automatic revision of formal test procedures
An automatic software test driver is a new type of software tool which controls and monitors the execution of software tests. An automatic test driver is controlled by a formal test procedure coded in a special software test language. The test procedure replaces the test data and test setup instructions of conventional testing. The specific goals of automatic test drivers are to eliminate the need for writing drivers and stubs for module and subsystem testing, to provide a standard format and language for specifying software tests, to provide a standard execution setup for software tests, and to automate the verification of test execution results. A test procedure contains input data to be supplied to the program under test and model outputs against which actual outputs of the target program are verified. Typically, ninety percent or more of the text of a test procedure consists of model outputs which must be revised each time the target program is modified. The TPL/2.0 automatic software test driver described in this paper automates both the initial generation and subsequent revision of test procedure model outputs.
automation formalism test procedure software testing software tools control monitor automatic test language data instruction goals writing module standardization verification input model text timing paper generation procedural model