Chapter 40. Model-Based Test Generation

In many cases, it's annoying to have to write huge numbers of tests for lots of combinations and situations. But it doesn't have to be like this. Often, it can be avoided by using model-based test generation.

The idea is to have a model, or a simulator, that encodes enough about a part of an application domain to generate useful tests. The important thing is for the model to be precise enough to determine the expected results. It would be too slow and laborious for a person to go through and decide what results to expect from generated tests.

Here, we show the basic idea with a test generator for a simple part of the RPS system. We'll use a particular approach to test generation that makes use of symmetries [Got03].