Mizan-Tepi UNIVERSITY

School of Computing and Informatics

Department of Software Engineering
Software Testing and Quality Assurance
(SEng4051)
Chapter Four Part-I
Structural (White Box Testing )
(control flow testing)
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 Objective
 After successful completion of this chapter,
students will be able to explain
 Structural Testing Types
 Control Flow Testing
 Data Flow Testing

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 White Box testing
 White-box testing (also called clear box testing, glass box
testing, transparent box testing, or structural testing) is a
method of testing software that tests internal structures or
workings of an application [the tester has access to the
internal data structures and algorithms including the code
that implement these.]
 White box testing methods are especially useful for
revealing design and code-based control, logic and
sequence defects, initialization defects, and data flow
defects.
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 Control flow refers to flow of control from one instruction to another

❖The main idea in control flow testing is to

appropriately select a few paths in a program unit
and observe whether or not the selected paths
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produce the expected outcome.
 Outline of Control Flow
Testing

Figure 1: The process of generating test input data for control flow testing.
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 Basic Idea
 Two kinds of basic program statements:
– Assignment statements (Ex. x = 2*y; )

– Conditional statements (Ex. if(), for(), while(), …)

 Program path
– A program path is a sequence of statements from entry to exit.
– There can be a large number of paths in a program.
– There is an (input, expected output) pair for each path.
– Executing a path requires invoking the program unit with the
right/correct test input.
– Paths are chosen by using the concepts of path selection criteria.

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 Outline of Control Flow Testing
 Inputs to the test generation process
– Source code
– Path selection criteria
 Generation of control flow graph (CFG)
– A CFG is a graphical representation of a program unit.
– Compilers are modified to produce CFGs if test generation is automated
or You can draw one by hand.
 Selection of paths
– Enough entry/exit paths are selected to satisfy path selection criteria.
 Generation of test input data
– Two kinds of paths
• Feasible path/ Executable path: There exists input so that the
path is executed.
• Infeasible path: There is no input to execute the path.
7 – Solve the path conditions to produce test input for each path.
 Control Flow Graph
• Example code: Re t ur nAve r a ge ( )
public static double ReturnAverage (int value[], int AS, int MIN, int MAX)
{
int i, ti, tv, sum;
double av;
i = 0; ti = 0; tv = 0; sum = 0;
while (ti < AS && value[i] ! = -999)
{
ti++;
if (value[i] > = MIN && value[i] < = MAX)
{
tv + + ;
sum = sum + value[i];
}
i++ ;
}
if (tv > 0)
av = (double) sum/tv;
else
av = (double) -999; return (av);
}

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 Control Flow Graph cont’d…

Figure 2: A CFG representation of ReturnAverage(). N u m b e r s 1 – 1 3 are the nodes.

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 Paths in a Control Flow Graph

• A few paths in Figure 2.

– Path 1: 1-2-3(F)-10(T)-12-13

– Path 2: 1-2-3(F)-10(F)-11-13

– Path 3: 1-2-3(T)-4(T)-5-6(T)-
7(T)-8-9-3(F)-10(T)-12-13

– Path 4: 1-2-3(T)-4(T)-5-6-7(T)-
8-9-3(T)-4(T)-5-6(T)-7(T)-8-9-3(F)
-10(T)-12-13

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 Path Selection Criteria
 Program paths are selectively executed.
 Question: What paths do I select for testing?
 The concept of path selection criteria is used to answer the
above question.
 Advantages of selecting paths based on defined criteria:
– Ensure that all program constructs are executed at least once. (The

programmer needs to observe the outcome of executing each program

construct)
– Repeated selection of the same path is avoided.(Executing the same
path several times is a waste of resources)
– One can easily identify what features have been tested and what not.
 Path selection criteria
1. Select all paths.
2. Select paths to achieve complete statement coverage.
3. Select paths to achieve complete branch coverage.
11 4. Select paths to achieve predicate coverage (Reading Assignments)
 Path Selection Criteria…
1. All-path coverage criterion: Select all the paths in the program unit .
Advantage:
- it is desirable since it can detect error, except those due to missing
path errors.
Disadvantages
– A program may contain a large number of paths, or even an
infinite number of paths .
– It’s difficult to select all possible paths in program in practice.
–Producing all the inputs that exercise all the program paths is difficult
process.
– Example: check it in the previous slide (slide no. 10)

