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    An Interpretation of Purdom's Algorithm for Automatic Generation of Test Cases


    Malloy, Brian A. and Power, James F. (2001) An Interpretation of Purdom's Algorithm for Automatic Generation of Test Cases. In: International Conference on Computer and Information Science, 3-5 October 2001, Orlando, Florida.

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    Abstract

    We present a structured reformulation of the seminal algorithm for automatic generation of test cases for a context-free grammar. Our reformulation simplifies the algorithm in several ways. First, we provide a structured reformulation so that it is obvious where to proceed at each step. Second, we partition the intricate third phase into five functions, so that the discussion and comprehension of this phase can be modularized. Our implementation of the algorithm provides information about the grammatic, syntactic and semantic correctness of the generated test cases for two important languages in use today: C and C++. The results of our study of C and C++ highlight a lacuna latent in the research to date. In particular, if one or more of the automatically generated test cases is syntactically or semantically incorrect, then the confidence of structural \coverage" may be compromised for the particular grammar-based tool under test. Our ongoing work focuses on a solution to this problem.
    Item Type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
    Keywords: Structural-based testing; implementation- based testing; black-box testing; white-box testing; context-free grammar; parsing; re-engineering;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Science and Engineering > Computer Science
    Item ID: 6434
    Depositing User: Dr. James Power
    Date Deposited: 01 Oct 2015 15:19
    Refereed: No
    URI: https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/6434
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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