On Required Element Testing

In this paper we introduce two classes of program testing strategies that consist of specifying a set of required elements for the program and then covering those elements with appropriate test inputs. In general, a required element has a structural and a functional component and is covered by a test case if the test case causes the features specified in the structural component to be executed under the conditions specified in the functional component. Data flow analysis is used to specify the structural component and data flow interactions are used as a basis for developing the functional component. The strategies are illustrated with examples and some experimental evaluations of their effectiveness are presented.