Answering conceptual queries with Ferret

Programmers seek to answer questions as they investigate the functioning of a software system, such as "which execution path is being taken in this case?" Programmers attempt to answer these questions, which we call conceptual queries, using a variety of tools. Each type of tool typically highlights one kind of information about the system, such as static structural information or control-flow information. Unfortunately for the programmer, the tools seldom directly answer the programmer's conceptual queries. Instead, the programmer must piece together results from different tools to determine an answer to the initial query. At best, this process is time consuming and at worst, this process can lead to data overload and disorientation. In this paper, we present a model that supports the integration of different sources of information about a program. This model enables the results of concrete queries in separate tools to be brought together to directly answer many of a programmer's conceptual queries. In addition to presenting this model, we present a tool that implements the model, demonstrate the range of conceptual queries supported by this tool, and present the results of use of the conceptual queries in a small field study.