BCS-FACS Evening Seminar by Prof Mark Harman: Testability transformation, 26 May, BCS London Offices, UK

[Paul...@googlemail.com]

(Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this announcement)

BCS-FACS Evening Seminar Series

Testability transformation

Mark Harman

King's College London

26 May 2009

5.45pm

BCS London Offices
First Floor, The Davidson Building
5 Southampton Street
London WC2E 7HA

Testability transformation combines automated test data generation
with
traditional program transformation. This talk introduces the concept
of
testability transformation, to address structural impediments to
automated
test data generation. A testability transformation alters the
program's
structure, creating an equivalent version of the program for which
test
data generation is easier. Because the structure of the original
program
is transformed, the test adequacy criterion may also need to be
transformed, to preserve the meaning of the original adequacy
criterion.

This observation motivates the introduction of a theoretical
foundation
for testability transformation, in which a testability transformation
extends
traditional program transformation to include the test adequacy
criterion
together with the program to be transformed.

Interestingly, testability transformations are disposed of once they
are
used - testability transformation is a means to an end, rather than an
end in itself. This is a departure from previous work on
transformation,
in which the transformed program replaces the original. Even more
radical, the transformations need not be meaning preserving in the
conventional sense of functional equivalence - the sine qua non of
transformation for the past thirty years.

After the seminar there will be panel discussion. The panelists are:

John Clark, University of York
Bogdan Korel, Illinois Institute of Technology
Kiran Lakhotia, King's College London CREST centre
Mark Harman, King's College London CREST centre
Phil McMinn, University of Sheffield
Jonathan Bowen, Praxis (Panel Chair)

Refreshments will be served from 5.15pm.

The seminar is free of charge and open to everyone. If you would like
to attend, please email Paul Boca [Paul...@googlemail.com] by
>>> 24 May <<< . Pre-registration is required, as security at the
BCS Offices is tight.

BCS-FACS Website: http://www.bcs-facs.org

Location of venue: http://www.bcs.org/upload/pdf/london-office-guide.pdf