useful.":[171]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2025,"cited_by_count":7},{"year":2024,"cited_by_count":8},{"year":2023,"cited_by_count":6},{"year":2022,"cited_by_count":2}],"updated_date":"2025-11-06T03:46:38.306776","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}