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This paper presents a novel end-to-end approach to program repair based on sequence-to-sequence learning. We devise, implement, and evaluate a technique, called SEQUENCER, for fixing bugs based on sequence-to-sequence learning on source code. This approach uses the copy mechanism to overcome the unlimited vocabulary problem that occurs with big code. Our system is data-driven; we train it on 35,578 samples, carefully curated from commits to open-source repositories. We evaluate SEQUENCER on 4,711 independent real bug fixes, as well on the Defects4J benchmark used in program repair research. SEQUENCER is able to perfectly predict the fixed line for 950/4,711 testing samples, and find correct patches for 14 bugs in Defects4J benchmark. SEQUENCER captures a wide range of repair operators without any domain-specific top-down design.
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A formally certified end-to-end implementation of Shor’s factorization algorithm
Quantum computing technology may soon deliver revolutionary improvements in algorithmic performance, but it is useful only if computed answers are correct. While hardware-level decoherence errors have garnered significant attention, a less recognized obstacle to correctness is that of human programming errors—“bugs.” Techniques familiar to most programmers from the classical domain for avoiding, discovering, and diagnosing bugs do not easily transfer, at scale, to the quantum domain because of its unique characteristics. To address this problem, we have been working to adapt formal methods to quantum programming. With such methods, a programmer writes a mathematical specification alongside the program and semiautomatically proves the program correct with respect to it. The proof’s validity is automatically confirmed—certified—by a “proof assistant.” Formal methods have successfully yielded high-assurance classical software artifacts, and the underlying technology has produced certified proofs of major mathematical theorems. As a demonstration of the feasibility of applying formal methods to quantum programming, we present a formally certified end-to-end implementation of Shor’s prime factorization algorithm, developed as part of a framework for applying the certified approach to general applications. By leveraging our framework, one can significantly reduce the effects of human errors and obtain a high-assurance implementation of large-scale quantum applications in a principled way.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1942837
- PAR ID:
- 10425237
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Volume:
- 120
- Issue:
- 21
- ISSN:
- 0027-8424
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2218775120
