System and method for testing a protocol using targeted variant input

• US 20060193342A1
• Filed: 02/25/2005
• Published: 08/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Sarsfield, Brad
• Application Number:
  US11/066,018
• Publication Number:
  US 20060193342A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/151 Transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/205 Parsing

Abstract

The value of one or more selected nodes in a data format definition may be substituted with a variant placeholder. At runtime, when an input token stream is generated from the data format definition, each variant placeholder will be replaced with a random value, thereby providing targeted variant input.

Claims

1. A method for testing a data format comprising:

receiving a data format definition that defines a plurality of tokens within the data format, each of the tokens having a corresponding value, at least one of the tokens having its corresponding value substituted with a variant; and

generating a token stream in accordance with the data format definition whereby at least one token in the stream has its corresponding value and each of the at least one variants is replaced with a random value.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a data format definition that defines a protocol.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a data format definition that defines a file format.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a data format definition that defines the data format in a language based format.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a data format definition that defines the data format in a context free grammar.

6. The method of claim 5, comprising receiving a data format definition that defines the data format in a Backus Naur Form context free grammar.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising transforming the context free grammar data format definition into an extensible markup language data format definition.

8. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving a data format definition that defines the data format according to at least one of a fixed length data property, a length prefix property, and a data offset property.

10. A computer readable medium having computer executable instructions for performing the steps recited in claim 1.

9. The method of clam 1, further comprising replacing at least one of the variants with a random value that is selected from a set of smart values comprising at least one of a null value, a half way value, a maximum value, a correct value, a value within a pre-determined range of values greater than the correct value, and a value within a pre-determined range of values less than the correct value.

11. A system for testing a data format comprising:

a data format definition that defines a plurality of tokens within the data format, each of the tokens having a corresponding value, at least one of the tokens having its corresponding value substituted with a variant; and

a test data format generator that receives the data format definition and generates a token stream in accordance with the data format definition whereby at least one token in the stream has its corresponding value and each of the at least one variants is replaced with a random value.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the data format is a file format.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the data format is a protocol.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the data format definition defines the data format in a language based format.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the data format definition defines the data format in a context free grammar.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the context free grammar is Backus Naur Form.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the context free grammar data format definition is transformed into a human readable data format definition.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the human readable data format definition defines the data format in extensible markup language.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the data format comprises at least one of a fixed length data property, a length prefix property, and a data offset property.

20. The system of clam 11, wherein the random value is selected from a set of smart values comprising at least one of a null value, a half way value, a maximum value, a correct value, a value within a pre-determined range of values greater than the correct value, and a value within a pre-determined range of values less than the correct value.