lmjm@doc.ic.ac.uk (Lee McLoughlin) (07/07/87)
[[RELAYED ON BEHALF OF anton@ist.co.uk - please reply directly to him.]] Can anybody help me please ? I am interested in commercially available test harnesses or coverage monitors for Ada. Idealy, what I am after is something that is reasonably portable and not too compiler specific. If anyone knows of such things, then I would be most grateful to receive details. Thank you. Anton Gibbs Imperial Software Technology E-mail: anton@ist.co.uk or anton@ist.uucp Telephone: +44 1 581 8155 Telex: 928476 istech g Surface: Imperial Software Technology Ltd., 60 Albert Court, Prince Consort Rd., London SW7 2BH ENGLAND ========================================================== ----- End of forwarded messages
eric@sarin.UUCP (Eric Beser sys admin) (07/14/87)
The one test tool that we are using is the software analysis workstation by Northwest Instruments. It is a logic analyzer for the software engineer. To call it a logic analyzer may be a bit unfair. It passively sits on the processor and does monitor the logic states of the machine. This device connects to the IBM PC/XT or AT by a parallel port that is memory mapped into the system. Using the Gem operating system by Digital Research (mouse, etc) it can monitor up to two processors. It will take the symbol table output of a linker and use the symbols for software analysis. We are using this tool to integrate the Telesoft Ada Compiler with a comercial operating system on a distributed 68020 platform. As many of you know, the highest area of risk in this venture is to solve the intricate timing problems involved with the Ada RTE, hardware and application code. Because the analysis is symbolic you get to see what portions of code execute, how much time it takes to get through a procedure, the percentage of time spent in the RTE, how interrupts are being serviced and dealt with in the RTE. It provides 2167 spec code coverage to validate the test procedures. The only requirement for use is that the compiler puts out a symbol map with enough symbols to do the job. Northwest Instruments supports their own format, and the Unix Namelist (COFF). We have adapted the map output of the Telesoft Linker, our own 1750A ada compiler, and various Jovial compilers. It works well with C too (but we don't talk about languages that ruin you as software engineers). We have done a comparison study between the Software Analysis Workstation and Hewlet Packard's 64000 workstation. Both are good. NWIS beats HP on price and in many areas on performance as well. HP does statistical analysis. With NWIS, you can time and size a program with one execution of the program. Eric Beser Westinghouse DEC EBESER@ADA20 (arpa) {seismo,mimsy}aplcen!cp1!sarin!eric (usenet)
margono@grebyn.com (Johan Margono) (02/01/91)
I am the process of trying to locate possible testing tools to assist in testing of Ada software. Some of my considerations are: 1. The platforms that we are using... a. Rationals; b. MVS on IBM 3090s running TeleSoft Ada; c. AIX on IBM RS6000 running TeleSoft/OCS Ada. 2. The greatest need is for Test Driver generators. A tool that will read in an Ada specification and generate an Ada program (with a user interface) that will allow a "tester" to call all operations and test exceptions, using his/her test cases. 3. Test Case/Scenario generation tools would be nice. Possible methods could include branch testing, McCabe's basis path method, and black-box testing (equivalence class partitioning and boundary analysis). 4. Test tracking tools would be nice. Some tools assume an 'ad hoc' method for test case generation, and show branch coverage (so you can try a few more cases). Assuming a structured testing approach, this tracking does not seem very valuable. However, tracking as a support for Regression Testing would be very helpful. 5. Also related to (4), support for black-box testing of multiple instantiations of generics would be helpful (i.e., reuse of testing plans and test cases). 