Title: Automated optimal test data generation for OCL specification using harmony search algorithm

Authors: A. Jalila; D. Jeya Mala

Addresses: KattaPakkir Rowther National Arts and Science College, Batlagundu, Tamil Nadu, India ' Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: Exploring software testing possibilities at an early software life cycle is increasingly necessary to avoid the propagation of defects to the subsequent phases. This requirement demands technique that can generate automated test cases at the initial phases of software development. Thus, we propose a novel framework for automated test data generation using formal specifications written in object constraint language (OCL). We also defined a novel fitness function named exit-predicate-wise branch coverage (EPWBC) to evaluate the generated test data. Another focus of the proposed approach is to optimise the test case generation process by applying, harmony search (HS) algorithm. The experimental results indicate that the proposed framework outperforms the other OCL-based test case generation techniques. Furthermore, it has been inferred that OCL based testing adopting HS algorithm forms an excellent combination to produce more test coverage and an optimal test suite thereby improving the quality of a system.

Keywords: specification-based testing; SBT; object constraint language; OCL; exit-predicate-wise branch coverage; EPWBC; optimal test case generation; harmony search algorithm; HS.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBIDM.2020.104743

International Journal of Business Intelligence and Data Mining, 2020 Vol.16 No.2, pp.231 - 259

Received: 15 May 2017
Accepted: 02 Sep 2017
Published online: 30 Jan 2020 *

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