Generating of Test Data by Harmony Search Against Genetic Algorithms

Many search-based algorithms have been successfully applied in sev-eral software engineering activities.Genetic algorithms(GAs)are the most used in the scientific domains by scholars to solve software testing problems.They imi-tate the theory of natural selection and evolution.The harmony search algorithm(HSA)is one of the most recent search algorithms in the last years.It imitates the behavior of a musician tofind the best harmony.Scholars have estimated the simi-larities and the differences between genetic algorithms and the harmony search algorithm in diverse research domains.The test data generation process represents a critical task in software validation.Unfortunately,there is no work comparing the performance of genetic algorithms and the harmony search algorithm in the test data generation process.This paper studies the similarities and the differences between genetic algorithms and the harmony search algorithm based on the ability and speed offinding the required test data.The current research performs an empirical comparison of the HSA and the GAs,and then the significance of the results is estimated using the t-Test.The study investigates the efficiency of the harmony search algorithm and the genetic algorithms according to(1)the time performance,(2)the significance of the generated test data,and(3)the adequacy of the generated test data to satisfy a given testing criterion.The results showed that the harmony search algorithm is significantly faster than the genetic algo-rithms because the t-Test showed that the p-value of the time values is 0.026<α(αis the significance level=0.05 at 95%confidence level).In contrast,there is no significant difference between the two algorithms in generating the adequate test data because the t-Test showed that the p-value of thefitness values is 0.25>α.

ADVANCED FREQUENCY-DIRECTED RUN-LENTH BASED CODING SCHEME ON TEST DATA COMPRESSION FOR SYSTEM-ON-CHIP

Test data compression and test resource partitioning （TRP） are essential to reduce the amount of test data in system-on-chip testing. A novel variable-to-variable-length compression codes is designed as advanced fre- quency-directed run-length （AFDR） codes. Different [rom frequency-directed run-length （FDR） codes, AFDR encodes both 0- and 1-runs and uses the same codes to the equal length runs. It also modifies the codes for 00 and 11 to improve the compression performance. Experimental results for ISCAS 89 benchmark circuits show that AFDR codes achieve higher compression ratio than FDR and other compression codes.

An Efficient Test Data Compression Technique Based on Codes

This paper presents a new test data compression/decompression method for SoC testing,called hybrid run length codes. The method makes a full analysis of the factors which influence test parameters：compression ratio,test application time, and area overhead. To improve the compression ratio, the new method is based on variable-to-variable run length codes,and a novel algorithm is proposed to reorder the test vectors and fill the unspecified bits in the pre-processing step. With a novel on-chip decoder, low test application time and low area overhead are obtained by hybrid run length codes. Finally, an experimental comparison on ISCAS 89 benchmark circuits validates the proposed method

Obtaining 2D Soil Resistance Profiles from the Integration of Electrical Resistivity Data and Standard Penetration Test (SPT) and Light Dynamic Penetrometer (DPL) Resistance Tests—Applications in Mass Movements Studies

In Brazil and various regions globally, the initiation of landslides is frequently associated with rainfall;yet the spatial arrangement of geological structures and stratification considerably influences landslide occurrences. The multifaceted nature of these influences makes the surveillance of mass movements a highly intricate task, requiring an understanding of numerous interdependent variables. Recent years have seen an emergence in scholarly research aimed at integrating geophysical and geotechnical methodologies. The conjoint examination of geophysical and geotechnical data offers an enhanced perspective into subsurface structures. Within this work, a methodology is proposed for the synchronous analysis of electrical resistivity geophysical data and geotechnical data, specifically those extracted from the Light Dynamic Penetrometer (DPL) and Standard Penetration Test (SPT). This study involved a linear fitting process to correlate resistivity with N10/SPT N-values from DPL/SPT soundings, culminating in a 2D profile of N10/SPT N-values predicated on electrical profiles. The findings of this research furnish invaluable insights into slope stability by allowing for a two-dimensional representation of penetration resistance properties. Through the synthesis of geophysical and geotechnical data, this project aims to augment the comprehension of subsurface conditions, with potential implications for refining landslide risk evaluations. This endeavor offers insight into the formulation of more effective and precise slope management protocols and disaster prevention strategies.

