On-line testing for application software of widely distributed system

Abstract

Widely distributed systems are constructed step-bystep over a long time. These systems must permit online testing. On-line testing verifies newly added application software by receiving the real data in the real environment without disrupting the operating subsystems. To enable testing during system operation, a n on-line test technique based on autonomous decentralized syst e m structure was proposed. In this paper, the functions t o verify various types of application software are proposed: (1) f o r non-real-time application software, checking whether it communicates with every operating application software. (2) f o r real-time application software, checking whether timing of output data is within the timing-deadline or not. (3) f o r n e w version software, verifying whether the version of all functions is newer than that of functions in the present software. An ezample of application software applied t o the online test and the effectiveness of the technique is shown in a real system.