Software Configuration Support

Support for software configuration is gaining importance. Large modern reusable software such as platforms or product lines often have a vast number of configuration settings that need to be specified in order to derive a running system. Examples of highly configurable systems include the Linux kernel, Eclipse, and eCos. They are supported by configuration tools, respectively, Linux Kconfig, Eclipse Yoxos, and eCos configuration tool. We have been studying the configuration models of these systems in a related project on "Feature Models in the Wild".

The aim of this project is to understand what problems the users face during configuration and provide corresponding support in the configuration tool. Our current focus is to understand and support conflict-resolution in Linux Kconfig and eCos configurator.

In our newest progress, we have introduced priorities to guide the error fixing process. The corresponding paper has been submitted for review, and a technical report has been published. If you are a reviewer of our paper, please see our technical report page for the pseduo code and the experiment results.

Team Members

News

Publications

2013
Wang, B., L. Passos, Y. Xiong, K. Czarnecki, H. Zhao, and W. Zhang, "SmartFixer: Fixing Software Configurations based on Self-adaptive Priorities", 17th International Software Product Line Conference, Tokyo, ACM, 2013. [pdf]
2012
Xiong, Y., A. Hubaux, S. She, and K. Czarnecki, "Generating Range Fixes for Software Configuration", ICSE'12: 34th International Conference on Software Engineering, 06/2012. [pdf][pdf][zip]
Hubaux, A., Y. Xiong, and K. Czarnecki, "A User Survey of Configuration Challenges in Linux and eCos", Variability Modelling of Software-intensive Systems (VaMoS), Leipzig, Germany, ACM Press, 01/2012. [pdf]
2011
Hubaux, A., Y. Xiong, and K. Czarnecki, Configuration Challenges in Linux and eCos: A Survey, , no. GSDLAB-TR 2011-09-29, Waterloo, Generative Software Development Laboratory, University of Waterloo, 2011. [pdf][pdf][pdf]
Xiong, Y., A. Hubaux, S. She, and K. Czarnecki, Generating Range Fixes for Software Configuration, , Waterloo, Generative Software Development Laboratory, University of Waterloo, 2011. [pdf]

"A User Survey of Configuration Challenges in Linux and eCos" accepted at VaMoS'12

This paper summarizes our findings in our online survey about configuration challenges.

"Generating Range Fixes for Software Configuration" accepted at ICSE'12

Based on our survey, solving configuration errors and activating inactive features are two main challenges faced by today's configurator users. This paper proposes a new concept, range fixes, to assist users dealing with the two challenges. A technical report version of the paper can be found here.

Report "Configuration Challenges in Linux and eCos: A Survey" published

We have conducted an online survey about what challenges are faced by the users of modern configuration tools. The result was published here as a technical report.