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 Path Selection Criteria…
2.Statement coverage criterion
– Statement coverage means executing individual program statements (nodes) and
observing the output.
– 100% statement coverage means all the statements have been executed at least once.
•Cover all assignment statements (i=0, ti=0,tv=0, sum=0) represented by node 2 in
CFG
•Cover all conditional statements, ((ti < AS && value[i] != -999) represented by nodes
3,4, 6, 7 and 10 in CFG.
– Less than 100% statement coverage is unacceptable.

– Since a single entry–exit path includes many nodes, we need to select just a few

paths to cover all the nodes of a CFG.

– while selecting paths:
•Select short paths.
•Select paths of increasingly longer length. Unfold a loop several times if there is
a need.
13 •Select arbitrarily long, “complex” paths.
 Path Selection Criteria…

– Example of Paths selected based on

statement coverage criterion and CFG

Table 1: Paths for statement

coverage of the CFG of Figure
3.

14 Figure 3
Path Selection Criteria…

Example 2: statement coverage ❖ Here are 8 statements in this code. In

this code we cannot cover all 8
statements in a single path as if 2
is valid then 4, 5, 6, 7 are not
traversed, and if 4 is valid then
statement 2 and 3 will not be
traversed. Hence we will
consider two paths so that we can
cover all the statements.
Set x= 1
Path – 1, 2, 3, 8
Output = 2
Set x= -1
Path = 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 5, 6, 5, 7, 8
15 Output = 2
Path Selection Criteria…
3. Branch coverage criterion
– A branch coverage (also called Decision coverage) is an outgoing
edge from a node in a CFG.
• A condition node has two outgoing branches – corresponding to
the True and False values of the condition.
• All the rectangle nodes have at most one outgoing branch
(edge)
– Covering a branch means executing a path that contains the branch.

– Complete(100%) branch coverage means selecting enough

number of paths such that every condition evaluates to true at
least once and to false at least once.

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 Path Selection Criteria
– Example of Paths selected based on
Branch coverage criterion and CFG

Table 2: Paths for branch coverage of the CFG of Figure 3.

Figure 3: The dotted arrows represent the branches not

covered by the statement covering in Table 1.

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 Path Selection Criteria…
 For example, if the outcomes are binary, you need to test both True and False outcomes.
 The formula to calculate Branch coverage:
Branch coverage = Number of executed branch *100
Total number of Branches
• Example:
Demo(int a)
If (a> 5)
a= a*3
else Scenario 1: Value of a is 2 Scenario 2: Value of a is 6
Print (a)
}

The code highlighted in yellow The code highlighted in yellow

will be executed. Here the “No” will be executed. Here the
outcome of the Branch/decision If “Yes” outcome of the
(a>5) is checked. Branch/decision If (a>5) is
checked.
Branch Coverage = 50%
Branch Coverage = 50%
Test Case Value of A Output Branch Coverage
1 2 2 50%
2 6 18 50%
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 Generating Test Input
 Having identified a path, a key question is how to make the path
execute, if possible.
– Generate input data that satisfy all the conditions on the path.

 Key concepts in generating test input data

1. Input vector
2. Predicate
3. Path condition
4. Predicate interpretation
5. Path predicate expression
6. Generating test input from path predicate expression

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 Generating Test Input
1 Input vector
– An input vector is a collection of all data entities read by the
routine whose values must be fixed prior to entering the routine.
– Members of an input vector can be as follows.
• Input arguments to the routine
• Global variables and constants
• Files
• Contents of registers (in Assembly language programming)
• Network connections
• Timers
– Example: The input vector of ReturnAverega() shown in Figure 2 is
<value[], AS, MIN, MAX>.

