A review of slicing techniques in software engineering

฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology ฀ ฀ REVIEW OF SLICING TECHNIQUES IN SOFTW฀RE ENGINEERING 1Asadullah฀Shah,฀2Ali฀Raza,฀3Basri฀Hassan,฀4Abdul฀Salam฀Shah ฀1฀2฀3International Islamic University Malaysia 4Department of Computer Science Szabist฀ Islamabad Pakistan [email protected]฀ [email protected]฀ [email protected] ฀BSTR฀CT Program slice is the part of program that may take the program off the path of the desired output at some point of its execution. Such point is known as the slicing criterion. This point is generally identified at a location in a given program coupled with the subset of variables of program. This process in which program slices are computed is called program slicing. Weiser was the person who gave the original definition of program slice in 1979. Since its first definition฀ many ideas related to the program slice have been formulated along with the numerous numbers of techniques to compute program slice. Meanwhile฀ distinction between the static slice and dynamic slice was also made. Program slicing is now among the most useful techniques that can fetch the particular elements of a program which are related to a particular computation. Quite a large numbers of variants for the program slicing have been analyzed along with the algorithms to compute the slice. Model based slicing split the large architectures of software into smaller sub models during early stages of SDLC. Software testing is regarded as an activity to evaluate the functionality and features of a system. It verifies whether the system is meeting the requirement or not. A common practice now is to extract the sub models out of the giant models based upon the slicing criteria. Process of model based slicing is utilized to extract the desired lump out of slice diagram. This specific survey focuses on slicing techniques in the fields of numerous programing paradigms like web applications฀ object oriented฀ and components based. Owing to the efforts of various researchers฀ this technique has been extended to numerous other platforms that include debugging of program฀ program integration and analysis฀ testing and maintenance of software฀ reengineering฀ and reverse engineering. This survey portrays on the role of model based slicing and various techniques that are being taken on to compute the slices. Keyword: Program Slicing฀ Model Based Slicing฀ Testing. INTRODUCTION In฀order฀to฀increase฀computer฀efficiency,฀ a฀ technique฀ called฀ slicing฀ is฀ introduced.฀ Information฀ regarding฀ all฀ the฀ elements฀ that฀ part฀ of฀ slicing,฀ along฀ with฀ the฀ dependency฀ between฀ these฀ elements฀ is฀ gathered฀ from฀ what฀ is฀ being฀ sliced฀ and฀ why.฀There฀are฀two฀major฀steps฀that฀are฀ a฀ part฀ of฀ every฀ slicing฀ technique฀ first,฀ the฀ program฀ that฀ has฀ to฀ be฀ sliced฀ and฀ second,฀all฀the฀elements฀that฀are฀required฀ for฀slicing฀are฀iteratively฀appended.฀The฀ two฀ major฀ conditions฀ that฀ classify฀ the฀ slicing฀ technique฀ involve฀ the฀ programs,฀ models฀ that฀ are฀ being฀ sliced฀ and฀ the฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 1 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology purpose฀ of฀ slicing.฀ In฀ most฀ cases฀ achieving฀optimization฀and฀efficiency฀is฀ the฀ main฀ reason฀ behind฀ slicing.The฀ technique฀that฀is฀used฀for฀simplifying฀the฀ programs฀ by฀ concentrating฀ on฀ the฀ selective฀ aspects฀ of฀ semantics฀ is฀ called฀ program฀slicing฀(Tip฀1995).฀It฀is฀used฀to฀ reduce฀ complexity฀ of฀ computer฀ programs.฀ The฀ basic฀ objective฀ behind฀ program฀ slicing฀ is฀ that฀ it฀ divides฀ the฀ program฀ into฀ small฀ parts฀ based฀ on฀ certain฀ criterion฀ or฀ point฀ of฀ interest.฀ It฀ deletes฀those฀parts฀of฀the฀program฀which฀ do฀not฀affect฀the฀semantics฀of฀interest.฀If฀ a฀certain฀chuck฀of฀a฀program฀has฀either฀a฀ direct฀ or฀ an฀ indirect฀ effect฀ on฀ the฀ variables฀or฀values฀that฀are฀computed฀at฀ a฀ certain฀ slicing฀ criterion,฀ that฀ it฀ constitutes฀ the฀ program฀ chuck฀ with฀ respect฀ to฀ that฀ particular฀ criterion.฀ Slicing฀ is฀ applicable฀ in฀ fields฀ like฀ testing,฀ re-engineering฀ and฀ program฀ comprehension.฀ It฀ is฀ also฀ found฀ in฀ various฀ steps฀ of฀ the฀ program฀ development฀life฀cycle,฀such฀as฀software฀ testing,฀ software฀ debugging฀ and฀ software฀ maintenance.฀ For฀ example,฀ debugging฀the฀complete฀source฀code฀of฀a฀ certain฀ program฀ becomes฀ difficult฀ and฀ convoluted.฀ Therefore,฀ one฀ can฀ use฀ slicing,฀ method฀ and฀ remove฀ those฀ parts฀ of฀ the฀ program฀ that฀ cannot฀ cause฀ that฀ particular฀ bug.฀ Thus,฀ saving฀ time฀ and฀ increasing฀ debugging฀ efficiency.฀ Until฀ now,฀ most฀ of฀ the฀ researches฀ are฀ conducted฀on฀code฀based฀slicing฀(Kim฀et฀ al.฀2011).฀Due฀to฀the฀various฀advantages฀ of฀ slicing,฀ it฀ is฀ now฀ applied฀ in฀ the฀ field฀ of฀ design,฀ modeling฀ because฀ it฀ helps฀ in฀ reducing฀the฀cost฀of฀model฀maintenance฀ and฀model฀checking฀(Kim฀et฀al.฀2011).฀A฀ new฀ language฀ called฀ the฀ Unified฀ Model฀ language฀ is฀ used฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ create฀ high฀ level฀ design฀ structure฀ (Felgentreff฀ et฀ al.฀ 2014).฀This฀structure฀allows฀the฀architect฀ to฀analyze฀and฀reason฀about฀all฀most฀all฀ the฀ properties฀ of฀ that฀ system฀ at฀ an฀ abstract฀ level.฀ UML฀ is฀ very฀ easy฀ to฀ use฀ and฀is฀very฀effective,฀thus฀it฀has฀become฀ popular฀ among฀ the฀ software฀ designs฀ to฀ construct฀ and฀ represent฀ the฀ architecture฀ of฀a฀software฀system.฀UML฀diagrams฀are฀ used฀ to฀ explain฀ both฀ the฀ behavioral฀ and฀ structural฀ aspects฀ of฀ the฀ different฀ model฀ ฀ diagrams.฀ The฀ structural฀ parts฀ of฀ the฀ architecture฀ of฀ software฀ are฀ defined฀ by฀ class฀ diagrams,฀ component฀ diagrams฀ or฀ object฀ diagrams.฀ The฀ relationship฀ between฀ the฀ entities฀ or฀ the฀ objects฀ is฀ explained฀ by฀ these฀ diagrams.฀ Whereas฀ the฀state฀diagram,฀activity฀diagram฀or฀the฀ sequence฀ diagram฀ explain฀ the฀ flow฀ of฀ work.฀ They฀ concentrate฀ on฀ the฀ states,฀ their฀sequence฀and฀their฀interaction.฀Use฀ cases,฀ which฀ are฀ used฀ for฀ testing฀ of฀ a฀ program,฀are฀developed฀with฀the฀help฀of฀ these฀ behavioral฀ models.฀ However,฀ this฀ is฀ not฀ an฀ exact฀ definition฀ of฀ model฀ slicing฀(Lallchandani฀&฀Mall฀2011). 