Foundations of Software Testing: Fundamental Algorithms and Techniques

Test Adequacy Assessment

link = 12− 1

F = 0

Exercises 7.19 and 7.20 provide additional examples of error-revealing

mutants. Exercise 7.21 is designed to illustrate the strength of mutation

with respect to path-oriented adequacy criteria.

In the above example, we have shown that an attempt to distinguish

the variable replacement operator forces the construction of a test case

that causes the program under test to fail. We now ask: Are there other

mutations of misCond that might reveal the fault? In general, such ques-

tions are difficult, if not impossible, to answer without the aid of a tool

that automates the mutant-generation process. Next, we formalize the

notion of an error-revealing mutant such as the one we have seen in the

previous example.

7.9