Structural damage identification using test static data based on grey system theory

A new structural damage identification method using limited test static displacement based on grey system theory is proposed in this paper. The grey relation coefficient of displacement curvature is defined and used to locate damage in the structure, and an iterative estimation scheme for solving nonlinear optimization programming problems based on the quadratic programming technique is used to identify the damage magnitude. A numerical example of a cantilever beam with single or multiple damages is used to examine the capability of the proposed grey-theory-based method to localize and identify damages. The factors of meas-urement noise and incomplete test data are also discussed. The numerical results showed that the damage in the structure can be localized correctly through using the grey-related coefficient of displacement curvature, and the damage magnitude can be iden-tified with a high degree of accuracy, regardless of the number of measured displacement nodes. This proposed method only requires limited static test data, which is easily available in practice, and has wide applications in structural damage detection.

Impact of elliptical boreholes on in situ stress estimation from leak-off test data

We developed an inversion technique to determine in situ stresses for elliptical boreholes of arbitrary trajectory. In this approach, borehole geometry, drilling-induced fracture information, and other available leak-off test data were used to construct a mathematical model, which was in turn applied to finding the inverse of an overdetermined system of equations.The method has been demonstrated by a case study in the Appalachian Basin, USA. The calculated horizontal stresses are in reasonable agreement with the reported regional stress study of the area, although there are no field measurement data of the studied well for direct calibration. The results also indicate that 2% of axis difference in the elliptical borehole geometry can cause a 5% difference in minimum horizontal stress calculation and a 10% difference in maximum horizontal stress calculation.

A scheme on automated test data generation and its evaluation

By analyzing some existing test data generation methods, a new automated test data generation approach was presented. The linear predicate functions on a given path was directly used to construct a linear constrain system for input variables. Only when the predicate function is nonlinear, does the linear arithmetic representation need to be computed. If the entire predicate functions on the given path are linear, either the desired test data or the guarantee that the path is infeasible can be gotten from the solution of the constrain system. Otherwise, the iterative refining for the input is required to obtain the desired test data. Theoretical analysis and test results show that the approach is simple and effective, and takes less computation. The scheme can also be used to generate path-based test data for the programs with arrays and loops.

Using Genetic Algorithm as Test Data Generator for Stored PL/SQL Program Units

PL/SQL is the most common language for ORACLE database application. It allows the developer to create stored program units (Procedures, Functions, and Packages) to improve software reusability and hide the complexity of the execution of a specific operation behind a name. Also, it acts as an interface between SQL database and DEVELOPER. Therefore, it is important to test these modules that consist of procedures and functions. In this paper, a new genetic algorithm (GA), as search technique, is used in order to find the required test data according to branch criteria to test stored PL/SQL program units. The experimental results show that this was not fully achieved, such that the test target in some branches is not reached and the coverage percentage is 98%. A problem rises when target branch is depending on data retrieved from tables;in this case, GA is not able to generate test cases for this branch.

MC/DC Test Data Generation Algorithm Based on Whale Genetic Algorithm

The automatic generation of test data is a key step in realizing automated testing.Most automated testing tools for unit testing only provide test case execution drivers and cannot generate test data that meets coverage requirements.This paper presents an improved Whale Genetic Algorithm for generating test data re-quired for unit testing MC/DC coverage.The proposed algorithm introduces an elite retention strategy to avoid the genetic algorithm from falling into iterative degradation.At the same time,the mutation threshold of the whale algorithm is introduced to balance the global exploration and local search capabilities of the genetic al-gorithm.The threshold is dynamically adjusted according to the diversity and evolution stage of current popu-lation,which positively guides the evolution of the population.Finally,an improved crossover strategy is pro-posed to accelerate the convergence of the algorithm.The improved whale genetic algorithm is compared with genetic algorithm,whale algorithm and particle swarm algorithm on two benchmark programs.The results show that the proposed algorithm is faster for test data generation than comparison methods and can provide better coverage with fewer evaluations,and has great advantages in generating test data.

DAMAGE DETECTION IN BUILDINGS USING A TWO-STAGE SENSITIVITY-BASED METHOD FROM MODAL TEST DATA

Many multi-story or highrise buildings consisting of a number of identical stories are usually considered as periodic spring-mass systems. The general expressions of natural frequencies, mode shapes, slopes and curvatures of mode shapes of the periodic spring-mass system by utilizing the periodic structure theory are derived in this paper. The sensitivities of these mode parameters with respect to structural damages, which do not depend on the physical parameters of the original structures, are obtained. Based on the sensitivity analysis of these mode parameters, a two-stage method is proposed to localize and quantify damages of multi-story or highrise buildings. The slopes and curvatures of mode shapes, which are highly sensitive to local damages, are used to localize the damages. Subsequently, the limited measured natural frequencies, which have a better accuracy than the other mode parameters, are used to quantify the extent of damages within the potential damaged locations. The experimental results of a 3-story experimental building demonstrate that the single or multiple damages of buildings, either slight or severe, can be correctly localized by using only the slope or curvature of mode shape in one of the lower modes, in which the change of natural frequency is the largest, and can be accurately quantified by the limited measured natural frequencies with noise pollution.

