ATAfakeIt is a block of code that, when executed, will artificially create a program state that will make the ATAcondition True. An environment that implements ATA blocks will include a system-defined ATAwarning that executes each time any ATA condition evaluates to True. Typical ATAwarning actions could include a console signal and logging a message in a special file. An ATA block is designed to have different behavior during testing than it does after release. At this first testing encounter, if the ATAcondition evaluates to True, the testing environment issues a special warning and executes the ATAaction .
Testing continues by completing the current test and executing subsequent tests.
ATA blocks that have been marked covered are thereafter executed as if this were a normal program execution. ATA blocks are marked covered only when the ATA condition is faked. There are two reasons for this decision. First, the True evaluation is an unwelcome surprise that should be dealt with before release. A programming environment for ATA blocks would keep track of simple condition coverage during testing, and would implement the ATA block executions described previously.