Developmental testing of abstract data types

Abstract

Abstract data types (ADTs) represent the fundamental building blocks of object-oriented software development. Consequently, a number of different testing techniques for ADT modules have been proposed in the literature. Most of these techniques at least tacitly assume that the ADT module under test has been completely implemented. In this paper, we present a class of testing techniques that are easily applicable to partially completed ADT modules, thus supporting an incremental approach to ADT module development. We then present a testing tool that automatically generates test cases for partially completed ADTs with very little overhead. As such, our testing techniques may be repeatedly applied, with relatively little expense, to generate new test cases as the ADT module increases in size.<>