Software Engineering-Unit Testing

Unit testing focuses verification effort on the smallest unit of software design—the software component or module. Using the component-leve...


Unit testing focuses verification effort on the smallest unit of software design—the software component or module. Using the component-level design description as a guide, important control paths are tested to uncover errors within the boundary of the module. The relative complexity of tests and uncovered errors is limited by the constrained scope established for unit testing. The unit test is white-box oriented, and the step can be conducted in parallel for multiple components.

Unit Test Considerations

The tests that occur as part of unit tests are illus trated schematically in figure The module interface is tested to ensure that information properly flows into and out of the program unit under test. The local data structure is examined to ensure that data stored temporarily maintains its integrity during all steps in an algorithm's execution. Boundary conditions are tested to ensure that the module operates properly at boundaries established to limit or restrict processing. All independent paths (basis paths) through the control structure are exercised to ensure that all statements in a module have been executed at least once. And finally, all error handling paths are tested.

Tests of data flow across a module interface are required before any other test is initiated. If data do not enter and exit properly, all other tests are moot. In addition, local data structures should be exercised and the local impact on global data should be ascertained (if possible) during unit testing.

Selective testing of execution paths is an essential task during the unit test. Test cases should be designed to uncover errors due to erroneous computations, incorrect comparisons, or improper control flow. Basis path and loop testing are effective techniques for uncovering a broad array of path errors.

Among the more common errors in computation are (1) misunderstood or incorrect arithmetic precedence, (2) mixed mode operations, (3) incorrect initialization, (4) precision inaccuracy, (5) incorrect symbolic representation of an expression. Comparison and control flow are closely coupled to one another (i.e., change of flow frequently occurs after a comparison). Test cases should uncover errors such as (1) comparison of different data types, (2) incorrect logical operators or precedence, (3) expectation of equality when precision error makes equality unlikely, (4) incorrect comparison of variables, (5) improper or nonexistent loop termination, (6) failure to exit when divergent iteration is encountered, and (7) improperly modified loop variables.

Good design dictates that error conditions be anticipated and error-handling paths set up to reroute or cleanly terminate processing when an error does occur. Yourdon  calls this approach antibugging. Unfortunately, there is a tendency to incorporate error handling into software and then never test it. A true story may serve to illustrate:

A major interactive design system was developed under contract. In one transaction processing module, a practical joker placed the following error handling message after a series of conditional tests that invoked various control flow branches: ERROR! THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN GET HERE. This "error message" was uncovered by a customer during user training!

Among the potential errors that should be tested when error handling is evaluated are
1. Error description is unintelligible.
2. Error noted does not correspond to error encountered.
3. Error condition causes system intervention prior to error handling.
4. Exception-condition processing is incorrect.
5. Error description does not provide enough information to assist in the location of the cause of the error.

Boundary testing is the last (and probably most important) task of the unit test step. Software often fails at its boundaries. That is, errors often occur when the nth element of an n-dimensional array is processed, when the ith repetition of a loop with i passes is invoked, when the maximum or minimum allowable value is encountered. Test cases that exercise data structure, control flow, and data values just below, at, and just above maxima and minima are very likely to uncover errors.

Unit Test Procedures

Unit testing is normally considered as an adjunct to the coding step. After source level code has been developed, reviewed, and verified for correspondence to componentlevel design, unit test case design begins. A review of design information provides guidance for establishing test cases that are likely to uncover errors in each of the categories . Each test case should be coupled with a set of expected results.

Because a component is not a stand-alone program, driver and/or stub software must be developed for each unit test. The unit test environment is illustrated in figure. In most applications a driver is nothing more than a "main program" that accepts test case data, passes such data to the component (to be tested), and prints relevant results. Stubs serve to replace modules that are subordinate (called by) the component to be tested. A stub or "dummy subprogram" uses the subordinate module's interface, may do minimal data manipulation, prints verification of entry, and returns control to the module undergoing testing.


Drivers and stubs represent overhead. That is, both are software that must be written (formal design is not commonly applied) but that is not delivered with the final software product. If drivers and stubs are kept simple, actual overhead is relatively low. Unfortunately, many components cannot be adequately unit tested with "simple" overhead software. In such cases, complete testing can be postponed until the integration test step (where drivers or stubs are also used).

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