D.L.: Using test oracles generated from program documentation

This paper illustrates how software can be described precisely using LD-relations, how these descriptions can be presented in a readable manner using tabular notations, and one way such descriptions can be used to test programs. We describe an algorithm that can be used to generate a test oracle from program documentation, and present the results of using a tool based on it to help test part of a commercial network management application. The results demonstrate that these methods can be eective at detecting errors and greatly increase the speed and accu-racy of test evaluation when compared with manual evaluation. Such oracles can be used for unit testing, in situ testing, constructing self-checking software and ensuring consistency between code and documentation. Index Terms|program testing, test oracle, formal specication, nite state machine