Processing the rig test data of an air filling twin-tube shock absorber

A separation method is proposed to design and improve shock absorber according to the characteristics of each force. The method is validated by rig test. The force data measured during rig test is the resultant force of damping force, rebound force produced by pressed air, and friction force. Different characters of damping force, air rebound force and friction force can be applied to seperate each force from others. A massive produced air filling shock absorber is adopted for the validation. The statistic test is used to get the displacement-force curves. The data are used as the input of separation calculation. Then the tests are carried out again to obtain the force data without air rebound force. The force without air rebound is compared to the data derived from the former tests with the separation method. The result shows that this method can separate the damping force and the air elastic force.

Block-based test data adequacy measurement criteria and test complexity metrics

On the basis of software testing tools we developed for programming languages, we firstly present a new control flowgraph model based on block. In view of the notion of block, we extend the traditional program\|based software test data adequacy measurement criteria, and empirically analyze the subsume relation between these measurement criteria. Then, we define four test complexity metrics based on block. They are J\|complexity 0; J\|complexity 1; J\|complexity \{1+\}; J\|complexity 2. Finally, we show the Kiviat diagram that makes software quality visible.

AN APPLICATION OF LABVIEW ON AUTOMATIC DATA ACQUISITION AND CONTROL IN GEOTECHNICAL LABORATORY TESTS

The characteristics of USB data acquisition system NI cDAQ and its control software LabVIEW are briefed.The methods for controlling GDS pressure and volume controller by LabVIEW through serial port communication are presented.A practical data sharing method among geotechnical testing systems is illustrated.As an application case on a modified conventional soil triaxial testing system, the automatic triaxial testing system is designed by LabVIEW.Based on the control panel, the cell pressure and back pressure can be controlled independently and the testing data can be recorded automatically.

An EFSM-Based Test Data Generation Approach in Model-Based Testing

Testing is an integral part of software development.Current fastpaced system developments have rendered traditional testing techniques obsolete.Therefore,automated testing techniques are needed to adapt to such system developments speed.Model-based testing(MBT)is a technique that uses system models to generate and execute test cases automatically.It was identified that the test data generation(TDG)in many existing model-based test case generation(MB-TCG)approaches were still manual.An automatic and effective TDG can further reduce testing cost while detecting more faults.This study proposes an automated TDG approach in MB-TCG using the extended finite state machine model(EFSM).The proposed approach integrates MBT with combinatorial testing.The information available in an EFSM model and the boundary value analysis strategy are used to automate the domain input classifications which were done manually by the existing approach.The results showed that the proposed approach was able to detect 6.62 percent more faults than the conventionalMB-TCG but at the same time generated 43 more tests.The proposed approach effectively detects faults,but a further treatment to the generated tests such as test case prioritization should be done to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of testing.

Calibration of Four Nonlinear Failure Envelopes from Triaxial Test Data and Influence of Nonlinearity on Geotechnical Computations

It is now recognized that many geomaterials have nonlinear failure envelopes. This non-linearity is most marked at lower stress levels, the failure envelope being of quasi-parabolic shape. It is not easy to calibrate these nonlinear failure envelopes from triaxial test data. Currently only the power-type failure envelope has been studied with an established formal procedure for its determination from triaxial test data. In this paper, a simplified procedure is evolved for the development of four different types of nonlinear envelopes. These are of invaluable assistance in the evaluation of true factors of safety in problems of slope stability and correct computation of lateral earth pressure and bearing capacity. The use of the Mohr-Coulomb failure envelopes leads to an overestimation of the factors of safety and other geotechnical quantities.

