A Program Testing Assistant

Abstract

This paper describes the design and implementation of a program testing assistant which aids a programmer in the definition, execution, and modification of test cases during incremental program development. The testing assistant helps in the interactive definition of test cases and executes them automatically when appropriate. It modifies test cases to preserve their usefulness when the program they test undergoes certain types of design changes. The testing assistant acts as a fully integrated part of the programming environment and cooperates with existing programming tools, including a display editor, compiler, interpreter, and debugger.