arXiv subjects

Muntasir Adnan

Publications and source records attributed to Muntasir Adnan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

On the Limits of Execution Traces for Repairing Assertion Failures in LLM-Generated Code

Iterative repair returns a failed program's error to a large language model (LLM) and asks it to fix it. After iterative repair, the remaining failures are mostly assertion failures: with four Qwen2.5 models, they make up 79% of residual failures on BigCodeBench, all on HumanEval and 93% on LiveCodeBench. We argue, through an information view of the feedback, that an assertion failure says little about where the fault lies. We propose Breakpoint Debugging (BPD), which returns the failed program annotated inline with its variables' runtime values. We take the tasks that iterative repair failed to fix with five repair attempts and compare two ways of spending five further generations on them: BPD, and resampling. On BigCodeBench, BPD repairs 26.7% of these tasks against 22.4%, and its advantage grows with model size. On HumanEval, BPD outperforms resampling but only slightly, and on LiveCodeBench, fresh sampling repairs more (6.5% against 4.9%). Furthermore, BPD reduces unchanged-code resubmissions from 28% to 8% on BigCodeBench. Using only the first failing test's trace, it outperforms tracing all failing tests while using fewer tokens than both all-trace BPD and plain iterative repair. On LiveCodeBench, BPD gives no gain even on the public tests, so a visible failing input is not enough for a trace to help. These results match the information view: a trace helps only when the test exposes a failing input, and the fault is an implementation slip; otherwise, a repair loop should resample rather than trace.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2026

Large Language Model Guided Self-Debugging Code Generation

Automated code generation is gaining significant importance in intelligent computer programming and system deployment. However, current approaches often face challenges in computational efficiency and lack robust mechanisms for code parsing and error correction. In this work, we propose a novel framework, PyCapsule, with a simple yet effective two-agent pipeline and efficient self-debugging modules for Python code generation. PyCapsule features sophisticated prompt inference, iterative error handling, and case testing, ensuring high generation stability, safety, and correctness. Empirically, PyCapsule achieves up to 5.7% improvement in success rate on HumanEval, 14.6% on HumanEval-ET, and up to 24.5% on BigCodeBench compared to state-of-the-art methods. Notably, PyCapsule enables the open-source Qwen2.5-Coder-Instruct 7B model to surpass the standalone performance of GPT-4 and GPT-3.5 on HumanEval and MBPP while requiring an average of fewer than 2 API calls per problem compared to up to 17 in competing frameworks. PyCapsule demonstrates broader impacts on advancing lightweight and efficient code generation, making competitive automated programming attainable with cost-effective, locally deployable open-source models.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2026

From Evaluation to Optimisation: Hierarchy-Aware Training Signals for CWE Prediction in Python

The original ALPHA benchmark introduced a taxonomy-aware penalty for evaluating CWE-level vulnerability prediction in Python and proposed that the penalty could theoretically also serve as a training signal. This paper provides that validation. We compare three delivery mechanisms: supervised fine-tuning, a dual-head classification loss, and reinforcement learning with a dense reward derived from the normalised penalty. We find that supervised approaches consistently regress below the zero-shot baseline under distribution shift, while GRPO succeeds. Our best policy reduces the cumulative ALPHA penalty of Qwen2.5-Coder-7B on Security Hardening and Adversarial Testing (SVEN) dataset by 27.9% under greedy decoding, and by 25.5% under sampled decoding(p = 0.005, Welch's t-test), reaching statistical parity with its 4.5x larger zero-shot teacher. We conclude that the value of a hierarchical penalty as a training signal depends largely on the directness of its delivery.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2026

A Systematic Investigation of Document Chunking Strategies and Embedding Sensitivity

We present the first large-scale, cross-domain evaluation of document chunking strategies for dense retrieval, addressing a critical but underexplored aspect of retrieval-augmented systems. In our study, 36 segmentation methods spanning fixed-size, semantic, structure-aware, hierarchical, adaptive, and LLM-assisted approaches are benchmarked across six diverse knowledge domains using five different embedding models. Retrieval performance is assessed using graded relevance scores from a state-of-the-art LLM evaluator, with Normalised DCG@5 as the primary metric (complemented by Hit@5 and MRR). Our experiments show that content-aware chunking significantly improves retrieval effectiveness over naive fixed-length splitting. The top-performing strategy, Paragraph Group Chunking, achieved the highest overall accuracy (mean nDCG@5~0.459) and substantially better top-rank hit rates (Precision@1~24%, Hit@5~59%). In contrast, simple fixed-size character chunking as baselines performed poorly (nDCG@5 < 0.244, Precision@1~2-3%). We observe pronounced domain-specific differences: dynamic token sizing is strongest in biology, physics and health, while paragraph grouping is strongest in legal and maths. Larger embedding models yield higher absolute scores but remain sensitive to suboptimal segmentation, indicating that better chunking and large embeddings provide complementary benefits. In addition to accuracy gains, we quantify the efficiency trade-offs of advanced chunking. Producing more, smaller chunks can increase index size and latency. Consequently, we identify methods (like dynamic chunking) that approach an optimal balance of effectiveness and efficiency. These findings establish chunking as a vital lever for improving retrieval performance and reliability.

cs.CL↗

arXiv2026

Adaptive Hierarchical Evaluation of LLMs and SAST tools for CWE Prediction in Python

Large Language Models have become integral to software development, yet they frequently generate vulnerable code. Existing code vulnerability detection benchmarks employ binary classification, lacking the CWE-level specificity required for actionable feedback in iterative correction systems. We present ALPHA (Adaptive Learning via Penalty in Hierarchical Assessment), the first function-level Python benchmark that evaluates both LLMs and SAST tools using hierarchically aware, CWE-specific penalties. ALPHA distinguishes between over-generalisation, over-specification, and lateral errors, reflecting practical differences in diagnostic utility. Evaluating seven LLMs and two SAST tools, we find LLMs substantially outperform SAST, though SAST demonstrates higher precision when detections occur. Critically, prediction consistency varies dramatically across models (8.26%-81.87% agreement), with significant implications for feedback-driven systems. We further outline a pathway for future work incorporating ALPHA penalties into supervised fine-tuning, which could provide principled hierarchy-aware vulnerability detection pending empirical validation.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2025

The Debugging Decay Index: Rethinking Debugging Strategies for Code LLMs

The effectiveness of AI debugging follows a predictable exponential decay pattern; most models lose 60-80% of their debugging capability within just 2-3 attempts, despite iterative debugging being a critical capability for practical code generation systems. We introduce the Debugging Decay Index (DDI), a mathematical framework that quantifies when debugging becomes ineffective and predicts intervention points. Our strategic fresh start approach shifts from exploitation to exploration at strategic points in the debugging process, demonstrating that well-timed interventions can rescue the effectiveness of debugging. DDI reveals a fundamental limitation in current AI debugging and provides the first quantitative framework for optimising iterative code generation strategies.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2024

Unleashing Artificial Cognition: Integrating Multiple AI Systems

In this study, we present an innovative fusion of language models and query analysis techniques to unlock cognition in artificial intelligence. The introduced open-source AI system seamlessly integrates a Chess engine with a language model, enabling it to predict moves and provide strategic explanations. Leveraging a vector database to achieve retrievable answer generation, our AI system elucidates its decision-making process, bridging the gap between raw computation and human-like understanding. Our choice of Chess as the demonstration environment underscores the versatility of our approach. Beyond Chess, our system holds promise for diverse applications, from medical diagnostics to financial forecasting. Our AI system is available at https://github.com/TheOpenSI/CoSMIC.git

cs.AI↗