An approach to software fault localization and revalidation based on incremental data flow analysis

A systematic approach for reducing the cost of regression testing and fault localization through the use of incremental data flow analysis is described. Incremental data flow analysis is used to identify that portion of a program affected by a change so that testing efforts can be focused accordingly. The analysis allows the partitioning of existing test cases into relevant, nonrelevant, and invalid classes. This greatly reduces the effort associated with validating a program following modification