Model independent input reduction

• US 7,493,522 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2006
• Issued: 02/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Rosaria, Steven M.
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DIEU MINH T
• Application Number:
  US11/275,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20070240113A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,114 Days
• Field of Search: 714/38, 714/37, 717/124, 717/125, 717/126
• US Class Current: 714/38.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3696 Methods or tools to render software testable
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques

Abstract

A software reduction component may be provided with a software interface. The software interface may define a test case load method also define a model load method. The reduction component has logic for reducing test cases loaded via implementations of the method definitions. An implementation of the software interface can be provided. The implementation has an implementation of the defined test case load method, which can parse test cases in a first format and can build data structures corresponding to the test cases that are accessible by the software reduction component. The implementation can also have an implementation of the defined model load method, which can parse descriptions of models of respective programs and generate therefrom model data structures that model behavior of the respective programs.

Claims

1. One or more computer storage media storing computer executable instructions, wherein execution of the computer executable instructions causes a computer to perform a process that implements an interface, the process comprising:

at an implementation of the interface;

generating a working model of a program by reading a model description with a first format, the model description describing transitions between states that correspond to transitions between states of the program;

loading a test path and mapping it to the working model;

at a reduction engine having the interface;

reducing the test path;

causing the program to execute according to the reduced test path; and

determining whether the execution of the reduced test path reproduced a same program condition as the original unreduced test path;

at another implementation of the interface;

generating another working model of another program by reading another model description with a second format, the other model description describing transitions between states that correspond to transitions between states of the other program;

loading another test path and mapping it to the other working model; and

at the reduction engine having the interface;

reducing the other test path;

causing the other program to execute according to the reduced other test path; and

determining whether the execution of the other reduced test path reproduced a same program condition as the other original unreduced test path.

2. One or more computer storage media according to claim 1, wherein reducing the test path comprises selecting two nodes on the test path and finding a minimal path through the model between the two nodes.

3. One or more computer storage media according to claim 1, the process further comprising repeating the reducing, causing, and determining until a threshold for reducing the test path is reached.

4. One or more computer storage media according to claim 1, the executing the program according to the reduced test is performed by a program driver that drives the program according to the reduced test case received thereby.

5. One or more computer storage media according to claim 1, wherein the program condition comprises an error state and the initial test path and the reduced test path both produce the error state in the program.

6. One or more computer storage media according to claim 1, wherein reducing the test path includes communicating with any of different implementations of the interface that are able to read different respective formats of program models to provide the reduction component with working models of programs and are able to use respective different formats of test cases, and using the working models to reduce the test cases while preserving conditions that the unreduced test cases give rise to in the respective programs under test.

7. One or more computer storage media according to claim 6, wherein reducing the test path includes reducing the test cases by replacing a subpath of the test case through the working model with a minimized subpath through the working model.

8. One or more computer storage media according to claim 7, wherein reducing the test path includes applying the test case with the minimized subpath to the corresponding program.

9. One or more computer storage media according to claim 8, wherein reducing the test path includes receiving an indication of whether the test case with the minimized subpath preserved the condition in the corresponding program.

10. One or more computer storage media according to claim 6, wherein reducing the test path includes reducing test cases with incompatible formats.

11. One or more computer storage media according to claim 6, wherein the different implementations drive their respective programs using test drivers specific thereto.

12. One or more computer storage media according to claim 6, wherein in response to a request to reduce a test case, a client invokes a reduction component and the reduction component invokes the implementation that corresponds to the test case requested to be reduced.