DocumentCode :
2865516
Title :
Code coverage, what does it mean in terms of quality?
Author :
Williams, T.W. ; Mercer, M.R. ; Mucha, J.P. ; Kapur, R.
Author_Institution :
Synopsis Inc., Boulder, CO, USA
fYear :
2001
fDate :
2001
Firstpage :
420
Lastpage :
424
Abstract :
Unit code test coverage has long been known to be an important metric for testing software, and many development groups require 85% coverage to achieve quality targets. Assume we have a test, T1 which has 100% code coverage and it detects a set of defects, D1. The question, which is answered here, is "What percentage of the defects in D1 will be detected if a random subset of the tests in T1 are applied to the code, which has code coverage of X% of the code?" The purpose of this paper is to show the relation between code quality and code coverage. The relationship is derived via a model of code defect levels. A sampling technique is employed and modeled with the hypergeometric distribution while assuming uniform probability and a random distribution of defects in the code, which invokes the binomial distribution. The result of this analysis is a simple relation between defect level and quality of the code delivered after the unit code is tested. This model results in the rethinking of the use of unit code test metrics and the use of support tools
Keywords :
binomial distribution; program testing; binomial distribution; code coverage; code defect levels; code quality; hypergeometric distribution; random defects distribution; sampling technique; software testing; uniform probability; unit code test coverage; Error analysis; Mathematical model; Sampling methods; Software quality; Software testing;
fLanguage :
English
Publisher :
ieee
Conference_Titel :
Reliability and Maintainability Symposium, 2001. Proceedings. Annual
Conference_Location :
Philadelphia, PA
ISSN :
0149-144X
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-6615-8
Type :
conf
DOI :
10.1109/RAMS.2001.902502
Filename :
902502
Link To Document :
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