A Comparative Study of Coarse-and Fine-Grained Safe Regression Test Selection
John Bible, Rothermel Karen, Rosenblum David · 1999
Regression test selection techniques reduce the cost of regression testing by selecting a subset of an existing test suite for reverification of a modified program. Over the past two decades, numerous regression test-selection techniques have been described in the literature. Initial empirical studies of a few of these techniques have shown that they can be beneficial, but so far, few studies have compared techniques by performing the analysis for different methods on the same set of subjects. This paper describes a comparative evaluation of different regression test-selection techniques on the same experimental subjects. In particular, the two methods DejaVu and TestTube, developed by the authors, are evaluated and compared in terms of a cost model that considers their relative precision and efficiency. The data reveal that in some instances TestTube's relative lack of precision does not preventitfrom competing with the more precise DejaVu, yet in other instances, DejaVu's superior p...