Regression Test Cases Generation Based on Automatic Model Revision

Regression testing is a widely used way to assure the quality of modified software. It requires executing a suite of test cases to ensure that modifications do not introduce any negative impact to software behavior. To collect test cases in the suite that can reveal modifications, different versions of software must be compared carefully. Existing approaches, relying on manual examination on programs or models to identify differences, are expensive. In the paper, we present a fully automatic approach to generating regression test cases based on activity diagram revision. By collecting execution traces and revising old activity diagrams, the approach firstly constructs new activity diagrams that can reveal software behavior changes. Then, both affected paths and new paths in activity diagrams are identified. Finally, an execution-based approach is applied to generate regression test cases whose execution can cover these paths. Experiments show the effectiveness of our approach.