Testing of adapted components using mutation techniques

Abstract

Component-based software engineering intends to construct applications by combining reusable components. However, a component to be reused has to be adapted to match the application``s requirements. Once adaptation process is finished, the adapted components need to be tested to ensure that it behaves properly in their application context. However, since the source code of the component is unavailable for component testing and the size of the adaptation code is too small for program analysis and testing techniques to be employed, conventional testing techniques are thought to be ineffective. In this paper, we apply the mutation technique to testing of adapted components. Based on observing on what kinds of adaptation are typically made to a component, we have classified the types of adaptation. We have then designed mutation operators which are effective for detecting errors associated with these adaptation types. Finally, we have conducted a simple experiment to assess effectiveness of mutation operators designed in this research. Our experiment shows that the mutation technique is useful for testing of adapted components.