Generating test cases via model-based simulation

We present a new model-based test case generation approach, which takes inputs an executable system model and preliminary test case coverage, performs an automated model simulation, and eventually generates refined test cases for software testing. We adopt Live Sequence Charts to specify an executable system model, and present a logic-based model simulator for consistency testing. As a result, our model simulator produces a state transition diagram(STD) justifying the model's runtime behaviors, where each state is labeled with a set of runtime properties that are true in the state. The STD can then be automatically transformed into a refined set of test cases, in a form of a context-free grammar. Finally, we show that LSCs can also be used to specify and test certain temporal system properties during the model simulation. Their satisfaction, reflected in the STD, can either be served as a directive for selective test generation, or a basis for further temporal property model checking.