Orderly Generation of Test Data via Sorting Mutant Branches Based on Their Dominance Degrees for Weak Mutation Testing

Compared with traditional structural test criteria, test data generated based on mutation testing are proved more effective at detecting faults. However, not all test data have the same potence in detecting software faults. If test data are prioritized while generating for mutation testing, the defect detectability of the test suite can be further strengthened. In view of this, we propose a method of test data generation for weak mutation testing via sorting mutant branches based on their dominance degrees. First, the problem of weak mutation testing is transformed into that of covering mutant branches for a transformed program. Then, the dominance relation of mutant branches in the transformed program is analyzed to obtain the non-dominated mutant branches and their dominance degrees. Following that, we prioritize all non-dominated mutant branches in descending order by virtue of their dominance degrees. Finally, the test data are generated in an orderly manner by selecting the mutant branches sequentially. The experimental results on 15 programs show that compared with other methods, the proposed test data generation method can not only improve the error detectability of the test suite, but also has higher efficiency.