New assertion concepts for self-metric software validation

Abstract

Automated tools and structured programming techniques are in use on a variety of scientific and business application programming projects within the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. An examination of the resulting programs reveals certain development and maintenance characteristics that suggest new and very interesting applications for automated tools. An extension of PET (a currently operational McDonnell Douglas validation tool for FORTRAN) to include a user embedded assertion capability offers a step in the direction of automatically verifying the dynamic execution of programs. A user-oriented local and global assertion capability is introduced and its implementation is discussed. Application of these tools within a well-conceived structured programming environment offers a positive step forward in the development of more reliable software systems.