A Comprehensive Study of Pseudo-tested Methods
Document type :
Compte-rendu et recension critique d'ouvrage
Title :
A Comprehensive Study of Pseudo-tested Methods
Author(s) :
Vera-Pérez, Oscar Luis [Auteur correspondant]
Diversity-centric Software Engineering [DiverSe]
Danglot, Benjamin [Auteur]
Self-adaptation for distributed services and large software systems [SPIRALS]
Monperrus, Martin [Auteur]
KTH Royal Institute of Technology [Stockholm] [KTH]
Baudry, Benoit [Auteur]
KTH Royal Institute of Technology [Stockholm] [KTH]
Diversity-centric Software Engineering [DiverSe]
Danglot, Benjamin [Auteur]
Self-adaptation for distributed services and large software systems [SPIRALS]
Monperrus, Martin [Auteur]
KTH Royal Institute of Technology [Stockholm] [KTH]
Baudry, Benoit [Auteur]
KTH Royal Institute of Technology [Stockholm] [KTH]
Journal title :
Empirical Software Engineering
Pages :
1-33
Publisher :
Springer Verlag
Publication date :
2018
ISSN :
1382-3256
HAL domain(s) :
Informatique [cs]
Informatique [cs]/Génie logiciel [cs.SE]
Informatique [cs]/Génie logiciel [cs.SE]
English abstract : [en]
Pseudo-tested methods are defined as follows: they are covered by the test suite, yet no test case fails when the method body is removed, i.e., when all the effects of this method are suppressed. This intriguing concept ...
Show more >Pseudo-tested methods are defined as follows: they are covered by the test suite, yet no test case fails when the method body is removed, i.e., when all the effects of this method are suppressed. This intriguing concept was coined in 2016, by Niedermayr and colleagues, who showed that such methods are systematically present, even in well-tested projects with high statement coverage. This work presents a novel analysis of pseudo-tested methods. First, we run a replication of Niedermayr's study with 28K+ methods, enhancing its external validity thanks to the use of new tools and new study subjects. Second, we perform a systematic characterization of these methods, both quantitatively and qualitatively with an extensive manual analysis of 101 pseudo-tested methods. The first part of the study confirms Niedermayr's results: pseudo-tested methods exist in all our subjects. Our in-depth characterization of pseudo-tested methods leads to two key insights: pseudo-tested methods are significantly less tested than the other methods; yet, for most of them, the developers would not pay the testing price to fix this situation. This calls for future work on targeted test generation to specify those pseudo-tested methods without spending developer time.Show less >
Show more >Pseudo-tested methods are defined as follows: they are covered by the test suite, yet no test case fails when the method body is removed, i.e., when all the effects of this method are suppressed. This intriguing concept was coined in 2016, by Niedermayr and colleagues, who showed that such methods are systematically present, even in well-tested projects with high statement coverage. This work presents a novel analysis of pseudo-tested methods. First, we run a replication of Niedermayr's study with 28K+ methods, enhancing its external validity thanks to the use of new tools and new study subjects. Second, we perform a systematic characterization of these methods, both quantitatively and qualitatively with an extensive manual analysis of 101 pseudo-tested methods. The first part of the study confirms Niedermayr's results: pseudo-tested methods exist in all our subjects. Our in-depth characterization of pseudo-tested methods leads to two key insights: pseudo-tested methods are significantly less tested than the other methods; yet, for most of them, the developers would not pay the testing price to fix this situation. This calls for future work on targeted test generation to specify those pseudo-tested methods without spending developer time.Show less >
Language :
Anglais
Popular science :
Non
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