A safe, efficient regression test selection technique

Abstract

Regression testing is an expensive but necessary maintenance activity performed on modified software to provide confidence that changes are correct and do not adversely affect other portions of the softwore. A regression test selection technique choses, from an existing test set, thests that are deemed necessary to validate modified software. We present a new technique for regression test selection. Our algorithms construct control flow graphs for a precedure or program and its modified version and use these graphs to select tests that execute changed code from the original test suite. We prove that, under certain conditions, the set of tests our technique selects includes every test from the original test suite that con expose faults in the modified procedfdure or program. Under these conditions our algorithms are safe . Moreover, although our algorithms may select some tests that cannot expose faults, they are at lease as precise as other safe regression test selection algorithms. Unlike many other regression test selection algorithms, our algorithms handle all language constructs and all types of program modifications. We have implemented our algorithms; initial empirical studies indicate that our technique can significantly reduce the cost of regression testing modified software.

An Effective Regression Testing Approach for PHP Web Applications

“…First, the constraint collector gathers constraint information by analyzing all branching nodes of the path. In our example for path {1, 2, 3,4,5,7,8,9,11 …”

“…To date, many regression testing techniques have been proposed, and most of them have focused on reusing the existing test cases for regression test selection (e.g., [4], [5]) and test case prioritization (e.g., [3], [28]). Recently, researchers have started working on test suite augmentation techniques which create new test cases for areas that have been affected by changes [6], [7], [9], [8], [29].…”

“…To date, the majority of regression testing approaches have focused on utilizing existing test cases (e.g., [3], [4], [5]), but to test updated features or new functionalities throughly, we need new test cases that can cover areas that existing test cases cannot. Creating new, executable test cases for affected areas of the code, which is known as a test suite augmentation problem [6], is one of the important regression testing problems, but only a few researchers have started working on this problem [6], [7], [8], [9].…”

Adaptive Regression Testing Strategy: An Empirical Study

“…+ runT echinique(i) + testExecution(i) + resultsV alidation(i) + f aultDetectionDelay(i))) (3) Significantly, the model accounts for costs and benefits across entire system lifetimes, rather than on snapshots (i.e. single releases) of those systems, through equations that calculate costs and benefits across entire sequences of system releases.…”

“…To date, many regression testing techniques have been proposed. For instance, regression test selection techniques (e.g., [1], [2], [3]) reduce testing costs by selecting test cases that are necessary to test a modified program. Test case prioritization techniques (e.g., [4], [5], [6]) reorder test cases, scheduling test cases with the highest priority according to some criterion earlier in the testing process to yield benefits such as providing earlier feedback to testers and earlier fault detection.…”