Using component metadata to regression test componentbased software

1
Using component metadata to regression test
component-based software

• Author Alessandro Orso1, Hyunsook Do2, Gregg
  Rothermel2,
• Mary Jean Harrold1 and David S. Rosenblum3
• Source Softw. Test. Verif. Reliab. 2006
• Published Wiley InterScience
• Presented by ???

2
Outline

• Introduction
• Background and motivation
• Component metadata
• Code-based regression test using component
  metadata
• Specification-based regression test using
  component metadata
• Conclusion

3
Introduction

• Component-based engineering let complicate
  software engineering tasks.
• This article investigate an alternative method
  for supporting software engineering tasks on
  component-based application, based on the concept
  of component metadata.

4
Introduction cont.
Application A
All test suite T
use
test
Select using component metadata information and
algorithms
Component C
modify
Test suite T
test
Component C
5
Introduction cont.

• two different types of component-metadata-based
  techniques for performing regression test
  selection on component-based software are
  investigated
• code-based regression test selection
• based on statement-level, method-level and
  component-level regression test selection
  algorithms
• specification-based regression test selection,
• based on a statechart diagram representation of
  components

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Background and motivation

• Metadata information currently considered address
  only a limited range of software engineering
  problems
• such as deployment descriptions of components
  ,enhancing self-documentation , providing
  information about a components testing history
  and identifying components misuses .
• None of this previous work has focused on
  software engineering problems currently addressed
  
• for procedural-language programs, by
  program-analysis-based tools and techniques

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Background and motivation cont.

• Metadata
• provide of extra data and methods with components
  would require additional effort on the part of
  component developers, including potential changes
  to development processes.
• Regression Test Selection(RTS)
• Most of these techniques are code-based , author
  used another technique , are specification-based,
  relying on some form of specification instead of
  code.
• Emphasis safety, precision, efficiency

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Component metadata

• Component metadata consists
• Metadata
• information about components
• Metamethods
• methods associated with components that can
  compute or retrieve metadata.
• Component metadata provide a wide range of static
  and dynamic information about a component
• such as coverage information, built-in test
  cases, abstract representations of source code or
  assertions about security properties
• A distinction is made between a priori and
  on-demand metadata.

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Component metadata cont.
Step for gathering method profiling metadata
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata

• Example

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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
13
Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
14
Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
FAULT
In Dispenser modified Val COST/COINVALUE
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.

• DEJAVU approach 14, which utilizes
  control-flow graph (CFG) representations of the
  original and modified versions of the program,
  treating edges in the graph as entities.
• identifies affected edges
• that lead to statements that have been added,
  deleted or modified from CFG to CFG.
• the algorithm uses these affected edges to infer
  a set of dangerous branches. Dangerous branches
  are branches that control the execution of
  affected edges

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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.

• Example identify edge

entry
Line 19

Dangerous branch(19,20)
T
F
Line 20
Affected edges(20,21)
Line 21
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.

• DEJAVU approach to perform RTS
• on VendingMachine when Dispenser is changed to
  Dispenser , DEJAVU constructs control-flow
  graphs CFG for methods in VendingMachine.
• Result
• Identify branch(19,23) as dangerous because it
  lead to a call to component Dispenser
• Selected test case 4-6 and 8-24

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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.

• three types of information are required for each
  component
• 1. coverage of the component achieved by the test
  suite for the application, when the component is
  tested within the application
• 2. the component version
• 3. information on the dangerous branches in the
  component, given the previous and the current
  version of the component.

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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.

• Given the metadata and metamethod , when the
  component user acquires and wishes to regression
  test Dispenser , they begin constructing a
  coverage table for Dispenser.
• Verify that coverage metadata are available for
  Dispenser.
• Enable the built-in instrumentation facilities in
  Dispenser.
• For each test case t in T
• (a) run t and gather coverage information
• (b) use coverage information for t to
  incrementally populate the coverage table.
• Disable the built-in coverage facilities in
  Dispenser.

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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.
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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.

• Given this coverage information, then component
  user invokes DEJAVUMB on their application.
  DEJAVUMB proceeds as follows.
• On methods contained in the users application,
  for which source code is available, DEJAVUMB
  performs its usual actions, previously described.
• On methods contained in Dispenser DEJAVUMB
  performs the following actions
• (a) retrieve Dispensers version number
• (b) use this information to query Dispenser about
  the dangerous branches with respect to Dispense
• (c) select the test cases associated with
  dangerous branches, referencing the coverage
  table.

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Code-based regression test using component
metadata cont.

• Using component metadata result
• Differences between Dispenser and Dispenser
  cause branch(61,64) to be only dangerous branch
  reported.
• Selected test case 5,6,9,11,12 and 13 six test
  case for re-execution .

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Specification-based regression test using
component metadata

• An approach to regression test selection based
  on UML statecharts is considered.
• The technique applies to software that
  integrates an application A with a set of
  software components C by
• combining specifications in the form of
  statecharts for A and C to build a global
  behavioural model,
• identifying differences in the global behavioural
  (GB) model when a new version of C is integrated
  and
• selecting the test cases that exercise changed
  sections of the model.

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GB Model
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Specification-based regression test using
component metadata cont.

• Given a global behavioural model GB
• generate a set of testing requirements for the
  application using any testing technique based on
  state-machine coverage.
• These testing requirements, which are typically
  paths through the state-machine, are then used by
  the tester to generate test cases, resulting in
  test suite T .

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Specification-based regression test using
component metadata cont.
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Specification-based regression test using
component metadata cont.

• To perform this task using the model composition
  approach, the component user is required to do
  the following
• generate a new global behavioural model GB by
  composing statecharts for A with components in C
• compare GB and GB by performing a pairwise walk
  of the two models, marking dangerous transitions,
  that is, edges that have been added, deleted or
  modified in the new model, or edges leading to
  states that differ
• select all test cases in T that traverse at least
  one dangerous transition.

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Specification-based regression test using
component metadata cont.

• Result
• Algorithm identifies the transition from
  ReadyToDispenseEnabled to DispensingEnabledAvail
  as dangerous
• Test Requirement 8 and 10, so two associated test
  case are selected.

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Conclusion

• Whether component metadata can be leveraged to
  support and improve the cost-effectiveness of
  software engineering tasks for component-based
  applications has been presented.