Path expression in data flow program testing

Abstract

The language of regular expressions is used for the identification of constructors of definition-use chains. Activation of the chains is essential for all data flow testing strategies. The algorithm is based on the node-elimination method of J.A. Brzozowski and E.J. McCluskey (1963). It generates a regular expression that represents the (possibly infinite) set of all constructors of the chain involved. A particular path can then be derived from that expression. The algorithm has been implemented as an extension to STAD, a recently implemented system for testing and debugging.<>