2 LITER฀TURE REVIEW ฀.1 Introduction As฀ slicing฀ has฀ the฀ ability฀ to฀ reduce฀ program฀ complexity,฀ thus฀ it฀ is฀ very฀ useful฀ in฀ various฀ stages฀ of฀ the฀ software฀ development฀ life฀ cycle฀ such฀ as฀ testing,฀ debugging฀ and฀ software฀ quality฀ assurance.฀ It฀ is฀ basically฀ a฀ source฀ of฀ code฀ that฀ uses฀ a฀ manipulating฀ and฀ analyzing฀ technique฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ identify฀ a฀ subprogram฀ according฀ to฀ user฀ specified฀ point฀ of฀ interest.฀ The฀ automatic฀ generation฀ of฀ the฀ slice฀ is฀ generated฀by฀program฀slicing.฀A฀slice฀or฀ a฀ chuck฀ of฀ a฀ program฀ that฀ is฀ generated฀ by฀ program฀ slicing฀ includes฀ all฀ the฀ program฀ statements฀ PS฀ that฀ effect฀ variable฀ V฀ at฀ a฀ position฀ in฀ a฀ certain฀ Program฀ P.฀ For฀ example,฀ PS฀ (b,฀ 20)฀ means฀ that฀ the฀ slice฀ all฀ the฀ program฀ statements฀ that฀ affect฀ the฀ variable฀ b฀ in฀ the฀ line฀ number฀ 10.฀ In฀ short,฀ all฀ the฀ statements฀ that฀ affect฀ the฀ program,฀ to฀ a฀ certain฀point฀of฀interest฀become฀the฀part฀ of฀ that฀ particular฀ slice.฀ Therefore,฀ sometimes฀ the฀ data฀ is฀ dependent,฀ thus฀ there฀can฀be฀number฀of฀statements฀S฀that฀ can฀ affect฀ the฀ variable฀ V.฀ These฀ are฀ the฀ statements฀ that฀ tell฀ whether฀ statement฀ S฀ is฀ executable.฀ The฀ two฀ point฀ important฀ aspects฀ of฀ a฀ slice฀ first,฀ the฀ behavior฀ of฀ the฀ slice฀ should฀ be฀ similar฀ to฀ the฀ behavior฀of฀the฀original฀program(Weiser฀ 1981).฀ That฀ is฀ the฀ main฀ essence฀ of฀ the฀ program฀should฀remain฀intact฀even฀after฀ the฀ deletion฀ of฀ certain฀ set฀ of฀ codes.฀ Second,฀ the฀ only฀ way฀ slice฀ should฀ be฀ obtained฀ is฀ through฀ deleting฀ certain฀ unwanted฀ code฀ lines฀ from฀ the฀ original฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 2 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology program.฀You฀can’t฀add฀line฀of฀codes฀in฀ order฀ to฀ make฀ the฀ slice฀ imitate฀ the฀ original฀ code.฀ There฀ are฀ different฀ types฀ or฀ variants฀ of฀ program฀ slicing฀ such฀ as฀ backward฀slicing,฀dynamic฀slicing,฀static฀ slicing,฀and฀forward฀slicing.฀Models฀play฀ a฀vital฀role฀in฀the฀production฀of฀software,฀ especially฀ the฀ design฀ and฀ specification.฀ And฀ this฀ particular฀ need฀ has฀ forced฀ researchers฀ to฀ move฀ from฀ program฀ slicing฀ to฀ model฀ slicing.฀ Model฀ slicing฀ has฀ been฀ inspired฀ by฀ the฀ technique฀ of฀ program฀ slicing฀ as฀ the฀ need฀ to฀ model฀ slicing฀has฀become฀very฀strong.฀Through฀ model฀ slicing,฀ we฀ extract฀ a฀ subset฀ of฀ model฀ elements฀ and฀ this฀ subset฀ represents฀ a฀ model฀ slice.฀ The฀ model฀ slice฀ transports฀ many฀ types฀ of฀ information฀ and฀ has฀ various฀ forms,฀ depending฀ on฀ its฀ purpose฀ such฀ as฀ Architectural฀ slicing฀ and฀ design฀ slicing.฀ The฀Architectural฀slicing฀focuses฀on฀the฀ Architect฀of฀a฀program.฀There฀are฀many฀ different฀ languages฀ that฀ are฀ a฀ part฀ of฀ software฀modeling฀and฀the฀major฀one฀is฀ UML.฀ This฀ is฀ a฀ very฀ strong฀ language฀ that฀ allows฀ you฀ to฀ define฀ both฀ the฀ structural฀ model฀ that฀ defines฀ the฀ relationship฀ among฀ various฀ objects.฀ As฀ well฀ as฀ the฀ behavioral฀ model฀ that฀ explains฀ the฀ sequence฀ of฀ action฀ of฀ software.฀฀ Different฀tools฀such฀as฀EFSM฀ Slicing฀ Tool,฀ SSUAM,฀ UTG,฀ UML฀ Slicer฀and฀Archlice,฀UOST฀are฀also฀used฀ for฀this฀very฀purpose. ฀.฀ Related Work Information-flow฀ relations,฀ dataflow฀ equations฀ and฀ dependence฀ graph฀ use฀ a฀ slicing฀technique฀called฀static฀slicing.฀In฀ static฀ slicing฀ the฀ program฀ is฀ statically฀ analyzed฀in฀order฀to฀create฀slices.฀It฀does฀ not฀ require฀ computer฀ execution.฀ According฀ to฀ Weisre฀ static฀ slicing฀ approach฀ all฀ the฀ required฀ slices฀ are฀ generated฀ iteratively฀ of฀ the฀ dataflow฀ equation.฀ The฀ stopping฀ certain฀ for฀ this฀ approach฀ is฀ the฀ last฀ relevant฀ statement.฀ All฀ the฀ slices฀ are฀ created฀ by฀ calculating฀ consecutive฀ sets฀ of฀ relevant฀ variables.฀ These฀ variables฀ have฀ a฀ specific฀ node฀ in฀ the฀control฀flow฀diagram฀(Weiser฀1981).฀ You฀can฀create฀different฀slices฀according฀ to฀different฀point฀of฀interest฀of฀different฀ dependency฀ graph฀ (Tip฀ 1995).฀ The฀ ฀ program฀ dependency฀ graphs฀ were฀ introduced฀ by฀ Ottenstein฀ and฀ Ottenstein฀ and฀ graph฀ reachability฀ analysis฀ is฀ done฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ produce฀ slices฀ of฀ it฀ (Ottenstein฀ &฀ Ottenstein฀ 1984).฀ In฀ Bergeretti฀and฀Caree฀approach฀relational฀ calculus฀is฀used฀for฀computing฀the฀slices฀ (Bergeretti฀&฀Carré฀1985).฀The฀problem฀ with฀Wesier฀approach฀for฀slicing฀was,฀it฀ did฀ not฀ take฀ into฀ account฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ there฀are฀chances฀that฀a฀slice฀crosses฀the฀ boundary฀ of฀ a฀ function฀ call.฀ All฀ the฀ slices฀are฀computed฀within฀one฀function฀ and฀ because฀ of฀ this฀ there฀ is฀ a฀ huge฀ chance฀ that฀ slicing฀ generates฀ a฀ wrong฀ point฀ of฀ interest.฀ Thus,฀ this฀ will฀ affect฀ the฀ control฀ flow฀ of฀ the฀ whole฀ program฀ and฀ slicing฀ loses฀ its฀ precision฀ (Weiser฀ 1981).฀Weiser฀also฀defined฀another฀type฀ of฀ slicing,฀ in฀ which฀ he฀ highlights฀ the฀ upstream฀ side฀ of฀ the฀ chosen฀ slicing฀ criterion.฀ A฀ slice฀ contains฀ statements฀ that฀ may฀ affect฀ the฀ value฀ of฀ Variable฀ V฀ at฀ a฀ program฀ point฀ p.฀฀ That฀ is,฀ these฀ control฀ predicates฀ and฀ statements฀ also฀ affect฀ the฀ point฀ of฀ interest฀ in฀ a฀ program฀ and฀ he฀ named฀ it฀ backward฀ slicing฀ (Weiser฀ 1981).฀ On฀ the฀ other฀ hand,฀ another฀slicing฀technique฀was฀introduced฀ by฀ Horwitz,฀ Rep฀ and฀ Binkely.฀ According฀ to฀ this฀ technique,฀ multiple฀ classes,฀ procedures฀ and฀ packages฀ are฀ used฀ for฀ computing฀ slices฀ and฀ this฀ procedure฀ is฀ called฀ inter-procedural฀ slicing.฀ Dynamic฀ dependency฀ summary฀ graphs฀ that฀ are฀ produced฀ during฀ the฀ execution฀ of฀ the฀ programs฀ are฀ used฀ by฀ inter-procedural฀ slicing฀ algorithm฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ create฀ slices.฀ Inter-procedural฀ algorithm฀ computes฀ slices฀ either฀ by฀ doing฀ two฀ phases฀ traversing฀ of฀ SDG฀ or฀ by฀ computing฀ the฀ summary฀ edges฀ of฀ SDG.฀ Thus,฀ this฀ technique฀ overcomes฀ the฀ problem฀ presented฀ in฀ Weiser฀ slicing฀ method,฀i.e.