The 41st CREST Open Workshop - Software Engineering And Computer Science Using Information

 

Date:  27 + 28 April 2015

 

Venue: Engineering Front Executive Suite, Roberts Building, UCL (Directions, or 'C5' on the map here, or Find it on Google maps.)

 

Overview: 

Information Theory has been used in computer science since the 1970s at least, but a couple of developments near the turn of the 21st century have sped up the convergence of these two disciplines. One development was the work of Rudi Cilibrasi on the Normalised Compression Distance (NCD) and other practical, computable approximations to the Normalised Information Distance. The other development was Clark, Hunt and Malacaria's program analysis for calculating bounds on Quantified Information Flow (QIF) for a simple imperative language.

In the last 15 years there has been a steady incrementation in both the range of applications and the degree of awareness of information theoretical ideas in both Software Engineering and Computer Science. These now include malware detection and classification; secure information flow properties such as confidentiality, integrity, and anonymity; software testing; software evolution; software clone detection; software viewed as a natural language; and visual analytics.

This list ignores the large amount of literature in neural nets, simulation methods, machine learning, statistical experimentation, and data mining which uses information theory as a means of guiding and optimising outcomes, methods which also stray into computer science and software engineering.

In this workshop the converted speak to the converted. Computer Scientists and Software Engineers who already have an interest in applications of information theory talk to each other about their current research.

 

Speakers: 

Chunyan Mu, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK  - Entropy Model Checking and Asymptotic Behaviour in temporal Logic 

Fabio Di Troia, San Jose State University, CA, USA  - Malware Detection with Structural Entropy 

Behzad Momahed Heravi, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK - Flow of Information and Flock Hierarchy in Birds V-Flight Formations 

John R. Woodward, Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, UK - Information Theory, Fitness and Sampling Semantics (Co-authored with Colin Johnson) 

Colin Johnson, School of Computing, University of Kent, UK - Theories Destroy Facts (as Programs Execute) (Co-authored with John R. Woodward) 

Marcel Bohme, Software Engineering, Saarland University, Germany - On The Efficiency of Automated Testing

Min Chen, Scientific Visualisation, Pembroke College, Oxford University, UK - Information Theory in Visual Analytics 

Nadia Alshawan  - Detecting Malware Using Information Complexity 

Robert Hierons, Department of Computer Science, Brunel University, London, UK 

Sang Phan, Theory Group, Queen Mary University of London, UK - Quantifying Information Leaks via Model Counting Modulo Theories 

Shin Yoo, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

Simon Poulding, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden - Test Set Diameter: Selecting Software Tests with Normalized Information Distance 

 

Programme: 

++++ Day 1 – 27^th April ++++

10:30  Arrival, Coffee and Pastries

11:00   David Clark (Introduction: 240p, 360p) 

Welcome and Introductions      

11:30   John R. Woodward, Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, UK

Information Theory, Fitness and Sampling Semantics (Co-authored with Colin Johnson) (Videos: 240p, 360p)        

11:50   Discussion

12:00   Colin Johnson, School of Computing, University of Kent, UK  

Theories Destroy Facts (as Programs Execute) (Co-authored with John R. Woodward) 

12:20   Discussion

12:30   Shin Yoo, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

Application of Information Theory to Fault Localisation (Slides, Videos: 240p, 360p) 

 12:50  Discussion

13:00  Lunch at the venue  

14:00   Simon Poulding, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden  

Test Set Diameter: Selecting Software Tests with Normalized Information Distance

14:20   Discussion

14:30   Chunyan Mu, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK

Entropy Model Checking and Asymptotic Behaviour in temporal Logic 

14:50   Discussion

15:00   Nadia Alshahwan

Detecting Malware Using Information Complexity 

15:20   Discussion

15:30  Refreshments           

16:00   Final discussion

16:30   Wrap-up

16:45  Close

++++ Day 2 – 28^th April ++++

10:00  Arrival, Coffee and Pastries

10:30   Min Chen, Scientific Visualisation, Pembroke College, Oxford University, UK  

Information Theory in Visual Analytics  (Slides, Videos: 240p, 360p) 

10:50   Discussion

11:00   Marcel Bohme, Software Engineering, Saarland University, Germany – 

On The Efficiency of Automated Testing

11:20   Discussion

11:30   Sang Phan, Theory Group, Queen Mary University of London, UK  

Quantifying Information Leaks via Model Counting Modulo Theories  (Slides, Videos: 240p, 360p) 

11:50   Discussion

12:00  Lunch at the venue

13:00 Breakout session

14:00   Fabio Di Troia, San Jose State University, CA, USA

Malware Detection with Structural Entropy 

14:20   Discussion

14:30  Refreshments

15:00   Robert Hierons, Department of Computer Science, Brunel University, London, UK 

Conditional Entropy and Failed Error Propagation in Software Testing (Slides) 

15:20   Discussion

15:30   Behzad Momahed Heravi, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK  

Flow of Information and Flock Hierarchy in Birds V-Flight Formations 

15:50   Discussion      

16:00   Final discussion

16:15   Wrap-up

16:30  Close

 

 

Registered Attendees:

1. David Clark, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

2. Mark Harman, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

3. Yi Bian, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK and  Beijing University of Chemical Technology, China

4. John R. Woodward, Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, UK

5. Adeniji Adedayo Adeolu, Computer Science, North West University Mafikeng, South Africa 

6. Matheus Paixão, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

7. Chunyan Mu, School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK 

8. Fabio Di Troia, San Jose State University, CA, USA 

9. Behzad Momahed Heravi, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

10. Marcel Bohme, Software Engineering, Saarland University, Germany 

11. Min Chen, Scientific Visualisation, Pembroke College, Oxford University, UK 

12. Nadia Alshahwan

13. Robert Hierons, Department of Computer Science, Brunel University, London, UK 

14. Sang Phan, Theory Group, Queen Mary University of London, UK 

15. Shin Yoo, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

16. Simon Poulding, Blekinge Institute of Technology, Sweden 

17. Gunel Jahangirova, FBK, Trento, Italy and CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

18. Colin Johnson, School of Computing, University of Kent, UK

19. Leonid Joffe,  Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

20. Geoff Neumann, Computing Science and Mathematics, University of Stirling, UK

21. Sara Alotaishan, Software Systems Engineering, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

22. Jens Krinke, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

23. Justyna Petke, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

24. Yue Jia, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

25. Christophe Tartary, School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering, University of East London, UK 

26. Saheed Busari, Software Systems Engineering, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK 

27. Hector Menendez, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

28. Zheng Gao, CREST Centre, SSE Group, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

29. Sukriti Bhattacharya, PPLV, Department of Computer Science, UCL, UK

30. Inah Omoronyia, School of Computing Science, Glasgow Univeristy, UK