Mutation testing in the refinement calculus

• Published in: Formal aspects of computing Vol. 15; no. 2-3; pp. 280 - 295
• Main Author: AICHERNIG, Bernhard K
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer 01-11-2003; Association for Computing Machinery
• Subjects: Algorithmics. Computability. Computer arithmetics; Applied sciences; Computer science; control theory; systems; Exact sciences and technology; Programming languages; Programming theory; Software; Software engineering; Theoretical computing; Refinement calculus; Formal specification; Test coverage; Abstraction; Computer algebra; Program specification; Mutation testing; Test case generation
• ISSN: 0934-5043; 1433-299X
• DOI: 10.1007/s00165-003-0011-8

Abstract
This article discusses mutation testing strategies in the context of refinement. Here, a novel generalisation of mutation testing techniques is presented to be applied to contracts ranging from formal specifications to programs. It is demonstrated that refinement and its dual abstraction are the key notions leading to a precise and yet simple theory of mutation testing. The refinement calculus of Back and von Wright is used to express concepts like contracts, useful mutations, test cases and test coverage.