Automatic test selection based on CEFSM specifications

Abstract

Mutation analysis is a fault based testing method used initially for code based software testing. In this paper, this method is applied to formal specifications and used for automatic conformance test selection. This paper defines formally a set of mutation operators for CEFSM (Communicating Extended Finite State Machine) systems to enable the automated creation of mutant specifications. Mutants of a specification are used as selection criteria to pick out adequate test cases. Two different algorithms are proposed for the generation and selection of efficient test suites. Additionally, the operators and algorithms provide the basis of an automatic tool developed at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. We present the results of an empirical study on the well-known INRES protocol acquired using the tool.