฀it฀overcomes฀calling฀context฀ problem฀(Ottenstein฀&฀Ottenstein฀1984). In฀1989฀Reps฀and฀Bicker฀came฀up฀with฀a฀ technique฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ determine฀ the฀ effect฀ of฀ modification฀ in฀ one฀ part฀ of฀ a฀ program฀ onto฀ another฀ part฀ of฀ the฀ program.฀ They฀ name฀ the฀ technique฀ forward฀ slicing.฀ Unlike,฀ the฀ backward฀ slicing฀ which฀ affects฀ the฀ point฀ of฀ interest,฀ forward฀ slicing฀ contains฀ set฀ of฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 3 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology programs฀that฀are฀affected฀by฀the฀slicing฀ criterion฀(Bergeretti฀&฀Carré฀1985).฀The฀ formal฀ definition฀ is:฀ At฀ a฀ certain฀ program฀ point฀ p,฀ set฀ of฀ program฀ variables฀V฀consists฀of฀all฀the฀predicates฀ and฀ statements฀ in฀ that฀ program.฀ These฀ statements฀ can฀ be฀ affected฀ by฀ different฀ values฀of฀variables฀in฀V฀at฀the฀point฀p.฀A฀ particular฀ variable฀ affects฀ the฀ downstream฀ code.฀ Another฀ type฀ of฀ slicing฀ is฀ dynamic฀ slicing฀ which฀ works฀ very฀ well฀ on฀ a฀ particular฀ execution฀ of฀ a฀ program.฀It฀is฀a฀technique฀that฀is฀used฀for฀ program฀ debugging฀ and฀ program฀ understanding.฀ In฀ dynamic฀ slicing,฀ statements฀ that฀ do฀ not฀ have฀ any฀ relevance฀to฀the฀point฀of฀interest฀are฀not฀ included฀ (Miller฀ &฀ Choi฀ 1988).฀ Korel฀ and฀Laski฀were฀the฀first฀who฀introduced฀ the฀ idea฀ of฀ dynamic฀ slicing฀ in฀ an฀ iterative฀ way฀ (Korel฀ &฀ Laski฀ 1988).฀ Dynamic฀slicing฀can฀also฀be฀approached฀ in฀ terms฀ of฀ dynamic฀ dependence฀ relations฀ and฀ dynamic฀ flow฀ charts.฀ A฀ dynamic฀dependence฀algorithm฀was฀first฀ introduced฀ by฀ Miller฀ and฀ Choi;฀ later฀ Gopal฀ introduced฀ a฀ similar฀ algorithm฀ based฀ on฀ Bergeretti฀ information:฀ flow฀ relation฀ (Agrawal฀ &฀ Horgan฀ 1990).฀฀ Likewise,฀ Korel฀ and฀ Laski’s฀ developed฀ an฀ algorithm฀ using฀ Gopal’s฀ dependence฀ relations.฀ Another฀ algorithm฀ that฀ uses฀ the฀ approach฀ of฀ dependence฀ graph฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ compute฀ non-executable฀ dynamic฀ slices฀ was฀ developed฀ by฀ Agarwal฀ and฀ Horgan฀ (Korel฀ &฀ Laski฀ 1988)฀ (Korel฀ &฀ Laski฀ 1990).฀ An฀ efficient฀ and฀ effective฀ method฀ for฀ program฀ comprehension฀ was฀ introduced฀ by฀ Venkatesh฀ and฀ is฀ known฀ as฀ quasi฀ static฀method.฀This฀method฀incorporates฀ both฀ the฀ static฀ concepts฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ dynamic฀ concept฀ of฀ slicing.฀ With฀ fixed฀ input฀ parameters฀ the฀ slice฀ is฀ dynamic,฀ whereas฀ with฀ unconstrained฀ variable฀ input฀ parameters฀ the฀ slice฀ is฀ static฀ (Venkatesh฀ 1991).฀ Another฀ effective฀ technique฀is฀Decomposition฀slicing.฀The฀ idea฀ behind฀ this฀ method฀ is฀ to฀ capture฀ those฀ statements฀ of฀ a฀ program฀ that฀ are฀ needed฀in฀order฀to฀calculate฀the฀values฀of฀ the฀ provided฀ variables.฀ The฀ unwanted฀ statements฀ are฀ deleted.฀ The฀ slicing฀ criterion฀ for฀ this฀ kind฀ of฀ slicing฀ is฀ built฀ ฀ from฀the฀union฀of฀static฀backward฀slices฀ and฀ a฀ single฀ variable฀ V.฀ This฀ technique฀ is฀widely฀used฀for฀software฀maintenance฀ (Gallagher฀ &฀ Lyle฀ 1991).฀ An฀ extension฀ of฀ dynamic฀ slicing฀ is฀ relevant฀ slicing.฀ This฀method฀computes฀all฀the฀statements฀ that฀ might฀ affect฀ the฀ slicing฀ criterion.฀ It฀ also฀ uses฀ the฀ method฀ of฀ dynamic฀ computing฀ with฀ the฀ help฀ of฀ forward฀ algorithm.฀The฀relevant฀slice฀contains฀all฀ the฀ statement฀ that฀ affects฀ a฀ particular฀ variable฀ with฀ respect฀ to฀ a฀ variable.฀ Forward฀ algorithm฀ also฀ makes฀ relevant฀ slicing฀ very฀ space฀ efficient฀ (Agrawal฀ et฀ al.฀1993).Interface฀slicing฀is฀a฀technique฀ that฀ allows฀ the฀ programmer฀ to฀ create฀ a฀ new฀ module฀ that฀ contains฀ the฀ required฀ components.฀ It฀ is฀ applied฀ to฀ the฀ module฀ in฀order฀to฀extract฀the฀subset฀of฀module’s฀ functionality.฀ Normally฀ only฀ a฀ part฀ of฀ the฀ module฀ is฀ imported฀ and฀ there฀ are฀ many฀ procedures฀ and฀ functions฀ that฀ are฀ part฀ of฀ a฀ module.฀ Interface฀ slicing฀ produces฀ a฀ program฀ that฀ is฀ generated฀ from฀ the฀ original฀ program,฀ but฀ it฀ contains฀ only฀ the฀ required฀ statements.฀ The฀ module฀ produced฀ by฀ the฀ interface฀ slicer฀ contains฀ the฀ desired฀ components฀ that฀ belong฀ to฀ the฀ slice.฀ Thus,฀ making฀ interface฀ the฀ superset฀ of฀ static฀ slicing฀ based฀ on฀ certain฀ point฀ of฀ interest.฀ This฀ results฀in,฀inability฀of฀interface฀slicing฀to฀ deal฀ with฀ variable฀ that฀ are฀ affected฀ by฀ the฀ point฀ of฀ interest,฀ but฀ are฀ beyond฀ the฀ scope฀ of฀ that฀ particular฀ program฀ (Beck฀ &฀Eichmann฀1993).฀ In฀ order฀ to฀ find฀ those฀ statements฀ that฀ carry฀ the฀ effect฀ of฀ a฀ certain฀ variable฀ to฀ another฀ variable,฀ chopping฀ is฀ used.฀ It฀ uses฀ the฀ concept฀ of฀ both฀ backward฀ slicing฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ forward฀ slicing.฀ Chopping฀ finds฀ all฀ the฀ statements฀ that฀ carry฀the฀affect฀from฀source฀to฀sink.฀This฀ method฀ was฀ further฀ reduced฀ by฀ the฀ use฀ of฀ different฀ barriers฀ (Krinke฀ 2004).In฀ this฀ method,฀ all฀ the฀ infeasible฀ paths฀ are฀ discards฀ thus฀ generating฀ a฀ reduced฀ program.฀ This฀ reduced฀ program฀ is฀ created฀ on฀ the฀ bases฀ of฀ certain฀ set฀ of฀ initial฀ states฀ of฀ a฀ program.฀ This฀ set฀ of฀ initial฀ states฀ is฀ created฀ with฀ the฀ help฀ of฀ some฀ set฀ of฀ conditions฀ (Ning฀ et฀ al.฀ 1994).฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 4 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology Another฀ variation฀ of฀ static฀ slicing฀ is฀ hybrid฀ slicing.฀ This฀ technique฀ uses฀ the฀ idea฀ of฀ dynamic฀ slicing฀ and฀ it฀ was฀ first฀ introduced฀ by฀ Gupta฀ et.al.฀ This฀ method฀ is฀ smaller฀ in฀ size฀ when฀ compared฀ to฀ static฀slicing฀and฀it฀is฀very฀cost฀effective฀ when฀ compared฀ with฀ dynamic฀ slicing.฀ All฀ the฀ information฀ required฀ by฀ this฀ method฀ is฀ gathered฀ from฀ the฀ debugging฀ process฀ of฀ the฀ program฀ (Gupta฀ &฀ Sofia฀ 1995).฀ There฀ is฀ a฀ generalized฀ static฀ slicing฀ which฀ is฀ called฀ end฀ slicing.฀ Unlike฀static฀slicing,฀generalized฀form฀of฀ static฀ slicing฀ uses฀ a฀ set฀ of฀ points฀ rather฀ than฀ a฀ single฀ point฀ of฀ interest.฀ All฀ the฀ slices฀ are฀ created฀ by฀ the฀ union฀ of฀ the฀ static฀ slices฀ (Danicic฀ &฀ Harman฀ 1997).฀ Another฀slicing฀technique฀that฀is฀used฀to฀ generate฀ a฀ sliced฀ program฀ which฀ is฀ smaller฀ in฀ size฀ when฀ compared฀ to฀ the฀ orthodox฀ program฀ slicing฀ is฀ amorphous฀ slicing.