QWE2002 Tutorial E1 Dr. John McGregor (Luminary Software) Testing Component-Based Systems

Key Points

• Assemble systems from reusable modules, don't built from scratch.
• Component integration creates new testing challenges.
• Learn which integration defects may occur and techniques to deal with each of them.

Presentation Abstract

As software components become more readily available, the dream of assembling systems from the reusable modules rather than building them from scratch each time is becoming a reality. While the components themselves are usually well tested and defect-free, this does not guarantee that they can be integrated together without problems. The component integration process creates new testing challenges that must be addressed. This tutorial describes the kinds of integration defects that may occur and presents techniques to deal with each of them.

Attendees learn how to create and execute effective tests for component-based systems. The tutorial provides an overview of component development concepts and how to effectively test in this environment. The three component standards (DCOM, JavaBeans, and CORBA) are described. Effective integration and testing strategies are presented.

About the Author

Dr. John D. McGregor is a partner in Luminary Software and an associate professor of computer science at Clemson University. Dr. McGregor has developed architecture, design and testing techniques for object-oriented software and developed custom testing processes for a variety of companies. Dr. McGregor is co-author, with David A. Sykes, of "Object-oriented Software Development: Engineering Software for Reuse" published by Van Nostrand Reinhold and "A Practical Guide to Testing Object-Oriented Software" published by Addison-Wesley in 2001. He writes a column on Testing and Quality for the Journal of Object-oriented Programming (JOOP) published by SIGS/101Communications Publishing. He has published numerous articles on software development focusing on design and quality issues. Currently he serves on the editorial board of two journals: JSTP and IJCIS. Dr. McGregor's research interests include software engineering specifically in the areas of process definition, design quality, testing and measurement.