Improved testing of real-time object-oriented systems

This paper describes an innovative testing technique which compares a formal method model of the software to its object-oriented (OO) designs. The major components of this process include the Unified Modeling Language (UML) designs used to produce instrumented, auto-generated code, a formal method modeling system, and a test driver/oracle to execute the tests and compare the results of the two models. This approach tests the software design thereby allowing for normally very costly design errors to be identified and fixed in the early phases of the program with substantial program cost and schedule savings. Model based software engineering (MBSE) tools, based on the Unified Modeling Language, enable early system prototyping with auto-generated, instrumented execution code providing visibility necessary for system integration and testing.