฀ This฀ technique฀ simplifies฀ the฀ program.฀ Because฀ of฀ its฀ ability฀ to฀ understand฀what฀is฀required฀by฀the฀users฀ and฀simplify฀the฀program฀on฀the฀bases฀of฀ these฀ requirements,฀ it฀ is฀ a฀ very฀ useful฀ slicing฀ technique฀ (Harman฀ &฀ Danicic฀ 1997).฀ In฀ 1997,฀ Sivagurunathan฀ et฀ al฀ proposed฀ an฀ algorithm฀ that฀ was฀ able฀ to฀ overcome฀the฀problem฀of฀incorrect฀slices฀ due฀ to฀ the฀ presence฀ of฀ data฀ operations฀ and฀ I/O.฀ In฀ order฀ to฀ overcome฀ this฀ problem฀Sivagurunathan฀et฀al฀introduced฀ an฀ extra฀ variable฀ which฀ is฀ associated฀ with฀ the฀ I/O฀ operations.฀ This฀ variable฀ makes฀the฀external฀state฀accessible฀to฀the฀ slicer.฀ However,฀ there฀ is฀ a฀ major฀ problem฀associate฀with฀this฀solution,฀i.e.฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ make฀ the฀ I/O฀ operations,฀ accessible฀ to฀ the฀ slicer;฀ you฀ have฀ to฀ the฀ concept฀ of฀ transformation฀ schema.฀ The฀ transformation฀schema฀maps฀the฀original฀ program฀ language฀ to฀ a฀ new฀ language.฀ Later฀ on,฀ Tan฀ and฀ Ling฀ proposed฀ a฀ solution฀ for฀ database฀ operation.฀ Their฀ idea฀ used฀ the฀ basic฀ concept฀ of฀ Sivagurunathan฀et฀al฀algorithm.฀In฀order฀ to฀ constantly฀ update฀ the฀ database฀ operations,฀ they฀ used฀ an฀ implicit฀ variable.฀ Then฀ Willmor฀ et฀ al฀ came฀ up฀ with฀ the฀ solution฀ of฀ Database-Oriented฀ Program฀ Dependence฀ Graph฀ for฀ updating฀ the฀ values฀ of฀ database฀ operations.฀ Two฀ different฀ types฀ of฀ data฀ ฀ dependencies฀ which฀ are฀ programdatabase฀ dependencies฀ are฀ computed.฀ These฀dependencies฀relate฀to฀all฀the฀nondatabase฀ statements฀ present฀ in฀ the฀ database.฀ These฀ dependencies฀ are฀ then฀ added฀ into฀ to฀ the฀ Program฀ Dependence฀ Graph฀ and฀ the฀ resultant฀ is฀ DatabaseOriented฀ Program฀ Dependence.฀ The฀ effect฀ of฀ one฀ database฀ statement฀ on฀ another฀ is฀ captured฀ by฀ these฀ dependencies฀ (Sivagurunathan฀ et฀ al.฀ 1997).฀ In฀ architectural฀ slicing฀ there฀ are฀ three฀major฀dependency฀components฀and฀ two฀ phase฀ algorithm.฀ Dependency฀ components฀ are฀ the฀ connection฀ dependency,฀ the฀ connector฀ component฀ dependency฀ and฀ last฀ the฀ additional฀ dependency.฀The฀architectural฀algorithm฀ works฀well฀on฀the฀software฀architectural฀ dependency฀graph฀(Zhao฀1997).To฀apply฀ the฀ slicing฀ technique฀ on฀ software฀ architecture,฀ Architectural฀ Information฀ Flow฀ Graph฀ also฀ has฀ three฀ types฀ of฀ information฀ flow,฀ namely฀ Connectorcomponent,฀ Component-connector฀ and฀ internal฀ low฀ arcs฀ (Zhao฀ 1998).฀ Nishimatsu฀et฀al.฀proposed฀a฀better฀and฀a฀ more฀feasible฀idea฀as฀compared฀to฀static฀ and฀dynamic฀slicing฀called฀the฀call-mark฀ slicing.฀ The฀ main฀ objective฀ of฀ this฀ idea฀ was฀ developing฀ a฀ slicing฀ technique฀ which฀ reduces฀ the฀ cost฀ of฀ dynamic฀ slicing.฀ The฀ slices฀ that฀ are฀ generated฀ through฀ this฀ slicing฀ method฀ are฀ smaller฀ than฀ the฀ slices฀ generated฀ by฀ the฀ static฀ slicing฀ technique.฀ Also,฀ the฀ slices฀ generated฀ by฀ this฀ method฀ are฀ less฀ expensive฀ as฀ compared฀ to฀ the฀ slices฀ generated฀ by฀ the฀ dynamic฀ slicing฀ method.฀ All฀ the฀ procedure฀ call฀ statements฀that฀are฀executed฀in฀the฀PDG฀ are฀ marked฀ with฀ the฀ help฀ of฀ dynamic฀ information.฀ Once฀ the฀ executed฀ statements฀are฀marked,฀they฀are฀removed฀ from฀ the฀ PDG,฀ thus฀ making฀ a฀ more฀ precise฀PDG.฀Call฀mark฀slicing฀criterion฀ is฀ generated฀ the฀ same฀ way฀ as฀ the฀ static฀ slicing฀criterion,฀but฀it฀is฀amplified฀with฀ complete฀ inputs.฀ The฀ precise฀ PDG฀ is฀ then฀ traversed฀ using฀ the฀ standard฀ static฀ technique฀(Nishimatsu฀et฀al.฀1999).฀ DSAS฀ is฀ another฀ effective฀ slicing฀ technique.฀ In฀ this฀ method฀ a฀ small฀ number฀ of฀ connectors฀ and฀ components฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 5 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology are฀ created฀ for฀ every฀ slice฀ and฀ these฀ connectors฀ and฀ components฀ are฀ generated฀ according฀ to฀ the฀ set฀ slicing฀ criteria.฀This฀technique฀is฀mostly฀used฀in฀ situations฀where฀there฀is฀a฀large฀number฀ of฀ ports฀ present฀ and฀ the฀ invocation฀ of฀ these฀ports฀can฀affect฀the฀occurrence฀or฀a฀ certain฀ event฀ or฀ a฀ value฀ of฀ a฀ variable.฀ The฀ method฀ removes฀ all฀ the฀ events฀ that฀ are฀ irrelevant฀ according฀ to฀ a฀ certain฀ slicing฀ criterion,฀ only฀ the฀ most฀ relevant฀ are฀forward฀(Kim฀et฀al.฀1999)(Kim฀et฀al.฀ 2000).฀ The฀ basic฀ concept฀ of฀ this฀ approach฀ is฀ the฀ mapping฀ of฀ software฀ architecture฀ that฀ is฀ generated฀ by฀ Architecture฀ description฀ language฀ onto฀ program฀ statements,฀ thus฀ creating฀ executable฀ architecture.฀ Information฀ regarding฀ the฀ connectors,฀ their฀ parameters฀ and฀ their฀ events฀ is฀ gathered฀ when฀the฀dynamic฀slicer฀reads฀the฀ADL฀ source฀ code฀ of฀ the฀ architecture฀ and฀ it฀ takes฀slicing฀criterion฀as฀input.฀There฀are฀ more฀ than฀ 24฀ different฀ types฀ of฀ data฀ dependences฀ and฀ the฀ classifications฀ of฀ these฀ dependencies฀ are฀ based฀ on฀ the฀ various฀ levels฀ of฀ complexity฀ that฀ are฀ introduced฀by฀the฀pointers฀in฀a฀program.฀ Incremental฀ slicing฀ uses฀ this฀ idea฀ and฀ it฀ acknowledges฀ the฀ fact฀ that฀ all฀ data฀ dependencies฀are฀not฀equal.฀This฀method฀ makes฀ it฀ easy฀ for฀ us฀ to฀ understand฀ the฀ slices฀ as฀ it฀ ignores฀ the฀ weak฀ data฀ dependences฀in฀the฀start฀and฀focus฀on฀the฀ strong฀ data฀ dependencies฀ (Orso฀ et฀ al.฀ 2001).฀ Later฀ on,฀ the฀ approach฀ incrementally฀ incorporates฀ the฀ weak฀ data฀ dependencies฀ as฀ well.฀ The฀ dependence฀cache฀slicing฀technique฀was฀ proposed฀by฀Takada฀et฀al.฀and฀it฀uses฀the฀ dynamic฀ information฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ generate฀ a฀ precise฀ PDG.฀ The฀ method฀ permits฀ us฀ to฀ prune฀ the฀ PDG฀ in฀ accord฀ with฀ the฀ dynamic฀ information,฀ thus฀ creating฀ a฀ PDG฀ called฀ PDGDS฀ in฀ two฀ steps.฀ PDGDS฀ has฀ only฀ those฀ data฀ dependence฀ relations฀ that฀ are฀ possible฀ with฀ the฀ input฀ data.฀ Dependence-cache฀ slicing฀does฀not฀involve฀data฀dependence฀ edges฀ during฀ the฀ construction฀ of฀ PDGDS,฀and฀the฀edges฀that฀are฀added฀to฀ PDGDS฀ are฀ calculated฀ by฀ a฀ data฀ dependence฀ collection฀ algorithm฀ (Takada฀ et฀ al.฀ 2002).