The Path Prefix Software Testing Strategy

Abstract

A new software testing strategy is described. The strategy is "adaptive" in that previous test paths (inputs) are used as a guide in the selection of subsequent paths (inputs). Preliminary implementations have successfully exploited the method's inherent user-interactive capability. The method ensures branch coverage, requires only "order n" tests (n being the number of decision nodes in the program flowgraph), and offers considerable advantages over existing strategies in its computational requirements.