Heuristic search with reachability tests for automated generation of test programs

Our research complements the current research on automated specification-based testing by proposing a scheme that combines the setup process, test execution, and test validation into a single test program for testing the behavior of object-oriented classes. The test program can be generated automatically given the desired test cases and closed algebraic specifications of the classes. The core of the test program generator is a partial-order planner which plans the sequence of instructions required in the test program. A first cut implementation of the planner has been presented by Leow et al. (2004) based on simple depth-first search. This work presents a more efficient and effective heuristic search algorithm that performs reachability tests using the Omega calculator. Test results show that heuristic search with reachability tests significantly reduce the search time required to generate a valid sequence of instructions.