฀ In฀ order฀ to฀ give฀ a฀ ฀ programmer฀ more฀ control฀ of฀ the฀ construction฀ of฀ the฀ slice,฀ Jens฀ Krinke฀ introduced฀ a฀ new฀ slicing฀ technique.฀ A฀ method฀ that฀ allows฀ the฀ programmer฀ to฀ specify฀the฀part฀of฀the฀program฀that฀is฀to฀ be฀ traversed฀ for฀ the฀ construction฀ of฀ the฀ slice.฀In฀order฀to฀restrict฀the฀traversing฀of฀ PDG,฀ the฀ programmers฀ use฀ barriers.฀ Once฀ a฀ barrier฀ is฀ met฀ it฀ is฀ important฀ to฀ end฀the฀process฀of฀locating฀the฀transitive฀ closure฀ of฀ the฀ program฀ dependencies.฀ The฀barriers฀which฀are฀specified฀through฀ a฀set฀of฀nodes฀are฀included฀in฀the฀slicing฀ criterion฀ and฀ this฀ technique฀ is฀ very฀ useful฀ for฀ program฀ debugging฀ (Krinke฀ 2003).฀ Two฀ types฀ of฀ slicing฀ technique฀ came฀into฀existence฀because฀of฀research฀ done฀ on฀ Extended฀ Finite฀ State฀ Machines.฀ First฀ as฀ deterministic฀ and฀ second฀ was฀ nondeterministic.฀ Another฀ research฀ was฀ done฀ that฀ isolated฀ those฀ parts฀of฀the฀model฀that฀might฀result฀in฀an฀ error฀ and฀ the฀ technique฀ mainly฀ focuses฀ on฀ data฀ flow฀ analysis.฀ This฀ approach฀ was฀ able฀ to฀ produce฀ slices฀ that฀ were฀ smaller฀in฀size฀as฀compared฀to฀the฀slices฀ produced฀ by฀ EFSM.฀ In฀ order฀ to฀ automate฀ the฀ computation฀ of฀ slicing฀ a฀ tool฀ was฀ introduced฀ (Korel฀ et฀ al.฀ 2003).฀ Path฀ slicing฀ is฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ slicing฀ techniques฀to฀identify฀the฀statements฀that฀ may฀ change฀ the฀ path฀ of฀ a฀ program฀ during฀ its฀ execution.฀ Path฀ slicing฀ is฀ carried฀ out฀ along฀ the฀ paths฀ in฀ a฀ control฀ graph.฀ In฀ a฀ control฀ flow฀ graph฀ in฀ computer฀ programming,฀ a฀ path฀ is฀ a฀ set฀ of฀ all฀ possible฀ inputs฀ and฀ can฀ run฀ numerous฀ infeasible฀ executions.฀ Path฀ slicing฀ turns฀ out฀ to฀ be฀ a฀ better฀ option฀ than฀ program฀ slicing.฀ It฀ is฀ so฀ because฀ path฀ slicing฀ runs฀ along฀ a฀ complete฀ path฀ of฀ any฀ execution฀ program.฀ This฀ yields฀ much฀better฀results฀than฀program฀slicing฀ technique฀ in฀ computer฀ programming฀ (Jhala฀&฀Majumdar฀2005). Model฀ slicing฀ is฀ another฀ technique฀ to฀ identify฀ the฀ bugs฀ in฀ a฀ given฀ large฀ UML฀ models.฀ This฀ concept฀ was฀ initiated฀ by฀ Kagdi฀ who฀ took฀ the฀ initiative฀ to฀ divide฀ the฀large฀models฀into฀UML฀class฀model.฀ By฀analyzing฀these฀class฀models฀through฀ proper฀ understating฀ and฀ querying,฀ it฀ becomes฀ easy฀ to฀ do฀ maintenance฀ of฀ software.฀The฀approach฀of฀Kagdi฀was฀to฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 6 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology extract฀ the฀ class฀ diagrams฀ from฀ the฀ whole฀ models.฀ However,฀ this฀ class฀ model฀ lacks฀ the฀ explicit฀ behavioral฀ characteristics฀ and฀ demonstrated฀ only฀ the฀ structural฀ characteristics.฀ In฀ this฀ technique,฀ a฀ model฀ “M”฀ is฀ defined฀ which฀ is฀ then฀ analyzed฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ elements,฀ relationship฀ between฀ these฀ elements,฀ and฀ functions฀ that฀ these฀ elements฀ perform฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ relationships฀between฀them฀(Kagdi฀et฀al.฀ 2005).฀Stop-list฀slicing฀technique,฀which฀ almost฀ functions฀ like฀ dicing฀ technique,฀ is฀ another฀ slicing฀ technique฀ which฀ use฀ variable฀ that฀ a฀ programmer฀ is฀ never฀ interested฀in฀to฀decrease฀their฀slice฀size.฀ In฀a฀program,฀two฀kinds฀of฀variable฀exist฀ normally.฀ One฀ is฀ that฀ carryout฀ computation฀ and฀ the฀ other฀ is฀ that฀ assist฀ in฀ performing฀ computation.฀ Stop-list฀ slicing฀ aims฀ at฀ removing฀ the฀ variables฀ from฀programs฀that฀are฀of฀no฀interest฀to฀ programmer.฀In฀this฀way,฀this฀technique฀ decreases฀ the฀ dependence฀ graph฀ by฀ identifying฀ and฀ eliminating฀ all฀ variables฀ in฀ the฀ stop-list฀ set฀ (Gallagher฀ et฀ al.฀ 2006).฀ Slicing฀ technique฀ can฀ also฀ be฀ used฀ on฀ UML฀ Sequence฀ Diagram.฀ Role฀ of฀ sequence฀ diagram฀ is฀ to฀ identify฀ the฀ series฀ of฀ time฀ dependent฀ interactions฀ between฀ components฀ and฀ different฀ objects.฀ After฀ having฀ a฀ sequence฀ diagram,฀ complete฀ functionality฀ of฀ the฀ process฀can฀be฀visualized฀and฀test฀cases฀ can฀ be฀ designed.฀ This฀ test฀ data฀ can฀ be฀ selected฀ by฀ extracting฀ a฀ conditional฀ predicate฀ from฀ a฀ program.฀ Then฀ this฀ predicate฀ is฀ subjected฀ to฀ the฀ slicer฀ and฀ test฀ against฀ different฀ inputs฀ and฀ methodologies฀ until฀ a฀ final฀ solution฀ is฀ achieved฀ (Samuel฀ et฀ al.฀ 2005).฀฀ A฀ representation฀was฀introduced฀known฀as฀ “Ctest”฀ that฀ was฀ capable฀ of฀ generating฀ test฀ cases฀ from฀ a฀ given฀ UML฀ communication฀ diagram.฀ First฀ of฀ all,฀ a฀ communication฀ tree฀ is฀ required฀ to฀ be฀ built฀ out฀ of฀ communication฀ diagram฀ considering฀ its฀ data฀ flow฀ and฀ control฀ flow.฀ A฀ tool฀ named฀ UTG฀ (UML฀ Behavioral฀ Test฀ Case฀ Generator)฀ transforms฀ the฀ predicate฀ selected฀ from฀ the฀tree฀according฀to฀Ctest฀representation฀ to฀ identify฀ the฀ test฀ data.฀ Tool฀ takes฀ the฀ communication฀ diagram฀ in฀ the฀ form฀ of฀ ฀ xml฀ format.฀ Document฀ parser฀ class฀ is฀ responsible฀for฀parsing฀the฀XML฀file฀for฀ various฀ inputs฀ and฀ constructs฀ a฀ communication฀tree.฀Whereas฀Test฀Data฀ Finder฀ locates฀ the฀ test฀ data฀ in฀ the฀ form฀ of฀ string฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ parsed฀ information฀(Samuel฀et฀al.฀2007). Another฀ algorithm฀ was฀ formulated฀ to฀ generate฀ the฀ test฀ cases฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ sequence฀ diagram.฀ This฀ algorithm฀ takes฀ the฀ first฀ step฀ of฀ converting฀ the฀ UML฀ sequence฀ diagram฀ into฀ graphical฀ representation฀ named฀ SDG฀ (Sequence฀ Diagram฀ Graph).฀ Graph฀ based฀ methodology฀ was฀ used฀ to฀ pass฀ through฀ SDG฀and฀to฀make฀test฀cases฀according฀to฀ given฀ message฀ sequence฀ path฀ coverage฀ criteria.฀A฀template฀was฀used฀to฀fetch฀the฀ information฀ related฀ to฀ a฀ specific฀ input฀ and฀ output.฀ This฀ use฀ case฀ template,฀ along฀ with฀ class฀ diagram฀ and฀ data฀ dictionary,฀ was฀ utilized฀ to฀ fetch฀ the฀ pre฀ and฀ post฀ scenarios฀ for฀ the฀ test฀ cases฀ as฀ well฀(Sarma฀et฀al.฀2007).฀฀ A฀ UML฀ metamodel฀ was฀ introduced฀ to฀ deal฀ with฀ the฀ complex฀ UML฀ metamodels.฀ This฀ technique฀ focused฀ on฀ modularizing฀ of฀ large฀ complex฀ UML฀ metamodels฀into฀small฀metamodels.฀This฀ approach฀ functions฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ diagram-specific฀metamodels.