Structural testing based on minimum kernels

Structural testing techniques, such as statement and branch coverage, play an important role in improving the dependability of software systems. However, finding a set of tests which guarantees high coverage is a time-consuming task. We present a technique for structural testing based on kernel computation. A kernel satisfies the property that any set of tests which executes all vertices (edges) of the kernel executes all vertices (edges) of the program´s flowgraph. We present a linear-time algorithm for computing minimum kernels based on pre- and post-dominator relations of a flowgraph.