Automated generation of reliability test-data for real-time software with object-oriented technology

This paper tries to solve the problems of generating software reliability testing (SRT) test-data: i.e. how to construct and describe the operational profile for real-time software. According to this effort, real-time software reliability test-data can be generated automatically. The concept of promissory functions is introduced in order to analyze the input space. The input variables that may be involved in a real-time software promissory function are categorized according to their timing and valuing characteristics. The description method of every input variable's characteristics is specified by means of building a set of standard symbols and syntaxes that can be recognized by a computer and used for generating reliability test-data automatically. Based on these symbols and syntaxes, a logic relationships description method is proposed to interpret the constraint relationships among input variables. A model that describes all categories of input variables' properties, behaviors, and their constraint relationships is established with object-oriented technology. A computer-aided software tool used for describing the input variables of the real-time software and generating reliability test-data automatically is developed. An example that illustrates the procedure for describing the input variables of a kind of avionic system software and generating reliability test-data is presented as well. This study provides a basis to generate test-data automatically for real-time software reliability testing.