BUILDING COVERAGE METRICS AND TESTING STRATEGIES FOR MOBILE TESTING VIA VIEW ENUMERATION

• US 20170168922A1
• Filed: 12/09/2015
• Published: 06/15/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: LIGMAN, Joseph William, Pistoia, Marco, Tripp, Omer, Thomas, Gegi
• Granted Patent: US 12,013,775 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3676 for coverage analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database

Abstract

A method and method for testing an application includes performing a static analysis of metadata of coding of an application, using a test application program executed by a processor on a computer. Available user interface states are simulated based on the static analysis. A configuration file of the application is accessed and parsed to enumerate states possible for the application. A coverage metric is calculated for the application based on a number of states reached by the simulating and a number of states possible.

Claims

1. A method of testing an application, said method comprising:

performing a static analysis of metadata of coding of an application, using a test application program executed by a processor on a computer;

simulating available user interface states based on said static analysis;

accessing and parsing a configuration file of said application to enumerate states possible for said application; and

calculating a coverage metric for said application based on a number of states reached by said simulating and a number of states possible.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining which possible states are missing when said simulating is completed.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

determining one or more transitions into said missing states; and

providing a prompt to a user to attempt to arrive at a missing state, based on said determining of transitions.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said determining transitions into missing states comprises exercising at least one stored strategy to automatically exercise transitions to obtain additional information.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said stored strategy comprises exercising one or more transitions while determining whether a region of a view changes as a result of one of the transitions.

6. The method of claim 1, as embodied in a set of computer-readable instructions tangibly embodied on a non-transitory storage medium executable by a computer.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said non-transitory storage medium comprises one of:

a memory device on a computer, as storing instructions for application programs that can selectively be executed by said computer or that can be selectively downloaded to another computer via a network;

a memory device on said computer, as storing instructions for an application program currently being executed by a processor on said computer; and

a standalone memory device that can be inserted into an input port of a computer and uploaded onto said computer.

8. The method of claim 1, as embodied as a module in an application testing program.

9. The method of claim 1, as implemented using one of:

a service available on a network server; and

a service available as a cloud service.

10. A non-transitory storage medium storing a set of computer-readable instructions that permit a computer to execute a method of testing an application program, said method comprising:

performing a static analysis of metadata of coding of an application, using a test application program executed by a processor on a computer;

simulating available user interface states based on said static analysis;

accessing and parsing a configuration file of said application to enumerate states possible for said application; and

calculating a coverage metric for said application based on a number of states reached by said simulating and a number of states possible.

11. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 10, wherein said method is embodied as a module in an application testing program.

12. The non-transitory storage medium of claim 11, wherein said application testing program is implemented using one of:

a service available on a network server; and

a service available as a cloud service.

13. An apparatus, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory system accessible by said processor,

wherein said memory system stores a set of computer-readable instructions that permit said processor to execute a method of testing an application program, said method comprising;

performing a static analysis of metadata of coding of an application, using a test application program executed by a processor on a computer;

simulating available user interface states based on said static analysis;

accessing and parsing a configuration file of said application to enumerate states possible for said application; and

calculating a coverage metric for said application based on a number of states reached by said simulating and a number of states possible.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said memory system comprises:

a memory device storing instructions for application programs that can selectively be executed by said processor or that can be selectively downloaded to a computer via a network; and

a memory device storing instructions for an application program currently being executed by said processor.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, as comprising one of:

a network server; and

a computer on a network that is provides said application program to be available as a cloud service.