Structural methods

Code coverage analysis is the process of

• Finding areas of a program not exercised by a set of test cases;

• Creating additional test cases to increase coverage;

• Determining a quantitative measure of code coverage, which is an indirect measure of quality.

Code coverage analysis cannot identify missing code, that is, missing functionality, which is why structural testing methods should not be used as the only testing technique. Structural testing is a supplement to behavioral testing, not a substitute for it.

There are many structural coverage metrics (and thus testing techniques), which include

• Statement coverage

• Decision coverage

• Condition coverage

• Multiple condition coverage

• Condition/decision coverage

• Modified condition/decision coverage

• Path coverage

Each coverage metric has pros and cons. BullseyeCoverage implements condition and decision coverage and thus has the advantage of simplicity without shortcomings from a certain metric. For more information about coverage metrics and testing techniques, see the following resources:

• The Complete Guide to Software Testing, Second Edition, Bill Hetzel, Wiley, 1988

• Software Testing Techniques, Second Edition, Boris Beizer, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990

• S60 Smartphone Quality Assurance, Saila Laitinen, Wiley, 2006

• Code Coverage Analysis paper available on the BullseyeCoverage Web site