期刊名称：Software Engineering : an International Journal
电子版ISSN：2249-9342
出版年度：2011
卷号：1
期号：1
页码：38-59
出版社：Delhi Technological Universiity
摘要：The controlled Markov chains (CMC) approach to software testing is a relatively new approach that is distinctly different from conventional ones. It follows the idea of software cybernetics that explores the interplay between software and control, and treats software testing as a control problem. The software under test serves as a controlled object that is modeled as a controlled Markov chain, and the testing strategy as the corresponding controller. The software under test and the software testing strategy make up a closed-loop feedback control system. The CMC approach leads to an adaptive testing strategy if some parameters of the software under test are estimated on-line by using testing data to improve the corresponding software testing process. In this paper we revisit the CMC approach, present a new case study of adaptive testing, and discuss why the CMC approach or control-theoretic approach can work in practice. We further justify the effectiveness of the CMC approach by showing that the CMC approach can be applied to the optimal stopping problem of software testing as well.
