A Formal Architecture-Based Approach to software Integration Testing

9710160正式的软件体系结构规范通过在高层次的抽象上描述系统，使复杂系统的分析、设计和构造在智力上易于处理。该项目着重于通过应用于体系结构级别的测试技术来揭示系统组件的动态交互和通信行为中的缺陷。虽然测试历来集中于将实现作为查询的目标，但本研究将系统的体系结构规范作为目标。这项研究对软件架构和软件测试技术有五个主要贡献。首先，定义一组基于体系结构的集成测试标准，为测试系统的体系结构方面提供需求；还开发了将这些标准应用于体系结构风格和领域特定体系结构的方法。其次，通过体系结构一致性预言器，开发用于测试实现与指定体系结构的一致性的方法。第三，定义了架构级切片技术，用于定位架构缺陷和最小化回归测试。第四，开发了使用特征测试从系统实现中发现系统架构的方法。此外，对各种正式体系结构规范的方法进行了评估，以考虑它们对测试技术的适用性。＊＊＊

9710160 A formal software architecture specification makes the analysis, design, and construction of a complex system intellectually tractable by characterizing the system at a high level of abstraction. This project focuses on revealing defects in the dynamic interaction and communication behavior of system components through testing techniques applied at the architectural level. While testing has historically concentrated on the implementation as the target of inquiry, this research instead considers the architectural specification of the system as the target. There are five major contributions to software architecture and software testing technology arising from this research. First, a set of architecture-based integration test criteria are defined to provide requirements for testing architectural aspects of a system; methods are also developed for applying these criteria to architectural styles and domain- specific architectures. Second, methods are developed for testing an implementation in terms of its conformance to a specified architecture via architecture conformance oracles. Third, architecture-level slicing techniques are defined for localizing architectural defects and minimizing regression testing. Fourth, methods are developed for using feature tests to discover the architecture of a system from its implementation. In addition, various approaches to formal architecture specification are evaluated with respect to their suitability to testing technologies. ***