฀It฀extracts฀ the฀ diagram-specific฀ metamodels฀ from฀ the฀ complex฀ UML฀ metamodel.฀ These฀ diagram-specific฀ metamodel฀ contains฀ less฀ number฀ of฀ elements฀ in฀ them฀ and฀ carry฀ less฀ relationships.฀ Against฀ the฀ set฀ of฀ key฀ elements฀ of฀ “KEdt”,฀ this฀ technique฀ generates฀ the฀ metamodel฀ “MMdt”.฀ Constituents฀ of฀ the฀ key฀ are฀ analyzed฀to฀identify฀the฀model฀elements฀ for฀criteria฀of฀slicing฀which฀are฀related฀to฀ diagram฀ (Bae฀ et฀ al.฀ 2008)฀ (Bae฀ &฀ Chae฀ 2008). Another฀ technique฀ was฀ developed฀ to฀ produce฀ the฀ dynamic฀ slices฀ of฀ a฀ given฀ UML฀ model฀ through฀ integrated฀ state฀ based฀ information.฀ Architectural฀ model฀ slicing฀ through฀ MDG฀ traversal฀ concept฀ was฀ utilized฀ to฀ achieve฀ this฀ technique.฀ This฀ concept฀ first฀ draws฀ a฀ graph฀ that฀ is฀ capable฀ of฀ fetching฀ all฀ information฀ regarding฀ dependency฀ at฀ different฀ states฀ of฀ variables.฀ Dynamic฀ slices฀ are฀ generated฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ traversal฀ of฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 7 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology model฀ dependency฀ graph฀ that฀ has฀ all฀ information฀about฀dependency฀variables.฀ These฀ dynamic฀ slices฀ come฀ out฀ to฀ be฀ very฀helpful฀in฀determining฀various฀sorts฀ of฀characteristics฀of฀program฀like฀impact฀ if฀ the฀ design฀ is฀ changed,฀ and฀ reliability฀ prediction.฀ Using฀ this฀ same฀ tool,฀ researchers฀ also฀ developed฀ a฀ prototype฀ architecture฀slicing฀tool฀(Lallchandani฀&฀ Mall฀2008). Later฀ on,฀ another฀ approach฀ was฀ introduced฀ regarding฀ the฀ pruning฀ of฀ metamodels.฀ A฀ given฀ pruner฀ get฀ the฀ input฀ slicing฀ criteria฀ which฀ may฀ include฀ classes,฀ operations฀ etc฀ of฀ a฀ metamodel฀ under฀ observation.฀ This฀ slices฀ the฀ architecture฀ and฀ fetches฀ all฀ the฀ information฀ and฀ dependencies.฀ In฀ this฀ way,฀ a฀ pruner฀ gives฀ rise฀ to฀ an฀ output฀ which฀ satisfies฀ all฀ the฀ structural฀ constraints฀ (Sen฀ et฀ al.฀ 2013)฀ to฀ produce฀ slices฀ for฀ UML฀ Architecture฀ model฀ which฀is฀static฀in฀nature฀(Lallchandani฀&฀ Mall฀2009).฀Afterwards,฀another฀concept฀ was฀ introduced฀ that฀ utilize฀ the฀ flow฀ dependent฀ graph฀ FDG฀ of฀ a฀ diagram฀ of฀ activity฀ to฀ produce฀ dynamic฀ slices฀ through฀an฀edge฀marking฀method.฀It฀has฀ the฀ ability฀ of฀ producing฀ the฀ test฀ data฀ with฀ high฀ path฀ coverage.฀ This฀ concept฀ can฀also฀be฀implemented฀on฀concurrency฀ and฀ polymorphism฀ (Samuel฀ &฀ Mall฀ 2009).One฀ more฀ technique฀ is฀ to฀ utilize฀ the฀ uml฀ state฀ machine฀ to฀ slice฀ with฀ a฀ purpose฀ of฀ producing฀ simple฀ slices฀ without฀ making฀ any฀ change฀ in฀ model฀ based฀ on฀ dataflow฀ analysis฀ and฀ control฀ analysis.฀ It฀ has฀ also฀ got฀ the฀ ability฀ of฀ defining฀ pre฀ and฀ post฀ conditions฀ and฀ semantic.฀ After฀ such฀ marvelous฀ start,฀ this฀ work฀ can฀ now฀ be฀ implemented฀ on฀ state฀and฀activity฀diagrams฀(Lano฀2009).฀ Slice฀method฀is฀precise฀and฀can฀generate฀ exact฀slice฀calculation฀which฀is฀based฀on฀ high฀precision฀dependency฀of฀data฀using฀ sequence฀ diagram.฀ It฀ is฀ also฀ capable฀ of฀ supporting฀ various฀ forms฀ of฀ programs฀ and฀tools฀for฀slice฀calculation฀on฀eclipse฀ platform฀ (Noda฀ et฀ al.฀ 2009).฀ Another฀ technique฀ is฀ well฀ known฀ for฀ supporting฀ model฀ analysis,฀ maintenance฀ and฀ reactive฀ system,฀ and฀ testing.฀ This฀ technique฀ is฀ named฀ Statechart.฀ It฀ demonstrated฀ the฀ control฀ data฀ ฀ dependency฀ and฀ backward฀ slices฀ from฀ graph.฀ Statechart฀ can฀ also฀ do฀ program฀ slicing฀ for฀ reactive฀ and฀ slice฀ embedded฀ system฀(Luangsodsai฀&฀Fox฀2010). Model฀ Checking฀ is฀ one฀ of฀ the฀ fully฀ automated฀ techniques฀ that฀ are฀ used฀ to฀ decrease฀ the฀ size฀ of฀ model฀ through฀ the฀ process฀ of฀ slicing.฀ This฀ technique฀ utilizes฀ the฀ Behavior฀ Tree฀ Dependency฀ Graph฀ that฀ fetches฀ all฀ the฀ functional฀ requirements฀ and฀ also฀ the฀ dependency฀ between฀ the฀ modules฀ and฀ components.฀ Slicing฀ criterion฀ is฀ used฀ in฀ it฀ that฀ contains฀ state-realization฀ nodes฀ which฀ are฀responsible฀for฀updating฀the฀state฀of฀ attributes฀ and฀ components฀ to฀ decrease฀ model฀ size฀ and฀ improvise฀ the฀ checking฀ (Yatapanage฀ et฀ al.฀ 2010).Verification฀ Technique฀is฀another฀technique฀which฀is฀ being฀ greatly฀ used฀ to฀ find฀ put฀ the฀ accuracy฀and฀precision฀of฀a฀given฀model฀ by฀ dividing฀ it฀ into฀ sub-models฀ utilizing฀ the฀slicing.฀This฀technique฀demonstrates฀ the฀ strength฀ of฀ the฀ sub-models฀ in฀ two฀ categories฀ i.e.฀ weak฀ satisfiable฀ and฀ strong฀satisfiable.฀It฀can฀be฀implemented฀ on฀ other฀ diagrams฀ and฀ models฀ to฀ find฀ out฀ the฀ precision฀ and฀ satisfaction฀ linked฀ with฀ that฀ model฀ (Shaikh฀ et฀ al.฀ 2010).฀ Slicing฀ technique฀ comes฀ out฀ to฀ be฀ very฀ effective฀in฀terms฀of฀efficiency฀and฀time฀ to฀ check฀ a฀ model.฀ It฀ breaks฀ the฀ whole฀ model฀ into฀ sub-models฀ and฀ then฀ checks฀ the฀each฀sub-model฀one฀by฀one.฀If฀at฀any฀ stage,฀ model฀ breaks,฀ then฀ the฀ model฀ is฀ unsatisfiable.฀ If฀ succeeds฀ successfully,฀ then฀ the฀ model฀ is฀ satisfiable.฀ Moreover,฀ it฀ helps฀ in฀ identifying฀ other฀ useful฀ properties฀ in฀ the฀ model฀ as฀ well.฀ Since฀ after฀ its฀ development,฀ this฀ approach฀ has฀ been฀used฀greatly฀to฀check฀the฀results฀of฀ a฀ program฀ and฀ its฀ speed฀ (Shaikh฀ et฀ al.฀ 2011b).Model฀ Transformation฀ is฀ one฀ slicing฀technique฀for฀the฀slicing฀of฀UML฀ model฀ which฀ can฀ be฀ particularly฀ implemented฀ to฀ those฀ parts฀ as฀ well฀ that฀ has฀ the฀ properties฀ of฀ subset฀ in฀ them.฀ This฀ technique฀ brings฀ into฀ usage฀ the฀ class฀ diagrams,฀ communicating฀ sets฀ of฀ state฀ machines,฀ and฀ individual฀ state฀ machines฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ slice฀ the฀ UML฀ model.฀Client฀suppliers’฀relation฀is฀used฀ to฀ form฀ a฀ tree฀ structure.฀ Slicing฀ is฀ done฀ between฀the฀invariants฀of฀class฀as฀well฀as฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 8 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology pre฀ and฀ post฀ conditions฀ of฀ operation฀ considering฀ predicate฀ P.฀ Then฀ different฀ criteria฀ are฀ defined฀ that฀ are฀ then฀ compared฀ to฀ get฀ conclusion.฀ This฀ technique฀ focuses฀ on฀ keeping฀ the฀ structure฀ same฀ without฀ making฀ any฀ significant฀ changes฀ in฀ the฀ program฀ (Lano฀&฀Kolahdouz-rahimi฀2010).There฀ have฀ been฀ developed฀ many฀ verification฀ tools฀ for฀ UML/OCl฀ class.