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Structured inspections of code
Author(s) -
Van Emden Maarten H.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
software testing, verification and reliability
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.216
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1099-1689
pISSN - 0960-0833
DOI - 10.1002/stvr.4370020304
Subject(s) - protocol (science) , computer science , programmer , flowchart , programming language , coding (social sciences) , code (set theory) , structuring , structured programming , assertion , software engineering , medicine , statistics , alternative medicine , mathematics , set (abstract data type) , finance , pathology , economics
Cleanroom programming and code inspections independently provide evidence that it is more efficient to postpone the testing of code to a later stage than is usually done. This paper argues that an additional gain in quality and efficiency of development can be obtained by structuring inspections by means of an inspection protocol. The written part of such a protocol is prepared by the programmer before the inspection. It is modelled on Floyd's method for the verification of flowcharts. However, the protocol differs from Floyd's method in being applicable in practice. Structured inspections gain this advantage by not attempting to be a proof ; they are no more than an articulation of existing forms of inspection. With the usual method of structured programming it may be difficult to prepare the inspection protol. On the other hand, ‘assertion‐driven programming’ (of which an example is included in this paper) not only facilitates protocol preparation, but also the coding itself.