6. Also related to (4) and (5), support for (at least) black-box testing of modules (generic/non-generic) on multiple platforms (rerunning all, or a subset, of the tests for each target). 7. Many of the tools I have l looked at, depend on instrumentation of the code for test tracking, and possibly test generation. Since, instrumentation changes the 'code,' the load module, and thus behavior, this method is NOT preferred (it also becomes a maintenance headache). Non-intrusive methods are preferred! 8. We are also restrained by 2167 (not A)! I have collected information about several tools, but I am interested in information on: 1. additional tools not listed below, 2. evaluations ("consumer reports") on any of the tools (listed or appended), 3. (real) project experience on testing LARGE Ada systems, and the tools and techniques that helped/hindered. ----------------------- Current Testing Tool List ------------------------ 1. Rational - public domain test driver generator which uses the Rational DIANA tree (available from the Rational Catalog). Need to check if the test drivers are portable to other platforms. 2. Nokia - (From Finland.) TBGEN and TCMON; will run on the RAT and PCs. 3. Software Systems Design - TestGen does not have a driver generator. The test case generator is written in C so it won't run on the Rational. 4. McCabe Associates - no test driver, but other nice tools. I don't know if it will run on our platforms. 5. Intermetrics - Ada Test Support Tool (ATST) is public domain. It has a test driver, but only runs on VAX/VMS/ACS and PC/DOC/Alsys. It seems to only support black-box testing. 6. General Research Corporation - AdaQuest, was the Ada Test and Verification System (ATVS). Only VAX/VMS, with a UNIX platform later this year. 7. Glazier Electronics - The Automated Real-time Regression Testing system (ARRT). Only on VAX, only run time testing. 8. CISI Engineering - (From France) was a research project, that was not "productized" --------------------- End Current Testing Tool List --------------------- Snailmail: Gregory M. Bowen, Reuse Group Computer Sciences Corporation Advanced Automated System 15245 Shady Grove Road Rockville, Maryland, 20850 USA Phone: 301.921.3018 FAX: 301.840.8934 AdaNET ID: gbowen Internet: margono@grebyn.com or gbowen%ceo@asv2.wvnet.edu
bryk@IDA.ORG (Bill Brykczynski) (02/08/91)
The following is in response to a recent request for information regarding tools to assist in the testing of Ada software. We are just beginning to collect such information. In the future, we may be doing an evaluation of several of these tools. This information is not currently not complete, but may still be of use. We are not recommending any of these tools, we are simply collecting information on them. If you have additional information on these or other tools, experience with such tools, etc., please let us know. As you can see, some of the information is skimpy. Bill Brykczynski Institute for Defense Analyses 1801 N. Beauregard St. Alexandria, VA 22311 703-845-6641 bryk@ida.org -------------- - 1 - Alsys, Inc. Tool: AdaTune, AdaProbe Contact: Lori Heyman (617) 270-0030 One Burlington Business Center 67 South Bedford Street, Burlington, MA 01803-5152 Application Development System, Inc. Tool: XPEDITER (Test Driver) Contact: E.F. Harris 1530 Meridian Avenue, San Jose, CA 95125 Cadre Technologies Tool: Software Analysis Workstation (SAW), real-time performance measurement. Tool: CodeMap, tracking tool to see which software parts are exercised. Tool: XRAY, simulator/debugger to execute code on workstation (prior to target macine). Rapid prototyping. Tool: MDD, design phase analysis to check performance. Tool: SoftAnalyst, Sym Trace provides symbolic trace of program and data flow. Contact: Myra Linch (703) 875-8670 Convex Computer Corp. Tool Data: Interactive performance profilers, & Verdix development environment. Contact: Larry Grossman (214) 497-4383 3000 Waterview Pkwy, P.O. Box 883851, Richardson, TX 78053-5851 DDC-1 - 2 - Tool: Symbolic Ada debugger, non-intrusive, can input file of test data Contact: Forest Holeman (602) 944-1883 Dynamics Research Corp. Tool: AdaMAT Contract: John Ragosta (508) 475-9090 60 Frontage Road, Andover, MA 01810 EVB Software Engineering Inc. Tool: Complexity measurement Contact: Jennifer Lot (301) 695-6960 5320 Spectrum Drive, Frederick, MD 21701 Generics Software Ltd. Tool: AnimAda Contact: +353-1-954012 7 Leopardstown Office Park, Foxrock, Dublin 18, Ireland INRIA Tool: Mentor-Ada, measurement system Contact: Schroeder A. Domaine de Voluceau, B.P. 105, Rocquencourt, 78153 Le Chesnay, France ITT Avionics Tool Data: Funded by STARS Tool: UATL: Universal Ada Test Language (Test Driver) Contact: Ziegler J. (201) 284-5030 390 Washington Avenue, Nutley, NJ 070110-5603 - 3 - Jackson Systems Corporation Tool Data: data against data and program structures to verify structure correctness. Structures may be derived form test data. Test data may be generated to create templates for program testing. "Contact:" Michael Jackson Systems Limited, London Programming Environments Tool: T test case generator Description: Verifies requirements testability, produces test cases, and analyzes testing comprehensiveness. Inputs and outputs are documented, flat ASCII files to allow working with descriptions from other tools. Designs test cases automatically or provides help in a computer-aided mode, for 100% functional coverage and 100% most-probable-error- coverage. Runs under MS-DOS, UNIX, and VAX/VMS. Single prince copy for MS- DOS/UNIX systems is $7000. Contact: Robert Poston work (201) 918-0110, home (201) 922-0968 PE Inc. 4043 State Highway 33, Tinton Falls, NJ 07753 SQL Systems International Tool: PCMS*ADA, dependency analysis Contact: England, 44-279-641021 Set Labs Tool: UX-metric for estimates of errors in - 4 - design. Support for Ada. Contact: Teresa Harrison (503) 289-4758 Software Research Tool Data: Full Ada support, several environments including Sun. Tool: Capbak/UNIX, capture and playback of test sessions. Tool: EXDIFF (Extended Difference Analyzer) Tool: SMARTS (Software Maintenance and Regression Testing Suite) Tool: STCAT/C (System Test Coverage Analysis Tool), function-call coverage. Tool: TCAT/C (Test Coverage Analysis Tool) Tool: TCAT/Path, profiles paths and produces graph. Tool: TDGen, test data generation Contact: Frank Vimaggi? (415) 957-1441 Teledyne Brown Engineering Tool Data: Tool: ACAT: Ada Complexity Analysis Tool Tool: TAGS/CASE2, diagnostic analyzer provides static analysis to ensure IORL syntax is complete and correct, and analysis library Contact: Mike Cario 352-8533 TeleSoft Tool: Telegen2 (Telesoft development environment), browser/profiler - 5 - Contact: Jeff Kelley (619) 457-2700 5959 Cornerstone Court West, San Diego, CA 92121 Verilog SA Tool Data: Tool: LOGISCOPE, control flow testing at unit and integration level, currently DD-path and PP-path, some to include LCSAJ, graphical display of coverage with cumulative coverage reporting, full Ada. Tool: ASA, support for SADT IDEF0, simluation and test case generation for validation of requirements and validation of system against requirements. Tool: GEODE, supports CCITT SDL language, in 6 - 8 months expected to generate Ada code. Contact: Nandan Shah (technical), Mark Luciw, Susan Weil (sales) (703) 354-0371
gyro@kestrel.edu (Scott Layson) (02/08/91)
I am implementing an Ada front end (more or less) and I have come across a rule in the (mostly very precise) manual that seems unclear. Perhaps someone can help me with it. It has to do with paragraphs 18 and 19 of section 4.1.3. (Please refer to the manual at this point.) Paragraph 17 talks about four kinds of named constructs whose names can be used as the prefix of an expanded name. Paragraphs 18 and 19 give additional rules about only two of those kinds of constructs, viz., subprograms and accept statements. What about block statements and loop statements? Thanks in advance, Scott Burson Gyro@Reasoning.COM