A Case for Test-Code Generation in Model-Driven Systems

ISBN:

Abstract:

A primary goal of generative programming and model-driven
development is to raise the level of abstraction at which designers and
developers interact with the software systems they are building. During
initial development, the benefits of abstraction are clear. However,
during testing and maintenance, increased distance from the implementation
can be a disadvantage. We view test cases and test harnesses
as an essential bridge between the high-level specifications and the implementation.
As such, the generation of test cases for fully generated
components and test harnesses for partially generated components is
of fundamental importance to model-driven systems. In this paper we
present our experience with test-case and test-harness generation for a
family of model-driven, component-based distributed systems. We describe
our development tool, MODEST, and motivate our decision to
invest the extra effort needed to generate test code. We present our approach
to test-case and test-harness generation and describe the benefits
to developers and maintainers of generated systems. Furthermore, we
quantify the relative cost of generating test code versus application code
and find that the artifact templates for producing test code are simpler
than those used for application code. Given the described benefits to
developers and maintainers and the relatively low cost of test-code development,
we argue that test-code generation should be a fundamental
feature of model-driven development efforts.