15.1 Overview

15.1 Overview

Object-oriented software differs sufficiently from procedural software to justify reconsidering and adapting approaches to software test and analysis. For example, methods in object-oriented software are typically shorter than procedures in other software, so faults in complex intraprocedural logic and control flow occur less often and merit less attention in testing. On the other hand, short methods together with encapsulation of object state suggest greater attention to interactions among method calls, while polymorphism, dynamic binding, generics, and increased use of exception handling introduce new classes of fault that require attention.

Some traditional test and analysis techniques are easily adapted to object-oriented software. For example, code inspection can be applied to object-oriented software much as it is to procedural software, albeit with different checklists. In this chapter we will be concerned mostly with techniques that require more substantial revision (like conventional structural testing techniques) and with the introduction of new techniques for coping with problems associated with object-oriented software.