AUTOMATED SOFTWARE TEST DATA GENERATION

Test data generation in program testing is the process of identifying a set of test data which satisfies given testing criterion. Most of the existing test data generators [6], [8], [10], [16], [30] use symbolic evaluation to derive test data. However, in practical programs this technique frequently requires complex algebraic manipulations, especially in the presence of arrays. In this paper we present an alternative approach of test data generation which is based on actual execution of the program under test, function minimization methods, and dynamic data flow analysis. Test data are developed for the program using actual values of input variables. When the program is executed, the program execution flow is monitored. If during program execution an undesirable execution flow is observed (e.g., the “actual” path does not correspond to the selected control path) then function minimization search algorithms are used to automatically locate the values of input variables for which the selected path is traversed. In addition, dynamic data flow analysis is used to determine those input variables responsible for the undesirable program behavior, leading to significant speedup of the search process. The approach of generating test data is then extended to programs with dynamic data structures, and a search method based on dynamic data flow analysis and backtracking is presented. In the approach described in this paper, values of array indexes and pointers are known at each step of program execution, and this approach exploits this information to overcome difficulties of array and pointer handling; as a result, the effectiveness of test data generation can be significantly improved. © 1990 IEEE