Patrick A. V. Hall

Software unit test coverage and adequacy

Objective measurement of test quality is one of the key issues in software testing. It has been a major research focus for the last two decades. Many test criteria have been proposed and studied for this purpose. Various kinds of rationales have been presented in support of one criterion or another. We survey the research work in this area. The notion of adequacy criteria is examined together with its role in software dynamic testing. A review of criteria classification is followed by a summary of the methods for comparison and assessment of criteria.

Approximate String Matching

Approximate matching of strings is reviewed with the aim of surveying techniques suitable for finding an item in a database when there may be a spelling mistake or other error in the keyword. The methods found are classified as either equivalence or similarity problems. Equivalence problems are seen to be readily solved using canonical forms. For sinuiarity problems difference measures are surveyed, with a full description of the wellestablmhed dynamic programming method relating this to the approach using probabilities and likelihoods. Searches for approximate matches in large sets using a difference function are seen to be an open problem still, though several promising ideas have been suggested. Approximate matching (error correction) during parsing is briefly reviewed.

Postmodern Software Development

We discuss the ‘software crisis’ as a social and cultural phenomenon, arguing that it can be viewed as (one more) manifestation of postmodernism. We illustrate our argument with a range of examples taken from software engineering, demonstrating software engineering’s roots in (and

Test data adequacy measurement

Criteria for test data adequacy are rules for deciding when enough testing has been performed. Development of these criteria is an important objective of research in software testing. In this paper, the abstract properties of adequacy criteria are investigated in a formal axiomatic style. Starting from work by Weyuker [1, 2] and Parrish and Zweben [3], we define an adequacy criterion as a function from specifications, programs and subsets of data to a degree of the adequacy of the test set. In this paper, we address the general properties of adequacy criteria, independent of the syntax and semantics of specifications and programs. In subsequent work, we will address properties related to specifications and programs. The dependencies between the axioms, as well as the relationship between them and those in Weyukers and Parrish and Zwebens system, are also investigated.

Overview of reverse engineering and reuse research

Abstract While much progress has been made in software reverse engineering and reuse, significant problems remain. Reverse engineering methods predominantly address the code level, and for full effect the purpose for which the software was built, the application domain, should be understood. Reuse methods focus on library organization and on standards for component production, with much interest in object-oriented methods, but similarly to reuse software effectively it is necessary to understand the application domain, so that it is possible to choose the appropriate parts, organize these effectively in libraries, and deploy the library components in the solution to new problems. Research is now moving towards domain analysis, and current European and other research projects in reuse and reverse engineering are reviewed from the viewpoint of domain knowledge and how it is used. Other management, social, and economic issues also remain to be solved.

Object oriented module interconnection languages

The authors discuss two approaches to a module interconnection language (MIL) for object components. They first look at a prototypical programming language which makes the connectivity between objects explicit by making the specification of the object type identify not just the methods it provides but also those it requires. They then propose an algebra of objects which enables new objects (components) to be built from old and, because the algebra is closed, the new components themselves can be used to build further components.<<ETX>>

Distance education and electronic networking

Abstract Distance education, particularly using electronic communications, has much potential in helping the developing world. This potential is augmented by multimedia. This potential is analysed using the UKs Open University as a case study. A range of applications is described: from student tutorial support, collaborative learning, access to educational resources on the Internet, through to full delivery of all materials electronically. The alternative model of using TV broadcast solely as a way of extending current lecture‐based provision is rejected. Various drawbacks associated with language and culture and economics are identified, but on balance the recommendation is to use distance education via the Internet, but in local forms.

Inductive Inference and Software Testing

The term ‘inductive inference’ denotes the process of hypothesizing a general rule from examples. It can be considered as the inverse process of program testing, which is a process of sampling the behaviour of a program and gathering confidence in the quality of the software from the samples. As one of the fundamental and ubiquitous components of intelligent behaviour, much effort has been spent on both the theory and practice of inductive inference as a branch of artificial intelligence. In this paper, software testing and inductive inference are reviewed to illustrate how the rich and solid theory of inductive inference can be used to study the foundations of software testing.

Interactive multimedia pedagogies: report of the working group on interactive multimedia pedagogy

This working group report proposes a set of criteria for effective design and use of educational multimedia. These criteria are organized around the mutually interdependent roles of teacher, learner, and technology in the educational process. The criteria constitute a first attempt, grounded in educational theory, at a response to important pedagogical and social issues that have been raised with respect to traditional instructional approaches. Some illustrations of potential uses of multimedia are discussed. Finally, recommendations are offered regarding public policy and institutional activities to promote development and dissemination of well-designed multimedia materials and equitable access to the technology necessary for their use.

Architecture-driven component reuse

Abstract The evolution of software reuse over the last 30 plus years is drawn upon to show current achievements, a stable model of components, an approach to reusing components based on architectures, an appreciation of human and organisational problems in reuse, accumulating evidence for the value of reuse approaches. The shortfalls of some current OO methods are pointed out. The significance and limitations of software reuse is indicated by situating it in the wider context of learning organisations and knowledge management, and by viewing architecture-driven reuse as routine design. The distinct role of patterns is indicated.