On random and partition testing
Published 1 March 1998
Simeon Ntafos
Citations66
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
Abstract
There have been many comparisons of random and partition testing. Proportional partition testing has been suggested as the optimum way to perform partition testing. In this paper we show that this might not be so and discuss some of the problems with previous studies. We look at the expected cost of failures as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of testing strategies and use it to compare random testing, uniform partition testing and proportional partition testing. Also, we introduce partition testing strategies that try to take the cost of failures into account and present some results on their effectiveness.
Keywords
Computer Science
ComputerHints on Test Data Selection: Help for the Practicing Programmer
2,036 Citations1978Richard A. DeMillo, R.J. Lipton +1 more
In many cases tests of a program that uncover simple errors are also effective in uncovering much more complex errors, so-called coupling effect can be used to save work during the testing process.
Elsevier eBooksSoftware testing techniques
1,290 Citations1990P. David Coward
This chapter discusses the different aspects of software testing techniques and an important component of functional testing is an oracle, which treats the program as a box with its contents hidden from view.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringAn Evaluation of Random Testing
680 Citations1984Joe W. Duran, Simeon Ntafos
Simulation results are presented which suggest that random testing may often be more cost effective than partition testing schemes and results of actual random testing experiments are presented, which confirm the viability of random testing as a useful validation tool.
Art of Software Testing
566 Citations1979Glenford J. Myers
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringPartition testing does not inspire confidence (program testing)
401 Citations1990Dick Hamlet, Ramsay Taylor
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringA Domain Strategy for Computer Program Testing
376 Citations1980Lee White, Edward I. Cohen
This paper presents a testing strategy desiged to detect errors in the control flow of a computer program, and the conditions under which this strategy is reliable are given and characterized.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringAnalyzing partition testing strategies
353 Citations1991Elaine J. Weyuker, Bingchiang Jeng
The effects of subdomain modifications on partition testing's ability to detect faults are studied, and comparisons of the fault detection capabilities of partition testing and random testing are made.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringTheories of Program Testing and the Application of Revealing Subdomains
224 Citations1980Elaine J. Weyuker, Thomas J. Ostrand
The concepts of a revealing test criterion and a revealing subdomain are proposed and used to provide a basis for constructing program tests.
IEEE SoftwareEngineering software under statistical quality control
153 Citations1990Richard H. Cobb, Harlan D. Mills
Information and Software TechnologyProportional sampling strategy: guidelines for software testing practitioners
145 Citations1996F. T. Chan, Tsong Yueh Chen +2 more
In this paper, it is discussed how the proportional sampling strategy can be applied effectively in practice and some practical issues that need to be attended are identified and guidelines to deal with these issues are suggested.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringOn the relationship between partition and random testing
133 Citations1994Tsong Yueh Chen, Y.T. Yu
It is found that partition testing is guaranteed to perform at least as well as random testing so long as the number of test cases selected is in proportion to the size of the subdomains.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringOn the expected number of failures detected by subdomain testing and random testing
129 Citations1996Tsong Yueh Chen, Y.T. Yu
With the E-measure, new characterizations of subdomain testing are obtained, including several new conditions that determine whether sub domain testing is more or less effective than random testing.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringA functional approach to program testing and analysis
85 Citations1986William E. Howden
An integrated approach to testing is described which includes both static and dynamic analysis methods and which is based on theoretical results that prove both its effectiveness and efficiency.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringOn some reliability estimation problems in random and partition testing
77 Citations1993Markos Z. Tsoukalas, Joe W. Duran +1 more
Choosing a testing method to deliver reliability
40 Citations1997Phyllis G. Frankl, Dick Hamlet +2 more
Three types of testing are exhibited in which each kind of testing is superior and one is shown to be superior.
IEEE Transactions on Software EngineeringOptimal test distributions for software failure cost estimation
37 Citations1995Walter J. Gutjahr
This approach incorporates in the reliability concept a distinction between different degrees of failure severity, and it is shown how to estimate the proposed quantity by means of random testing, using the Importance Sampling technique from Rare Event Simulation.
Rare conditions-an important cause of failures
34 Citations2002H. Hecht
Investigation of differences in failure rate between rarely executed code (RC) and frequently execution code (FC) in the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network (DSN) found that the inability to handle multiple rare conditions is a prominent cause of program failure in well-tested systems.
ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and MethodologyUsing failure cost information for testing and reliability assessment
29 Citations1996Elaine J. Weyuker
A technique for incorporating failure cost information into algorithms designed to automatically generate software-load-testing suites is presented and examples are presented to show the usefulness of including cost information when testing or assessing software.
IEEE SoftwareA cost-effective approach to testing
27 Citations1991Susan A. Sherer
The method constitutes theoretical foundation for the cost-effective development of software that attempts to reduce the risk of failure and can use the failure-risk estimates to better determine how much testing effort can be economically justified.
Information Processing LettersA more general sufficient condition for partition testing to be better than random testing
27 Citations1996Tsong Yueh Chen, Yuen Tak Yu
A more general sufficient condition is proved that partition testing is better than random testing so long as test cases are selected in proportion to the size of partitions.
The Computer JournalConstraints for Safe Partition Testing Strategies
14 Citations1996Tsong Yueh Chen
It is proved that, when the input domain is large enough with respect to the numbers of failure-causing inputs and test cases, a safe partition testing strategy cannot deviate from the proportional sampling strategy other than rounding due to integral constraints.
Journal of Systems and SoftwareMeasuring software failure risk: Methodology and an example
10 Citations1994Susan A. Sherer
The economic significance of failure is incorporated with software reliability theory to assess software failure risk—the expected loss resulting from software failure.