Automated, contract-based user testing of commercial-off-the-shelf components

Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) components provide a means to construct software (component-based) systems in reduced time and cost. In a COTS component software market there exist component vendors (original developers of the component) and component users (developers of the component-based systems). The former provide the component to the user without source code or design documentation, and as a result it is difficult for the latter to adequately test the component when deployed in their system. In this article we propose a framework that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of both parties so that the user can adequately test the component in a deployment environment and the vendor does not need to release proprietary details. Then, based on this framework we combine and adapt two specification-based testing techniques and describe (and implement) a method for the automated generation of adequate test sets. An evaluation of our approach on a case study demonstrates that it is possible to automatically generate cost effective test sequences and that these test sequences are effective at detecting complex errors.