฀ Among฀ these฀ tools,฀ four฀ tools฀ are฀ for฀ verification฀ purposes฀ and฀ two฀ are฀ for฀ validation฀ purposes.฀ Verification฀ tools฀ include฀ HOL-OCL,฀ UML฀ to฀ CSP,฀ UML฀ to฀ Alloy,฀ and฀ Alloy,฀ whereas฀ validation฀ tools฀ include฀ USE฀ and฀ MOVE.฀ Here,฀ crucial฀ point฀ of฀ verification฀ in฀ tool฀ arises.฀ This฀ issue฀ can฀ be฀ avoided฀ by฀ UOST฀ slicing฀ technique.฀ Researchers฀ use฀ UOST฀ slicing฀ technique฀ to฀ increase฀ the฀efficiency฀of฀this฀tool.฀In฀this฀way,฀a฀ tool฀automatically฀categorizes฀the฀model฀ into฀ sub-models฀ and฀ then฀ concludes฀ the฀ result฀whether฀the฀model฀is฀satisfiable฀or฀ unsatisfiable.฀ Later฀ on,฀ this฀ test฀ is฀ subjected฀to฀other฀tools฀as฀well฀for฀proof฀ (Shaikh฀et฀al.฀2011a).฀Another฀technique฀ that฀ is฀ being฀ used฀ now฀ a฀ day฀ is฀ novel฀ technique฀ on฀ the฀ feature฀ model.฀ In฀ this฀ technique,฀feature฀of฀slicing฀the฀model฀is฀ done฀through฀the฀constraint฀of฀crosstree.฀ In฀ this฀ technique,฀ an฀ algorithm฀ denotes฀ the฀ sets฀ of฀ rules฀ and฀ underlying฀ configurations฀ (Acher฀ et฀ al.฀ 2011).฀ Dynamic฀ backward฀ slicing฀ technique฀ is฀ being฀ greatly฀ into฀ usage฀ of฀ researchers฀ for฀the฀model฀transformation.฀In฀order฀to฀ slice฀ the฀ model,฀ model฀ transformation฀ language฀ was฀ used฀ as฀ a฀ key฀ step฀ of฀ this฀ technique฀ through฀ Dynamic฀ Backward฀ Slicing.฀ This฀ technique฀ takes฀ the฀ three฀ inputs฀ i.e.฀ model฀ transformation฀ program,฀ the฀ model฀ required฀ for฀ the฀ operation฀ of฀ MT฀ program,฀ and฀ the฀ slicing฀ criterion.฀ It฀ produces฀ the฀ output฀ in฀the฀form฀of฀transformation฀slices฀and฀ model฀ slices.฀ This฀ conversion฀ of฀ model฀ into฀ the฀ MT฀ Language฀ is฀ done฀ by฀ three฀ processes฀ that฀ are฀ Graph฀ Pattern,฀ Control฀ Language,฀ and฀ Graph฀ transformation฀ Rules.฀ The฀ whole฀ algorithm฀keeps฀the฀track฀records฀so฀that฀ it฀could฀provide฀traceability฀information฀ between฀ target฀ models฀ and฀ source฀ ฀ models.฀ It฀ slices฀ the฀ MT฀ Program฀ using฀ these฀ traces฀ and฀ also฀ slices฀ the฀ model฀ program฀at฀the฀same฀time฀(Ujhelyi฀et฀al.฀ 2011)฀ (Ujhelyi฀ et฀ al.฀ 2012).Another฀ technique฀ is฀ being฀ used฀ greatly฀ in฀ generation฀ of฀ data฀ dependence฀ graph.฀ This฀ approach฀ highlights฀ the฀ hierarchy฀ of฀ the฀ system฀ and฀ orthogonal฀ problems฀ linked฀ with฀ it.฀ This฀ whole฀ process฀ is฀ carried฀ out฀ during฀ the฀ tracking฀ of฀ data฀ dependency฀ in฀ slicing฀ process฀ of฀ UML฀ state฀machine฀diagram.฀This฀exhibits฀the฀ hierarchy฀ relationships฀ in฀ regions,฀ control฀and฀parallel฀flows,฀and฀behavior฀ states.฀ Then฀ in฀ last,฀ it฀ fetches฀ the฀ data฀ dependence฀ graph฀ (Kim฀ et฀ al.฀ 2011).Dynamic฀ slicing฀ helps฀ in฀ slicing฀ of฀model฀dependence฀graph฀on฀the฀basis฀ of฀ Dynamic฀ Slicing฀ of฀ UML฀ Architectural฀ Model฀ (DSUAM).฀ This฀ approach฀ can฀ be฀ applied฀ to฀ get฀ the฀ alterations฀in฀designs,฀regression฀testing,฀ grasping฀ large฀ architectures,฀ and฀ reliability฀prediction.฀It฀can฀be฀achieved฀ by฀ code฀ based฀ slicing฀ techniques฀ and฀ remodeling฀ the฀ slicing฀ model฀ (Lallchandani฀ &฀ Mall฀ 2011).฀ Approach฀ of฀ model฀ slicing฀ technique฀ was฀ also฀ utilized฀ in฀ automation฀ of฀ safety฀ inspection฀ system.฀ A฀ tool฀ named฀ “Safe฀ Slicer”฀ was฀ introduced฀ in฀ order฀ to฀ achieve฀this.฀This฀tool฀uses฀the฀technique฀ of฀ model฀ slicing฀ to฀ extract฀ the฀ safety฀ concerned฀ slices฀ of฀ design฀ model.฀ This฀ tool฀has฀got฀the฀ability฀to฀trace฀the฀links฀ that฀ are฀ essential฀ to฀ get฀ the฀ automated฀ slices.฀ Methodology฀ and฀ approach฀ that฀ has฀ been฀ used฀ in฀ this฀ technique฀ are฀ the฀ principle฀ basis฀ for฀ the฀ Self฀ Slicer฀ tool.฀ This฀ tool฀ ensures฀ that฀ the฀ information฀ that฀is฀required฀to฀be฀inspected฀in฀design฀ slices฀ has฀ been฀ reduced฀ and฀ is฀ precise฀ and฀accurate฀(Falessi฀et฀al.฀2011).฀ Using฀ the฀ slicing฀ technique฀ for฀ state฀ machine฀models฀of฀reactive฀systems฀and฀ also฀ for฀ UML฀ class฀ diagrams฀ incorporates฀ new฀ features฀ of฀ input฀ or฀ output฀ events฀ of฀ interests.฀ This฀ emphasizes฀ on฀ reducing฀ model฀ semantically฀ rather฀ than฀ syntactically.฀ It฀ also฀ indicated฀ the฀ conditions฀ during฀ the฀ path฀ predicate฀ coverage.฀ Focus฀ of฀ this฀ technique฀ is฀ on฀ class฀ rather฀ than฀ on฀ models฀ of฀ class.฀ A฀ state฀ machine฀ is฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 9 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology required฀ for฀ the฀ slicing฀ process฀ in฀ this฀ (Lano฀ &฀ Kolahdouz-Rahimi฀ 2011).฀฀ Utilizing฀ the฀ communication฀ diagram,฀ this฀ produces฀ the฀ control฀ flow฀ graphs฀ (CFG).฀It฀further฀utilizes฀communication฀ dependence฀ graph฀ representation฀ (CoDG),฀ dynamic฀ slicing฀ algorithm฀ of฀ communication฀ diagram,฀ and฀ edge฀ marking฀ to฀ get฀ results฀ (Mishra฀ et฀ al.฀ 2012).฀Slicing฀approach฀is฀the฀one฀that฀is฀ used฀ to฀ improvise฀ the฀ verification฀ process’s฀ efficiency.฀ In฀ this฀ tool,฀ parent฀ model฀ is฀ divided฀ into฀ the฀ sub฀ models.฀ All฀these฀sub฀models฀are฀then฀converted฀ into฀ the฀ constraint฀ satisfaction฀ problem.฀ Then฀ these฀ sub฀ models฀ are฀ subjected฀ to฀ scrutiny฀ of฀ this฀ technique฀ which฀ identifies฀ the฀ satisfiability฀ or฀ nonsatisfiability฀of฀the฀sub฀model฀(Shaikh฀&฀ Wiil฀ 2012).Condition฀ slicing฀ was฀ utilized฀in฀an฀approach฀for฀production฀of฀ test฀ casesfrom฀ UML฀ interaction฀ diagram.฀ In฀ this฀ approach,฀ message฀ guard฀ position฀ is฀ identified฀ first฀ of฀ all.฀ Then฀ on฀ the฀ basis฀ of฀ this฀ information,฀ condition฀ slicing฀ is฀ used฀ for฀ development฀ of฀ test฀ cases.฀ Message฀ dependency฀ graph฀ is฀ built฀ first฀ of฀ all฀ in฀ this.฀ Then,฀ on฀ a฀ predicated฀ node,฀ condition฀slicing฀is฀carried฀out฀on฀one฀of฀ the฀ predicate฀ nodes.฀ Guard฀ condition฀ from฀ the฀ message฀ flow฀ is฀ implemented฀ to฀ generate฀ the฀ test฀ cases฀ (Swain฀ et฀ al.฀ 2012).฀ Feature฀ demonstrating฀ makes฀ use฀ of฀ set฀ of฀ specialist฀ e.g.฀ total฀ union฀ and฀ slice฀ give฀ rise฀ to฀ many฀ helpful฀ advantages.฀ It฀ gives฀ boosts฀ to฀ the฀ productive฀ packing฀ partition.฀ This฀ approach฀ starts฀ with฀ the฀ changes฀ into฀ the฀ predicate฀ followed฀ by฀ the฀ changes฀ in฀ these฀ predicates฀ into฀ a฀ slice฀ feature฀ model.฀ Slicing฀ procedure฀ used฀ in฀ this฀ technique฀ is฀ semantic฀ as฀ well฀as฀syntactic.