Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/84879

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Title

Semi-proving: an integrated method for program proving, testing, and debugging

Author(s)

Chen, Tsong Yueh;  Tse, T. H.;  Zhou, Zhi Quan

Abstract

We present an integrated method for program proving, testing, and debugging. Using the concept of metamorphic relations, we select necessary properties for target programs. For programs where global symbolic evaluation can be conducted and the constraint expressions involved can be solved, we can either prove that these necessary conditions for program correctness are satisfied, or identify all inputs that violate the conditions. For other programs, our method can be converted into a symbolic testing approach. Our method extrapolates from the correctness of a program for tested inputs to the correctness of the program for related untested inputs. The method supports automatic debugging through the identification of constraint expressions that reveal failures.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. Faculty of Information and Communication Technologies. Centre for Software Analysis and Testing

Source

IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Vol. 37, no. 1 (Jan-Feb 2011), pp. 109-125

Publication year

2011

FOR Code(s)

0803 Computer Software;  0806 Information Systems

Keyword(s)

Debugging;  Program verification;  Software verification;  Symbolic execution;  Testing

Publisher

IEEE

ISSN

0098-5589

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TSE.2010.23

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 IEEE. The accepted manuscript of the paper is reproduced here in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.

Research Projects

Metamorphic testing: an in depth study to enhance the failure detection capability of software testing without an oracle, Australian Research Council grant DP0771733

Full text

Peer reviewed