An extended CSPE-based method for specification-based testing of concurrent programs

CSPE (Constraints on Succeeding and Preceding Events) is a constraint notation used to specify sequencing restrictions on the order of events exercised during an execution of a concurrent program. The constraints specify the expected behavior of the implementation; test sequences generated to cover the constraints are used to detect differences between the expected behavior and the actual behavior of the implementation. This dissertation presents an extended CSPE-based testing method for specification-based testing of concurrent programs. This method is a combination of finite-state and constraint-based testing. Given a finite state machine M, CSPE constraints are derived from M, then test sequences are generated from M to cover the constraints.; CSPE constraints explicitly characterize the logical branching structure that otherwise appears only implicitly in the states and transitions of M. The constraint-based coverage criterion CSPE-1 is used to guide the selection of test sequences that “cover the branches” in M. CSPE-1, however, achieves only minimal coverage. To improve the fault detection ability of testing, new coverage criteria are needed. In this dissertation, stronger coverage criteria are defined for CSPE constraints. In addition, seven new CSPE operators are defined. These operators capture finer distinctions in the branching structure of a finite state machine. Coverage criteria are presented for the new CSPE operators.; The process of CSPE constraint derivation and test sequence generation can be partially automated. A Test Sequence Generator tool (TSG) has been designed and implemented. TSG is used to automatically derive CSPE constraints and generate test sequences that cover the constraints.; Finally, the results of an empirical study based on the Sliding Window Protocol and the Reader/Writer problem are presented. TSG was used to derive CSPE constraints and generate test sequences for both problems. The results show that increasing the level of CSPE constraint coverage increases the overall fault detection ability of constraint-based testing.