Integration test generation for state-based components in the Gamma framework

Abstract

Nowadays, the design of complex reactive systems, e.g., control systems in the railway and aerospace industries, is generally based on the integration of components. Components (subsystems) may come from various parties and operate according to different execution and interaction semantics. Analyzing the joint behavior of such integrated components is a tedious task. This paper introduces a model-based approach in our Gamma Statechart Composition Framework for integration test generation on the basis of collaborating state-based models. Test generation is supported by test coverage criteria and the automatic transformation of composite models into different model checker back-ends. The diagnostic traces returned by the model checkers are automatically mapped into test cases. As novelty, our tool is based on precise composition semantics (synchronous and asynchronous) and relies on model queries to support the modular and flexible specification of element coverage according to various model-based criteria: dataflow, component interactions and static model elements. The tool utilizes model reduction and slicing techniques during the transformations to ease test generation complexity using query-dependent model processing. We demonstrate the applicability of our tool on three industrial subsystems, including an aerospace (NASA) and two railway applications.