A Simple and Practical Approach to Unit Testing: The JML and JUnit Way

Writing unit test code is labor-intensive, hence it is often not done as an integral part of programming. However, unit testing is a practical approach to increasing the correctness and quality of software; for example, the Extreme Programming approach relies on frequent unit testing. In this paper we present a new approach that makes writing unit tests easier. It uses a formal specification language\u27s runtime assertion checker to decide whether methods are working correctly, thus automating the writing of unit test oracles. These oracles can be easily combined with hand-written test data. Instead of writing testing code, the programmer writes formal specifications (e.g., pre- and postconditions). This makes the programmer\u27s task easier, because specifications are more concise and abstract than the equivalent test code, and hence more readable and maintainable. Furthermore, by using specifications in testing, specification errors are quickly discovered, so the specifications are more likely to provide useful documentation and inputs to other tools. We have implemented this idea using the Java Modeling Language (JML) and the JUnit testing framework, but the approach could be easily implemented with other combinations of formal specification languages and unit test tools

A Simple and Practical Approach to Unit Testing: The JML and JUnit Way

Writing unit test code is labor-intensive, hence it is often not done as an integral part of programming. However, unit testing is a practical approach to increasing the correctness and quality of software; for example, the Extreme Programming approach relies on frequent unit testing. In this paper we present a new approach that makes writing unit tests easier. It uses a formal specification language\u27s runtime assertion checker to decide whether methods are working correctly, thus automating the writing of unit test oracles. These oracles can be easily combined with hand-written test data. Instead of writing testing code, the programmer writes formal specifications (e.g., pre- and postconditions). This makes the programmer\u27s task easier, because specifications are more concise and abstract than the equivalent test code, and hence more readable and maintainable. Furthermore, by using specifications in testing, specification errors are quickly discovered, so the specifications are more likely to provide useful documentation and inputs to other tools. We have implemented this idea using the Java Modeling Language (JML) and the JUnit testing framework, but the approach could be easily implemented with other combinations of formal specification languages and unit test tools

Software quality management improvement through mentoring: an exploratory study from GSD projects

Proceeding of: OTM 2011 Workshops: Confederated InternationalWorkshops and Posters: EI2N+NSF ICE, ICSP+INBAST, ISDE, ORM, OTMA, SWWS+MONET+SeDeS, and VADER 2011, Hersonissos, Crete, Greece, October 17-21, 2011Software Quality Management (SQM) is a set of processes and procedures designed to assure the quality of software artifacts along with their development process. In an environment in which software development is evolving to a globalization, SQM is seen as one of its challenges. Global Software Development is a way to develop software across nations, continents, cultures and time zones. The aim of this paper is to detect if mentoring, one of the lead personnel development tools, can improve SQM of projects developed under GSD. The results obtained in the study reveal that the influence of mentoring on SQM is just temperate

The effect of boundary conditions on the failure of thin plates subjected to impulsive loading

Bibliography: leaves 64-65.This report presents the results of an investigation into the effects of edge boundary conditions on the failure of thin plates subjected to impulsive loading. In previous investigations the discrepancy between experimental results and theoretical solutions and effects observed at the edges of deformed plates have brought the method of securing the plate into question. This investigation examines the effect of edge boundary conditions by comparing the results of previous experiments where the plates were secured by clamping - with experiments where the plates are built-in (integral) with their supports