An Application of Pairwise Testing for Error Detection in Concolic Testing for Java Projects

The ability to detect errors is a crucial aspect of software testing, particularly for automated test data generation methods such as Concolic testing. This paper introduces a Concolic-based test data generation method, termed PEC, aimed at enhancing the error detection capability of the test data set produced by the Concolic testing method. The fundamental concept of the PEC method involves generating a collection of pairs, with each pair comprising an input parameter and its corresponding list of values. Utilizing this collection, PEC creates a pairwise test data set employing the IPO pairwise test data generation algorithm. As a result, the test data produced by PEC is a fusion of the test data generated by both the Concolic testing method and the IPO pairwise test data generation algorithm. Experimental results indicate that the PEC method surpasses the Concolic testing method in terms of error detection capability.