Pangolin: An SFL-based Toolset for Feature Localization

Pinpointing the location where a given unit of functionality -- or feature -- was implemented is a demanding and time-consuming task, yet prevalent in most software maintenance or evolution efforts. To that extent, we present Pangolin, an Eclipse plugin that helps developers identifying features among the source code. It borrows Spectrum-based Fault Localization techniques from the software diagnosis research field by framing feature localization as a diagnostic problem. Pangolin prompts users to label system executions based on feature involvement, and subsequently presents its spectrum-based feature localization analysis to users with the aid of a color-coded, hierarchic, and navigable visualization which was shown to be effective at conveying diagnostic information to users. Our evaluation shows that Pangolin accurately pinpoints feature implementations and is resilient to misclassifications by users.