Static analysis driven performance and energy testing

Abstract

Software testing is the process of evaluating the properties of a software. Properties of a software can be divided into two categories: functional properties and non-functional properties. Properties that influence the input-output relationship of the software can be categorized as functional properties. On the other hand, properties that do not influence the input-output relationship of the software directly can be categorized as non-functional properties. In context of real-time system software, testing functional as well as non functional properties is equally important. Over the years considerable amount of research effort has been dedicated in developing tools and techniques that systematically test various functional properties of a software. However, the same cannot be said about testing non-functional properties. Systematic testing of non-functional properties is often much more challenging than testing functional properties. This is because non-functional properties not only depends on the inputs to the program but also on the underlying hardware. Additionally, unlike the functional properties, nonfunctional properties are seldom annotated in the software itself. Such challenges provide the objectives for this work. The primary objective of this work is to explore and address the major challenges in testing non-functional properties of a software.