Runtime error detection
Software verification method
title: "Runtime error detection" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["software-testing"] description: "Software verification method" topic_path: "technology/software-engineering" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runtime_error_detection" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Software verification method ::
Runtime error detection is a software verification method that analyzes a software application as it executes and reports defects that are detected during that execution. It can be applied during unit testing, component testing, integration testing, system testing (automated/scripted or manual), or penetration testing.
Runtime error detection can identify defects that manifest themselves only at runtime (for example, file overwrites) and zeroing in on the root causes of the application crashing, running slowly, or behaving unpredictably. Defects commonly detected by runtime error detection include:
- Race conditions
- Exceptions
- Resource leaks
- Memory leaks
- Security attack vulnerabilities (e.g., SQL injection)
- Null pointers
- Uninitialized memory
- Buffer overflows
Runtime error detection tools can only detect errors in the executed control flow of the application.
References
References
- [http://www.parasoft.com/jsp/capabilities/runtime_error_detection.jsp Runtime Error Detection] by [[Parasoft]]
- [https://rd.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-11261-4_5 MUST: A Scalable Approach to Runtime Error Detection in MPI Programs] by Tobias Hilbrich, Martin Schulz, Bronis R. de Supinski, Matthias S. Müller, in Tools for High Performance Computing 2009
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::