Covering Array Constructors: An Experimental Analysis of Their Interaction Coverage and Fault Detection

作     者：Huang, Rubing Chen, Haibo Zhou, Yunan Chen, Tsong Yueh Towey, Dave Lau, Man Fai Ng, Sebastian Merkel, Robert Chen, Jinfu 

作者机构：Jiangsu Univ Sch Comp Sci & Commun Engn Zhenjiang 212013 Jiangsu Peoples R China Jiangsu Univ Jiangsu Key Lab Secur Technol Ind Cyberspace Zhenjiang 212013 Jiangsu Peoples R China Jiangsu Univ Sch Comp Sci & Commun Engn Zhenjiang 202013 Jiangsu Peoples R China Swinbume Univ Technol Dept Comp Sci & Software Engn Hawthorn Vic 3122 Australia Univ Nottingham Ningbo China Sch Comp Sci Ningbo 315100 Zhejiang Peoples R China Monash Univ Fac Informat Technol Clayton Vic 3168 Australia 

出 版 物：《COMPUTER JOURNAL》 (计算机杂志)

年 卷 期：2021年第64卷第5期

页      面：762-788页

核心收录：

学科分类：08[工学] 0835[工学-软件工程] 0812[工学-计算机科学与技术（可授工学、理学学位）] 

基　　金：National Natural Science Foundation of China [61502205, 61872167, U1836116] China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [2019T120396] Senior Personnel Scientific Research Foundation of Jiangsu University [14JDG039] Young Backbone Teacher Cultivation Project of Jiangsu University Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province [KYCX19_1614] 

主　　题：combinatorial interaction testing covering array constructor empirical study software testing 

摘      要：Combinatorial interaction testing (CIT) aims at constructing a covering array (CA) of all value combinations at a specific interaction strength, to detect faults that are caused by the interaction of parameters. CIT has been widely used in different applications, with many algorithms and tools having been proposed to support CA construction. To date, however, there appears to have been no studies comparing different CA constructors when only some of the CA test cases are executed. In this paper, we present an investigation of five popular CA constructors: ACTS, Jenny, PICT, CASA and TCA. We conducted empirical studies examining the five programs, focusing on interaction coverage and fault detection. The experimental results show that when there is no preference or special justification for using other CA constructors, then Jenny is recommended-because it achieves better interaction coverage and fault detection than the other four constructors in many cases. Our results also show that when using ACTS or CASA, their CAs must be prioritized before testing. The main reason for this is that these CAs can result in considerable interaction coverage or fault detection capabilities when executing a large number of test cases;however, they may also produce the lowest rates of fault detection and interaction coverage.