A higher order generative framework for weaving traceability links into a code generator for web application testing

Abstract

Model Driven Engineering is extending its reach beyond the generation of code from Platform Independent Models (PIMs), to all the phases of the software life-cycle. This paper presents an approach to exploit PIMs to ease regression testing, whereby developers can record and replay testing sessions and investigate testing failures on the application model, thanks to traceability links automatically inserted in the generated code. The core of the approach is a modified version of the model transformation for code generation, obtained by applying a Higher Order Transformation (HOT), that is a transformation that takes in input a transformation (the original code generator) and produces another transformation (the augmented code generator). The HOT weaves into the code generator additional rules producing traceability clues that help developers link any error to the model features likely to cause it. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.