Assertion-Directed Test Case Generation

How to effectively generate test cases is the key to software testing. In our previous research, we applied the program dynamic invariant as feedback to guide test case generation, and that can reduce the redundancy and improve the coverage effectively. However, the repeated extraction of program dynamic invariants significantly increased the burden of test case generation. To address this issue, we present a novel technique that automatically converts program dynamic invariant into assertion and then make use of the assertion to direct the process of test case generation. If the new test case does not violate the assertion (that means the new test case will change the program invariant), then the new case is a valid test case, otherwise it is a redundant invalid test case. This method can avoid the repetition of extracting the same program invariant. Our experimental results indicate that, while not reducing the quality of the generated test cases, the assertion-directed method can greatly reduce the time cost of test case generation.