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TACCLE: a methodology for object-oriented software Testing At the Class and Cluster LEvels (2001)
| Content Provider | CiteSeerX |
|---|---|
| Author | Chen, Huo Yan Tse, T. H. Chen, T. Y. |
| Abstract | Object-oriented programming consists of several different levels of abstraction, namely the algorithmic level, class level, cluster level, and system level. The testing of object-oriented software at the algorithmic and system levels is similar to conventional programming testing. Testing at the class and cluster levels poses new challenges. Since methods and objects may interact with one another dynamically with unforeseen combinations and invocations, they are much more complex to simulate and test than the static hierarchy of functional calls in conventional programs. In this paper, we propose a methodology for object-oriented software testing at the class and cluster levels. In class-level testing, it is essential to determine whether objects produced from the execution of implemented systems would preserve the properties defined by the specification, such as behavioral equivalence and non-equivalence. Our class-level testing methodology addresses both of these aspects. For the testing of behavioral equivalence, we propose to select fundamental pairs of equivalent ground terms as test cases using a black-box technique based on algebraic specifications, and then determine by means of a white-box technique whether the objects resulting from executing such test cases are observationally equivalent. To address the testing of behavioral non-equivalence, we have identified and analyzed several non-trivial problems in the current literature. We propose to classify term equivalence into four types, thereby setting up new concepts and deriving important properties. Based on these results, we propose an approach to deal with the problems in the generation of non-equivalent ground terms as test cases. Relatively little research has contributed to cluster-level testing. In this paper, we also discuss black-box testing at the cluster level. We illustrate the feasibility of using Contract, a formal specification language for the behavioral dependencies and interactions among cooperating objects of different classes in a given cluster. We propose an approach to test the interactions among different classes using every individual message-passing rule in the given Contract specification. We also present an approach to examine the interactions among composite message-passing rules. We have developed four testing tools to support our methodology. |
| File Format | |
| Volume Number | 10 |
| Journal | ACM TRANSACTIONS ON SOFTWARE ENGINEERING AND METHODOLOGY |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2001-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Cluster Level Object-oriented Software Test Case System Level Behavioral Equivalence Different Class Implemented System Several Different Level Individual Message-passing Rule Little Research Term Equivalence Cluster-level Testing Methodology Address Formal Specification Language Algebraic Specification Behavioral Dependency Functional Call Fundamental Pair Algorithmic Level Non-equivalent Ground Term Behavioral Non-equivalence Several Non-trivial Problem Current Literature Class-level Testing Object-oriented Programming Important Property Conventional Program Composite Message-passing Rule Static Hierarchy Black-box Testing Equivalent Ground Term Class Level White-box Technique New Concept Black-box Technique Contract Specification New Challenge Conventional Programming Unforeseen Combination |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
