Search based path and input data generation for web application testing

Test case generation for web applications aims at ensuring full coverage of the navigation structure. Existing approaches resort to crawling and manual/random input generation, with or without a preliminary construction of the navigation model. However, crawlers might be unable to reach some parts of the web application and random input generation might not receive enough guidance to produce the inputs needed to cover a given path. In this paper, we take advantage of the navigation structure implicitly specified by developers when they write the page objects used for web testing and we define a novel set of genetic operators that support the joint generation of test inputs and feasible navigation paths. On a case study, our tool Subweb was able to achieve higher coverage of the navigation model than crawling based approaches, thanks to its intrinsic ability of generating inputs for feasible paths and of discarding likely infeasible paths

Search-based software engineering: A search-based approach for testing from extended finite state machine (EFSM) models

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The extended finite state machine (EFSM) is a powerful modelling approach that has been applied to represent a wide range of systems. Despite its popularity, testing from an EFSM is a substantial problem for two main reasons: path feasibility and path test case generation. The path feasibility problem concerns generating transition paths through an EFSM that are feasible and satisfy a given test criterion. In an EFSM, guards and assignments in a path‟s transitions may cause some selected paths to be infeasible. The problem of path test case generation is to find a sequence of inputs that can exercise the transitions in a given feasible path. However, the transitions‟ guards and assignments in a given path can impose difficulties when producing such data making the range of acceptable inputs narrowed down to a possibly tiny range. While search-based approaches have proven efficient in automating aspects of testing, these have received little attention when testing from EFSMs. This thesis proposes an integrated search-based approach to automatically test from an EFSM. The proposed approach generates paths through an EFSM that are potentially feasible and satisfy a test criterion. Then, it generates test cases that can exercise the generated feasible paths. The approach is evaluated by being used to test from five EFSM cases studies. The achieved experimental results demonstrate the value of the proposed approach.Aleppo University, Syri

Investigation of Prediction Accuracy, Sensitivity, and Parameter Stability of Large-Scale Propagation Path Loss Models for 5G Wireless Communications

This paper compares three candidate large-scale propagation path loss models for use over the entire microwave and millimeter-wave (mmWave) radio spectrum: the alpha-beta-gamma (ABG) model, the close-in (CI) free space reference distance model, and the CI model with a frequency-weighted path loss exponent (CIF). Each of these models have been recently studied for use in standards bodies such as 3GPP, and for use in the design of fifth generation (5G) wireless systems in urban macrocell, urban microcell, and indoor office and shopping mall scenarios. Here we compare the accuracy and sensitivity of these models using measured data from 30 propagation measurement datasets from 2 GHz to 73 GHz over distances ranging from 4 m to 1238 m. A series of sensitivity analyses of the three models show that the physically-based two-parameter CI model and three-parameter CIF model offer computational simplicity, have very similar goodness of fit (i.e., the shadow fading standard deviation), exhibit more stable model parameter behavior across frequencies and distances, and yield smaller prediction error in sensitivity testing across distances and frequencies, when compared to the four-parameter ABG model. Results show the CI model with a 1 m close-in reference distance is suitable for outdoor environments, while the CIF model is more appropriate for indoor modeling. The CI and CIF models are easily implemented in existing 3GPP models by making a very subtle modification -- by replacing a floating non-physically based constant with a frequency-dependent constant that represents free space path loss in the first meter of propagation.Comment: Open access available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=743465

Time for change: a new training programme for morpho-molecular pathologists?

The evolution of cellular pathology as a specialty has always been driven by technological developments and the clinical relevance of incorporating novel investigations into diagnostic practice. In recent years, the molecular characterisation of cancer has become of crucial relevance in patient treatment both for predictive testing and subclassification of certain tumours. Much of this has become possible due to the availability of next-generation sequencing technologies and the whole-genome sequencing of tumours is now being rolled out into clinical practice in England via the 100 000 Genome Project. The effective integration of cellular pathology reporting and genomic characterisation is crucial to ensure the morphological and genomic data are interpreted in the relevant context, though despite this, in many UK centres molecular testing is entirely detached from cellular pathology departments. The CM-Path initiative recognises there is a genomics knowledge and skills gap within cellular pathology that needs to be bridged through an upskilling of the current workforce and a redesign of pathology training. Bridging this gap will allow the development of an integrated 'morphomolecular pathology' specialty, which can maintain the relevance of cellular pathology at the centre of cancer patient management and allow the pathology community to continue to be a major influence in cancer discovery as well as playing a driving role in the delivery of precision medicine approaches. Here, several alternative models of pathology training, designed to address this challenge, are presented and appraised

Design of High-Speed Multiplier with Optimised Builtinself-Test

Current trend in Integrated Circuits (IC) implementation such as System-on-Chip has contributed significant advantages in electronic product features such as high circuit performance with high number of functions, small physical area and high reliability. Since the development of System-on-Chip, which is based on integrating subsystems supplied by various Intellectual Properties (IP) Block vendors, the required design time is shorter when compared to that of full-custom IC implementation. However, testing each internal subsystems using the common scan-path method where test data are generated and analyzed externally is considered too time consuming when the number of subsystems is high. Therefore, by including Built-In-Self-Test (BIST) facility into each subsystem is considered a good solution. Commonly, BIST structure is based on random test data generation from a Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR) due to its simple, small and economical circuit structure. Since t he number of subsystems in an IC chip is going to be increased from time to time, improvement on the BIST approach is required to provide shorter testing time while keeping the good features of LFSR. For this reason, development of test pattern for BIST based on combination of LFSR and deterministic approach could provide one of the solutions to reduce the testing time. In this research, the possibility of combining LFSR features and deterministic test pattern was carried out. A parallel high-speed multiplier considered as one of the demanding subsystems was chosen to verify the proposed BIST performance. Results show that the testing time (with 100% fault coverage) was reduced significantly when compared to the testing time taken for the BIST that was totally based on random test data generation. One of the reasons for this achievement is only one basic cell of the multiplier is required to determine the test pattern by considering the data flow from one cell to another. Identical test data can then be applied to both multiplier inputs simultaneously. This is the significant finding of the research. Further works based on the finding are also identified