Publication 1996 Issue No. 8 - August Abstract - Theory of Fault-Based Predicate Testing for Computer Programs
Theory of Fault-Based Predicate Testing for Computer Programs
August 1996 (vol. 22 no. 8)
pp. 552-562
 ASCII Text x Kuo-Chung Tai, "Theory of Fault-Based Predicate Testing for Computer Programs," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 22, no. 8, pp. 552-562, August, 1996.
 BibTex x @article{ 10.1109/32.536956,author = {Kuo-Chung Tai},title = {Theory of Fault-Based Predicate Testing for Computer Programs},journal ={IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering},volume = {22},number = {8},issn = {0098-5589},year = {1996},pages = {552-562},doi = {http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/32.536956},publisher = {IEEE Computer Society},address = {Los Alamitos, CA, USA},}
 RefWorks Procite/RefMan/Endnote x TY - JOURJO - IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringTI - Theory of Fault-Based Predicate Testing for Computer ProgramsIS - 8SN - 0098-5589SP552EP562EPD - 552-562A1 - Kuo-Chung Tai, PY - 1996KW - Software testingKW - predicate testingKW - fault-based testingKW - boolean operator faultsKW - relational operator faultsKW - off-by-$\epsilon$ faults.VL - 22JA - IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringER -

Abstract—Predicates appear in both the specification and implementation of a program. One approach to software testing, referred to as predicate testing, is to require certain types of tests for a predicate. In this paper, three fault-based testing criteria are defined for compound predicates, which are predicates with one or more AND/OR operators. BOR (boolean operator) testing requires a set of tests to guarantee the detection of (single or multiple) boolean operator faults, including incorrect AND/OR operators and missing/extra NOT operators. BRO (boolean and relational operator) testing requires a set of tests to guarantee the detection of boolean operator faults and relational operator faults (i.e., incorrect relational operators). BRE (boolean and relational expression) testing requires a set of tests to guarantee the detection of boolean operator faults, relational operator faults, and a type of fault involving arithmetical expressions. It is shown that for a compound predicate with n, n > 0, AND/OR operators, at most n + 2 constraints are needed for BOR testing and at most 2 * n + 3 constraints for BRO or BRE testing, where each constraint specifies a restriction on the value of each boolean variable or relational expression in the predicate. Algorithms for generating a minimum set of constraints for BOR, BRO, and BRE testing of a compound predicate are given, and the feasibility problem for the generated constraints is discussed. For boolean expressions that contain multiple occurrences of some boolean variables, how to combine BOR testing with the meaningful impact strategy developed by Weyuker, Goradia, and Singh [21] is briefly described.

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Index Terms:
Software testing, predicate testing, fault-based testing, boolean operator faults, relational operator faults, off-by-$\epsilon$ faults.
Citation:
Kuo-Chung Tai, "Theory of Fault-Based Predicate Testing for Computer Programs," IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, vol. 22, no. 8, pp. 552-562, Aug. 1996, doi:10.1109/32.536956