Software Testing, 4th Edition

Chapter 9

Data Flow Testing

Data flow testing is an unfortunate term because it suggests some connection with data flow diagrams; no connection exists. Data flow testing refers to forms of structural testing that focus on the points at which variables receive values and the points at which these values are used (or referenced). We will see that data flow testing serves as a “reality check” on path testing; indeed, many of the data flow testing proponents (and researchers) see this approach as a form of path testing. While dataflow and slice-based testing are cumbersome at the unit level; they are well suited for object-oriented code. We will look at two mainline forms of data flow testing: one provides a set of basic definitions and a unifying ...