Automated Patching Techniques: The Fix Is In

Evolutionary computation and related search-based optimization software engineering (SBSE) can be used to search for solutions to software problems. Search-based optimization allows them to deploy optimization algorithms that automatically search these spaces, guided by fitness functions that encode solution desirability. SBSE comfortably handles the multiple, conflicting, and noisy optimization objectives often found in software engineering scenarios. Using SBSE, it has proved possible to automate the search for requirements that balance cost and benefit, designs that maximize cohesion and minimize coupling and to find test cases that balance fault finding against execution time. The successful application of search-based optimization techniques requires careful configuration and tailoring of the algorithms employed.