Practical semantic test simplification

We present a technique that simplifies tests at the semantic level. We first formalize the semantic test simplification problem, and prove it is NP-hard. Then, we propose a heuristic algorithm, SimpleTest, that automatically transforms a test into a simpler test, while still preserving a given property. The key insight of SimpleTest is to reconstruct an executable and simpler test that exhibits the given property from the original one. Our preliminary study on 7 real-world programs showed the usefulness of SimpleTest.