฀This฀is฀why฀dissection฀ of฀ cross฀ slicing฀ obligation฀ is฀ done฀ to฀ identify฀ the฀ features฀ that฀ can฀ be฀ sliced฀ and฀ also฀ those฀ that฀ cannot฀ be฀ sliced฀ (Acher฀ et฀ al.฀ 2012).฀ In฀ order฀ to฀ provide฀ more฀ elasticity฀ in฀ the฀ configuration฀ environment,฀ a฀ slice฀ feature฀ diagram฀ was฀ used฀ to฀ design฀ three฀ different฀ input฀ diagram฀ changes.฀฀ Input฀ diagram฀ keeps฀ record฀of฀a฀better฀structure฀than฀a฀sliced฀ diagram.฀ It฀ is฀ absolutely฀ syntactic฀ as฀ it฀ ฀ does฀not฀involve฀the฀intersection฀of฀cross฀ cutting฀constraints.฀Best฀thing฀about฀this฀ technique฀ is฀ that฀ it฀ gives฀ rise฀ to฀ valid฀ configurations.฀ However,฀ if฀ features฀ are฀ from฀ more฀ than฀ one฀ view,฀ then฀ it฀ can฀ become฀ a฀ problematic฀ incident฀ in฀ this฀ technique฀(Hubaux฀et฀al.฀2011).฀With฀the฀ help฀ of฀ program฀ slicing฀ technique,฀ Domain฀ Specific฀ Model฀ Language฀ (DSML)฀is฀brought฀into฀usage฀to฀model฀ a฀specific฀domain฀of฀slicer.฀Metamodels฀ are฀ introduced฀ in฀ this฀ technique.฀ This฀ helps฀ in฀ development฀ of฀ two-level฀ generic฀ approach฀ utilizing฀ Kompren.฀ Complier฀ in฀ the฀ Kompren฀ automatically฀ produces฀ the฀ models฀ for฀ slicer฀ function.฀ Then฀this฀fetches฀the฀model฀slices฀ion฀its฀ own฀ from฀ domain฀ specific฀ models฀ (Blouin฀ et฀ al.฀ 2012).฀ Another฀ approach฀ was฀ introduced฀ for฀ generation฀ of฀ test฀ cases฀on฀the฀basis฀of฀domain฀abstraction.฀ This฀technique฀is฀based฀on฀the฀syntactic฀ abstraction฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ variable฀ elimination฀ utilizing฀ the฀ model฀ slicing.฀ Source฀ model฀ is฀ considered฀ to฀ be฀ the฀ input฀ along฀ with฀ the฀ sets฀ of฀ abstract฀ variables.฀ Then฀ these฀ are฀ reduced฀ by฀ syntactic฀ abstraction฀ that฀ is฀ then฀ followed฀ by฀ abstraction฀ semantically฀ with฀ a฀ purpose฀ of฀ extracting฀ abstract฀ models.฀From฀these฀models฀are฀extracted฀ the฀ symbolic฀ tests฀ as฀ per฀ criteria.฀ Three฀ methodologies฀ were฀ presented฀ for฀ the฀ identification฀ of฀ relevant฀ variable฀ and฀ production฀of฀abstract฀models.฀Data฀flow฀ dependency฀ is฀ the฀ first฀ in฀ this฀ number.฀ Second฀ approach฀ involves฀ the฀ both฀ flows,฀data฀flow฀dependency฀and฀control฀ flow฀dependency.฀In฀third฀approach,฀data฀ flow฀ and฀ partial฀ flow฀ dependencies฀ are฀ used฀ to฀ find฀ strong฀ and฀ relevant฀ variables.฀Principle฀behind฀this฀is฀to฀use฀ the฀ syntactic฀ and฀ semantic฀ abstraction฀ for฀ the฀ precise฀ results฀ in฀ generation฀ of฀ test฀ cases฀ (Julliand฀ et฀ al.฀ 2011).Unsatisfiability฀ was฀ the฀ main฀ advantage฀ of฀ this฀ technique.฀ After฀ the฀ actions฀ of฀ slicing฀ technique,฀ developers฀ get฀ the฀ sub฀ models฀ from฀ the฀ original฀ models.฀If฀there฀is฀any฀unsatisfiable฀sub฀ model,฀ this฀ technique฀ will฀ diagnose฀ the฀ invariant฀ hence฀ making฀ the฀ developer฀ able฀ to฀ get฀ the฀ bug฀ or฀ problematic฀ constraint.฀ In฀ this฀ way,฀ this฀ approach฀ ฀ttp://conference.serendivus.com/index.p฀p/main/loadSocialSciencesAndHumanities Page | 10 ฀nternational Conference On Engineering and Technology increases฀ the฀ efficiency฀ of฀ the฀ slicing฀ technique฀ in฀ UML฀ diagrams.฀ Automatic฀ correction฀ or฀ suggestion฀ is฀ delivered฀ to฀ the฀ user฀ automatically฀ by฀ this฀ technique฀ (Shaikh฀ &฀ Wiil฀ 2013).Another฀ slicing฀ technique฀for฀the฀UML฀is฀to฀carry฀it฀out฀ with฀OCL฀invariants.฀It฀initiates฀with฀the฀ decomposition฀ of฀ the฀ model฀ into฀ modes฀ that฀ are฀ known฀ as฀ the฀ fragments฀ with฀ split฀ invariants฀ and฀ operations.฀ It฀ also฀ has฀ the฀ ability฀ to฀ perform฀ the฀ quick฀ analysis฀ and฀ reduces฀ the฀ time฀ required฀ by฀ the฀ previous฀ techniques฀ in฀ analysis.฀ This฀ slicing฀ approach฀ was฀ first฀ applied฀ to฀ the฀ metamodels.฀ It฀ becomes฀ easier฀ to฀ indicate฀ the฀ interested฀ sub฀ models฀ for฀ the฀ process฀ if฀ the฀ invariant฀ sub฀ models฀ are฀ identified฀ from฀ this฀ technique฀ (Sun฀ et฀ al.฀ 2013).฀฀ This฀ technique฀ is฀ the฀ practical฀example฀of฀the฀ideology฀for฀the฀ extraction฀ of฀ sub฀ model฀ from฀ the฀ architecture฀software.฀It฀has฀the฀ability฀to฀ visualize฀ the฀ software฀ model฀ after฀ slicing฀ the฀ sequence฀ diagram฀ (Singh฀ &฀ Arora฀2013).฀This฀technique฀also฀has฀the฀ depiction฀ of฀ semantic฀ language฀ independent฀ framework฀ as฀ well฀ as฀ the฀ technique฀for฀the฀confirmation฀of฀model฀ transformation.฀ This฀ also฀ represents฀ a฀ detailed฀ analysis฀ of฀ different฀ sorts฀ of฀ transformations.฀ Best฀ advantage฀ of฀ implementing฀ this฀ technique฀ is฀ the฀ usage,฀ verification฀ and฀ determination.฀ This฀ model฀ has฀ the฀ ability฀ of฀ mapping฀ the฀questions฀and฀also฀the฀invocation฀of฀ implicit฀rules฀(Lano฀et฀al.฀2014).฀ CONCLUSION Literature฀ review฀ discussed฀ in฀ the฀ previous฀ section฀ shows฀ the฀ techniques,฀ tools,฀and฀approaches฀that฀are฀being฀used฀ for฀model฀slicing฀and฀program฀slicing.฀It฀ can฀ be฀ inferred฀ from฀ this฀ literature฀ review฀ that฀ Model฀ Transformation฀ Verification฀ through฀ Slicing,฀ Data฀ and฀ Control฀Flow,฀UML฀Model฀Verification,฀ Model฀ Dependency฀ Graph,฀ B฀ Model฀ Dependency฀ Graph,฀ Metamodel฀ Diagram,฀ and฀ featured฀ based฀ slicing฀ are฀ being฀used฀for฀model฀based฀slicing.฀It฀is฀ difficult฀ to฀ slice฀ the฀ UML฀ based฀ architecture฀as฀it฀is฀sometimes฀developed฀ on฀complex฀diagrams฀and฀information฀is฀ distributed฀ randomly฀ in฀ them.฀ Further,฀ implicit฀dependencies฀are฀also฀its฀part.฀In฀ ฀ this฀ regard,฀ developer฀ first฀ has฀ to฀ develop฀ the฀ immediate฀ construction฀ in฀ which฀ information฀ is฀ spread฀ evenly฀ in฀ the฀ form฀ of฀ various฀ architectural฀ elements.฀ Later฀ on,฀ these฀ segments฀ are฀ utilized฀ to฀ put฀ them฀ on฀ scrutiny฀ of฀ various฀ aspects฀ like฀ changes฀ in฀ the฀ design.฀ Then฀ we฀ have฀ to฀ analyze฀ this฀ intermediary฀ model฀ for฀ more฀ enhancements฀towards฀the฀integration฀of฀ state฀and฀activity฀models.฀This฀technique฀ has฀ emphasized฀ on฀ the฀ chunk฀ study฀ for฀ better฀ and฀ precise฀ results.฀ Although฀ the฀ areas฀ like฀ validation฀ and฀ verification฀ of฀ slicing฀ are฀ still฀ required฀ to฀ be฀ studied฀ more฀in฀detail.฀Nevertheless,฀much฀work฀ has฀ been฀ done฀ related฀ to฀ these฀ techniques.฀ This฀ paper฀ has฀ shed฀ some฀ light฀ on฀ some฀ of฀ the฀ slicing฀ techniques฀ like฀ 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