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Automated test generation from timed automata

  • Special section on trends in verification and validation
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Abstract

Testing is the most dominant validation activity used by industry today, and there is an urgent need for improving its effectiveness, both with respect to the time and resources for test generation and execution, and obtained test coverage. We present a new technique for automatic generation of real-time black-box conformance tests for non-deterministic systems from a determinizable class of timed automata specifications with a dense time interpretation. In contrast to other attempts, our tests are generated using a coarse equivalence class partitioning of the specification. To analyze the specification, to synthesize the timed tests, and to guarantee coverage with respect to a coverage criterion, we use the efficient symbolic techniques recently developed for model checking of real-time systems. Application of our prototype tool to a realistic specification shows promising results in terms of both the test suite size, and the time and space used for test generation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Computer Science, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajersvej 7E, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark

    Brian Nielsen & Arne Skou

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  1. Brian Nielsen
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  2. Arne Skou
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Correspondence to Brian Nielsen or Arne Skou.

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Nielsen, B., Skou, A. Automated test generation from timed automata. Int J Softw Tools Technol Transfer 5, 59–77 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10009-002-0094-1

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