Open AccessTesting existing software for safety-related applications. Revision 7.1
Author(s) -
J.A. Scott,
Jonathan Lawrence
Publication year - 1995
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/257416
Subject(s) - vendor , computer science , software reliability testing , software engineering , test strategy , software , non regression testing , product (mathematics) , system integration testing , reliability engineering , software construction , software quality , quality (philosophy) , software development , engineering , operating system , geometry , mathematics , epistemology , marketing , business , philosophy
The increasing use of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software products in digital safety-critical applications is raising concerns about the safety, reliability, and quality of these products. One of the factors involved in addressing these concerns is product testing. A tester`s knowledge of the software product will vary, depending on the information available from the product vendor. In some cases, complete source listings, program structures, and other information from the software development may be available. In other cases, only the complete hardware/software package may exist, with the tester having no knowledge of the internal structure of the software. The type of testing that can be used will depend on the information available to the tester. This report describes six different types of testing, which differ in the information used to create the tests, the results that may be obtained, and the limitations of the test types. An Annex contains background information on types of faults encountered in testing, and a Glossary of pertinent terms is also included. This study is pertinent for safety-related software at reactors