Comparative Analysis of Quantum and Classical Support Vector Classifiers for Software Bug Prediction: An Exploratory Study

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Main Authors: Nadim, Md, Hassan, Mohammad, Mandal, Ashis Kumar, Roy, Chanchal K., Roy, Banani, Schneider, Kevin A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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_version_ 1866909519448113152
author Nadim, Md
Hassan, Mohammad
Mandal, Ashis Kumar
Roy, Chanchal K.
Roy, Banani
Schneider, Kevin A.
author_facet Nadim, Md
Hassan, Mohammad
Mandal, Ashis Kumar
Roy, Chanchal K.
Roy, Banani
Schneider, Kevin A.
contents Purpose: Quantum computing promises to transform problem-solving across various domains with rapid and practical solutions. Within Software Evolution and Maintenance, Quantum Machine Learning (QML) remains mostly an underexplored domain, particularly in addressing challenges such as detecting buggy software commits from code repositories. Methods: In this study, we investigate the practical application of Quantum Support Vector Classifiers (QSVC) for detecting buggy software commits across 14 open-source software projects with diverse dataset sizes encompassing 30,924 data instances. We compare the QML algorithm PQSVC (Pegasos QSVC) and QSVC against the classical Support Vector Classifier (SVC). Our technique addresses large datasets in QSVC algorithms by dividing them into smaller subsets. We propose and evaluate an aggregation method to combine predictions from these models to detect the entire test dataset. We also introduce an incremental testing methodology to overcome the difficulties of quantum feature mapping during the testing approach. Results: The study shows the effectiveness of QSVC and PQSVC in detecting buggy software commits. The aggregation technique successfully combines predictions from smaller data subsets, enhancing the overall detection accuracy for the entire test dataset. The incremental testing methodology effectively manages the challenges associated with quantum feature mapping during the testing process. Conclusion: We contribute to the advancement of QML algorithms in defect prediction, unveiling the potential for further research in this domain. The specific scenario of the Short-Term Activity Frame (STAF) highlights the early detection of buggy software commits during the initial developmental phases of software systems, particularly when dataset sizes remain insufficient to train machine learning models.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2501_04690
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Comparative Analysis of Quantum and Classical Support Vector Classifiers for Software Bug Prediction: An Exploratory Study
Nadim, Md
Hassan, Mohammad
Mandal, Ashis Kumar
Roy, Chanchal K.
Roy, Banani
Schneider, Kevin A.
Software Engineering
Machine Learning
Purpose: Quantum computing promises to transform problem-solving across various domains with rapid and practical solutions. Within Software Evolution and Maintenance, Quantum Machine Learning (QML) remains mostly an underexplored domain, particularly in addressing challenges such as detecting buggy software commits from code repositories. Methods: In this study, we investigate the practical application of Quantum Support Vector Classifiers (QSVC) for detecting buggy software commits across 14 open-source software projects with diverse dataset sizes encompassing 30,924 data instances. We compare the QML algorithm PQSVC (Pegasos QSVC) and QSVC against the classical Support Vector Classifier (SVC). Our technique addresses large datasets in QSVC algorithms by dividing them into smaller subsets. We propose and evaluate an aggregation method to combine predictions from these models to detect the entire test dataset. We also introduce an incremental testing methodology to overcome the difficulties of quantum feature mapping during the testing approach. Results: The study shows the effectiveness of QSVC and PQSVC in detecting buggy software commits. The aggregation technique successfully combines predictions from smaller data subsets, enhancing the overall detection accuracy for the entire test dataset. The incremental testing methodology effectively manages the challenges associated with quantum feature mapping during the testing process. Conclusion: We contribute to the advancement of QML algorithms in defect prediction, unveiling the potential for further research in this domain. The specific scenario of the Short-Term Activity Frame (STAF) highlights the early detection of buggy software commits during the initial developmental phases of software systems, particularly when dataset sizes remain insufficient to train machine learning models.
title Comparative Analysis of Quantum and Classical Support Vector Classifiers for Software Bug Prediction: An Exploratory Study
topic Software Engineering
Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.04690