Cryptographic Verification of Test Coverage Claims

The market for software components is growing, driven on the "demand side" by the need for rapid deployment of highly functional products, and on the "supply side" by distributed object standards. As components and component vendors proliferate, there is naturally a growing concern about quality, and the effectiveness of testing processes. White-box testing, particularly the use of coverage criteria, is a widely used method for measuring the "thoroughness" of testing efforts. High levels of test coverage are used as indicators of good quality control procedures. Software vendors who can demonstrate high levels of test coverage have a credible claim to high quality. However, verifying such claims involves knowledge of the source code, test cases, build procedures, etc. In applications where reliability and quality are critical, it would be desirable to verify test coverage claims without forcing vendors to give up valuable technical secrets. In this paper,...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1997
• Where: ESEC
• Authors: Premkumar T. Devanbu, Stuart G. Stubblebine
• Keywords: Claims Involves Knowledge, ESEC 1997, Software Engineering, Test Coverage, Test Coverage Claims