Method and apparatus for testing implementations of software specifications
US6038378A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 10, 1996 |
| Grant date | Mar 14, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 10, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/3684
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for automatically generating validation tests for implementations of a program specification for an operating system, software application or a machine, where the program specification is expressed at least in part in terms of data structures and relationships. The method is carried out by a computer. The program specification is expressed in an interface specification language which is automatically parsed, and is then transformed into an extended finite state machine (EFSM) or multiple-EFSM architecture internally represented in the computer, the EFSM including objects representing states and transitions between those states representing executable functions, annotated to the states. The annotations may represent predicates, test data, value assignments, branch conditions, etc. The EFSM or architecture is traversed by a path traversal procedure, either exhaustively or in part, thereby producing path files, one for each path taken. Each path file is linked to a program shell, which is automatically generated for the specification, resulting in one independent validation test for each path file. Each validation test includes a call to the implementation of th…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.