A Formal Analysis of the Fault-Detecting Ability of Testing Methods.

Authors :: Frankl, Phyllis G.
Weyuker, Elaine J.
Source :: IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering; Mar93, Vol. 19 Issue 3, p202-213, 12p, 2 Diagrams, 4 Charts
Publication Year :: 1993
Abstract: This paper examines several relations between software testing criteria, exploring whether for each relation R and each pair of criteria, C<subscript>1</subscript> and C<subscript>2</subscript>, R(C<subscript>1</subscript>, C<subscript>2</subscript>) guarantees that C<subscript>1</subscript> is better at detecting faults than C<subscript>2</subscript> according to various probabilistic measures of fault-detecting ability. It is shown that the fact that C<subscript>1</subscript> subsumes C<subscript>2</subscript> does not guarantee that C<subscript>1</subscript> is better at detecting faults. Relations that strengthen the subsumption relation and that have more bearing on fault-detecting ability are introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]