Time-Space Efficient Regression Testing for Configurable Systems

Configurable systems are those that can be adapted from a set of options. They are prevalent and testing them is important and challenging. Existing approaches for testing configurable systems are either unsound (i.e., they can miss fault-revealing configurations) or do not scale. This paper proposes EvoSPLat, a regression testing technique for configurable systems. EvoSPLat builds on our previously-developed technique, SPLat, which explores all dynamically reachable configurations from a test. EvoSPLat is tuned for two scenarios of use in regression testing: Regression Configuration Selection (RCS) and Regression Test Selection (RTS). EvoSPLat for RCS prunes configurations (not tests) that are not impacted by changes whereas EvoSPLat for RTS prunes tests (not configurations) which are not impacted by changes. Handling both scenarios in the context of evolution is important. Experimental results show that EvoSPLat is promising. We observed a substantial reduction in time (22%) and in the number of configurations (45%) for configurable Java programs. In a case study on a large real-world configurable system (GCC), EvoSPLat reduced 35% of the running time. Comparing EvoSPLat with sampling techniques, 2-wise was the most efficient technique, but it missed two bugs whereas EvoSPLat detected all bugs four times faster than 6-wise, on average.Comment: 14 page

Software test automation : a design and tool selection approach for a heterogeneous environment

textThis report describes a design approach for implementing a software test automation solution that can accommodate existing test processes in an organization. The process of implementing a software test automation solution is a large undertaking and requires careful planning to avoid unsuccessful implementations. This report outlines a design that can integrate with existing business and development processes in an organization, and recommends automation and development frameworks for achieving the test automation goals. Considerations for a heterogeneous test environment with varying types of supported operating systems, such as Windows and Linux, and multiple test execution environments, such as Java and .NET, have been made in this design and in the tool selections for the system implementation. The report also describes some of the challenges and caveats of automation in a heterogeneous environment along with recommended solutions to these challenges.Electrical and Computer Engineerin

Towards Statistical Prioritization for Software Product Lines Testing

Software Product Lines (SPL) are inherently difficult to test due to the combinatorial explosion of the number of products to consider. To reduce the number of products to test, sampling techniques such as combinatorial interaction testing have been proposed. They usually start from a feature model and apply a coverage criterion (e.g. pairwise feature interaction or dissimilarity) to generate tractable, fault-finding, lists of configurations to be tested. Prioritization can also be used to sort/generate such lists, optimizing coverage criteria or weights assigned to features. However, current sampling/prioritization techniques barely take product behavior into account. We explore how ideas of statistical testing, based on a usage model (a Markov chain), can be used to extract configurations of interest according to the likelihood of their executions. These executions are gathered in featured transition systems, compact representation of SPL behavior. We discuss possible scenarios and give a prioritization procedure illustrated on an example.Comment: Extended version published at VaMoS '14 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2556624.2556635

Past, present and future of information and knowledge sharing in the construction industry: Towards semantic service-based e-construction

The paper reviews product data technology initiatives in the construction sector and provides a synthesis of related ICT industry needs. A comparison between (a) the data centric characteristics of Product Data Technology (PDT) and (b) ontology with a focus on semantics, is given, highlighting the pros and cons of each approach. The paper advocates the migration from data-centric application integration to ontology-based business process support, and proposes inter-enterprise collaboration architectures and frameworks based on semantic services, underpinned by ontology-based knowledge structures. The paper discusses the main reasons behind the low industry take up of product data technology, and proposes a preliminary roadmap for the wide industry diffusion of the proposed approach. In this respect, the paper stresses the value of adopting alliance-based modes of operation