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Generating Test Input
2 Predicate
– A predicate is a logical function evaluated at a decision point.
– Example of a predicate: the construct ti < A S is a predicate in node 3 of
Figure 2.
– Example of a predicate: Value[i]<=Max is a predicate in node 7 of Figure 2.
3 Path predicate
– A path predicate is the set of predicates associated with a path.
– The path in Figure 2 indicates that nodes 3, 4, 6, 7, and 10 are decision
nodes
– An example path from Fig. 2:
1-2-3(T)-4(T)-5-6(T)-7(T)-8-9-3(F)-10(T)-12-13.
– The example of path predicate for the path shown in Figure 2.
ti < AS ≡ True
value[i] ! = -999≡ True
value[i] > = MIN ≡ True
value[i] < = MAX ≡ True
21 ti < AS ≡ False
tv > 0 ≡True
 Generating Test Input

4-Predicate interpretation
– The path predicate shown in Figure 2 from the previous slide is composed
of elements of the input vector < value[], AS, M IN, M A X > , a vector
of local variables < i, ti, tv > , and the constant -999.
– Local variables play no role in selecting inputs that force a path to execute.
– Local variables can be eliminated by a process called symbolic execution.
– Predicate interpretation is defined as the process of
– symbolically substituting operations along a path in order to express the
predicate only in terms of the input vector and a constant vector.
– A predicate may have different interpretations depending on how control reaches
the predicate.
– Examples of Predicate interpretation
▪Example#1:
The predicate ti<AS can rewritten as 0<AS
▪Example#2:
The predicate Value[i]>=MIN can rewritten as Value[0]>=MIN
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 Generating Test Input

5- Path predicate expression

– An interpreted path predicate is called a path predicate
expression.
– A path predicate expression has the following attributes.
• It is void of local variables and is solely composed of elements of
the input vector and possibly a vector of constants
• It is a set of constraints in terms of the input vector, and, maybe,
constants.
• Path forcing inputs can be generated by solving the constraints.
• If a path predicate expression has no solution, the path is infeasible.

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 Generating Test Input…

Note: The bold entries in

TABLE 3: Interpretation of Path Predicate of Path
column1 denote interpreted
(1-2-3(T)-4(T)-5-6(T)-7(T)-8-9-3(F)-10(T)-12-13.)
predicates
2
4
 Cont.
…
– example of Path predicate expression for the path shown in the previous

slide.
0 < AS ≡ True …… (1)
value[0] != -999 ≡ True …… (2)
value[0] >= MIN ≡ True …… (3)
value[0] <= MAX ≡ True …… (4)
1 < AS ≡ False …… (5)
1 > 0 ≡ True …… (6)
– An example of infeasible path from Figure 2.
1-2-3(T)-4(F)-10(T)-12-13

TABLE 4: Interpretation of Path

Predicate of 1-2-3(T)-4(F)-10(T)-12-
13

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 Generating Test Input

– Path predicate expression for the path shown in Figure 2.

0 < AS ≡ True … …
(1)
value[0] ! = -999≡ True...(2)
0 > 0≡ True … … (3)
1-2-3(T)-4(F)-10(T)-12-13, is infeasible because the Path predicate
expression is unsolved because the constraint 0>0 ≡ True is
unsatisfiable so we can not generating input data from a path
predicate expression.

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 Generating Test Input
6- Generating input data from a path predicate expression
 We must solve the corresponding path predicate expression in order to
generate input data which can force a program to execute a selected path.
 Consider the path predicate expression that is feasible of Figure 2
0 < AS≡ True …… (1)
value[0] != -999 ≡ True …… (2)
value[0] >= MIN ≡ True …… (3)
value[0] <= MAX ≡ True …… (4)
1 < AS ≡ False …… (5)
1 > 0 ≡ True …… (6)
– Input data satisfying constraints for the above predicate expression.
AS = 1
MIN = 25
MAX = 35
Value[0] = 30
– Note: The above set is not unique.

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 Summary
 Control flow is a fundamental concept in program execution.
 A program path is an instance of execution of a program unit.
 Select a set of paths by considering path selection criteria.
• Statement coverage
• Branch coverage
• Predicate coverage
• All paths
 From source code, derive a CFG (compilers are modified for this.)
Select paths from a CFG based on path selection criteria.
 Extract path predicates from each path.
 Solve the path predicate expression to generate test input data.
 There are two kinds of paths.
• feasible
• infeasible

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