Toward A Theory of Test Case Reduction in Specification Based Software Testing

Abstract

During the software development, numbers of mistakes are committed by software developers consequential to the insertion of a number of faults in the program. The behavior of a faulty program may be different from expected one. Since testing to detect all imaginable faults is impossible because of large numbers of test cases are required. Fault based testing strategies detects only pre-defined types of faults. Kuhn's fault class hierarchies provide the focus of fault-based testing strategies on detecting particular faults. We have purposed supplementary fault detection strategies by considering Coupling Effect Hypothesis and the Competent Programmer Hypothesis to detect faults with small number of test cases. Our results extend Kuhn's fault class hierarchy combine with Black's fault detection strategies that provide a focus on testing strategies for detection of faults. The resulting tests are also effective for detecting faults in other classes with the sane test cases.