Mapping ACL/VF to a Java Environment: A Feasibility Study

Abstract

There are a number of different approaches to runtime validation, and one such method is Model Based Testing (MBT), a quality assurance technique where a test suite is generated from an abstract model. While there exists a number of different approaches to accomplish modelbased testing, most are state-based (and thus faced with problems such as state explosion, correspondence to code, etc.). In this thesis, we instead focus on an alternative approach to MBT, namely scenario based testing, which we consider in the context of runtime validation. More specifically, we address scenario monitoring and validation in ACL/VF ACL/VF. This approach, developed by Dr. Corriveau and his research team, provides both a language (ACL-Another Contract Language) to specify an implementation-independent testable model and a tool (VF-the Validation Framework) to validate an implementation against an ACL model. The two current versions of the ACL/VF have a number of issues that prevent it from being a usable solution. The original version is .NET specific and incorporates external tools that are no longer supported. Upgrading it to a more recent version of .NET would amount to a complete rewrite. But, more importantly, this initial version has a major bug in its way of monitoring scenarios and a solution requires rethinking a significant and highly technical portion of the implementation of the VF. Instead a new version was implemented and tested with the JavaMOP framework. That solution requires manually mapping an ACL specification to a corresponding set of JavaMOP monitors. Experimentation with this second solution however revealed it cannot manage and monitor multiple scenarios running simultaneously! vi