Using logic coverage to improve testing function block diagrams

Abstract

In model-driven development, testers are often focusing on functional model-level testing, enabling verification of design models against their specifications. In addition, in safety-critical software development, testers are required to show that tests cover the structure of the implementation. Testing cost and time savings could be achieved if the process of deriving test cases for logic coverage is automated and provided test cases are ready to be executed. The logic coverage artifacts, i.e., predicates and clauses, are required for different logic coverage, e.g.,MC/DC. One way of dealing with test case generation for ensuring logic coverage is to approach it as a model-checking problem, such that model-checking tools automatically create test cases. We show how logic coverage criteria can be formalized and used by a model-checker to provide test cases for ensuring coverage on safety-critical software described in the Function Block Diagram programming language. Based on our experiments, this approach, supported by a tool chain, is an applicable and useful way of generating test cases for covering Function Block Diagrams. © IFIP International Federation for Information Processing 2013.