Airborne test flight of HY-2A satellite microwave scatterometer and data analysis

This paper introduces the background, aim, experimental design, configuration and data processing for an airborne test flight of the HY-2 Microwave scatterometer(HSCAT). The aim was to evaluate HSCAT performance and a developed data processing algorithm for the HSCAT before launch. There were three test flights of the scatterometer, on January 15, 18 and 22, 2010, over the South China Sea near Lingshui, Hainan. The test flights successfully generated simultaneous airborne scatterometer normalized radar cross section(NRCS), ASCAT wind, and ship-borne-measured wind datasets, which were used to analyze HSCAT performance. Azimuthal dependence of the NRCS relative to the wind direction was nearly cos(2w), with NRCS minima at crosswind directions, and maxima near upwind and downwind. The NRCS also showed a small difference between upwind and downwind directions, with upwind crosssections generally larger than those downwind. The dependence of airborne scatterometer NRCS on wind direction and speed showed favorable consistency with the NASA scatterometer geophysical model function(NSCAT GMF), indicating satisfactory HSCAT performance.

Feasibility of Prototyping the Jominy Test Device: Corroborating for Studies and Preliminary Results of the Heating and Data Acquisition Subsystems

This work contributed to a detailed study on a better understanding of the Jominy test, adopted a proportion of study to create the Jominy test device, exhibited favorable conceptions for the development of a prototype of the device, covering the four aspects of the project, being they: test device, test body heating system, test automation and instrumentation using embedded electronics and financial analysis for the elaboration of this project in Brazil. It was possible to observe in the results that the system is efficient, simple and functional, it was possible to obtain the first test carried out in the controlled environment the temperature data in degrees centigrade, the recorded data were automatically launched in Microsoft Excel by the PLX DAQ software, making the acquisition of the data. In the matter of preparing the test device, the drawings are presented in the 3D modeling software, cost tables of the materials used for assembly in Brazil. In terms of the heating system, a heating system was adopted that uses electromagnetic induction, the cost of materials related to the heating system design was also presented. Another relevant factor that contributes to the research and improvement of the prototype is the municipality, located in the Paraiba Valley region, located in the state of São Paulo, consisting of a fertile and relevant scenario of regional, national, international and multinational statistics, thus concluding the effectiveness for the mainly metallurgical industries. The results obtained were satisfactory and consistent, when they were created for the Jominy test device with the ability to submit small pieces for testing and mainly essential in the didactic point of view for a higher education institution of engineering and technology.

Security Framework for Managing Data Security within Point of Care Tests

Point of Care (PoC) devices and systems can be categorized into three broad classes (CAT 1, CAT 2, and CAT 3) based on the context of operation and usage. In this paper, the categories are defined to address certain usage models of the PoC device. PoC devices that are used for PoC testing and diagnostic applications are defined CAT 1 devices;PoC devices that are used for patient monitoring are defined as CAT 2 devices (PoCM);PoC devices that are used for as interfacing with other devices are defined as CAT 3 devices (PoCI). The PoCI devices provide an interface gateway for collecting and aggregating data from other medical devices. In all categories, data security is an important aspect. This paper presents a security framework concept, which is applicable for all of the classes of PoC operation. It outlines the concepts and security framework for preventing security challenges in unauthorized access to data, unintended data flow, and data tampering during communication between system entities, the user, and the PoC system. The security framework includes secure layering of basic PoC system architecture, protection of PoC devices in the context of application and network. Developing the security framework is taken into account of a thread model of the PoC system. A proposal for a low-level protocol is discussed. This protocol is independent of communications technologies, and it is elaborated in relation to providing security. An algorithm that can be used to overcome the threat challenges has been shown using the elements in the protocol. The paper further discusses the vulnerability scanning process for the PoC system interconnected network. The paper also presents a four-step process of authentication and authorization framework for providing the security for the PoC system. Finally, the paper concludes with the machine to machine (M2M) security viewpoint and discusses the key stakeholders within an actual deployment of the PoC system and its security challenges.

System-on-Chip Test Data Compression Based on Split-Data Variable Length (SDV) Code

System-on-a-chips with intellectual property cores need a large volume of data for testing. The large volume of test data requires a large testing time and test data memory. Therefore new techniques are needed to optimize the test data volume, decrease the testing time, and conquer the ATE memory limitation for SOC designs. This paper presents a new compression method of testing for intellectual property core-based system-on-chip. The proposed method is based on new split- data variable length (SDV) codes that are designed using the split-options along with identification bits in a string of test data. This paper analyses the reduction of test data volume, testing time, run time, size of memory required in ATE and improvement of compression ratio. Experimental results for ISCAS 85 and ISCAS 89 Benchmark circuits show that SDV codes outperform other compression methods with the best compression ratio for test data compression. The decompression architecture for SDV codes is also presented for decoding the implementations of compressed bits. The proposed scheme shows that SDV codes are accessible to any of the variations in the input test data stream.

VISUALIZATION OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL DATA FIELD AND ITS APPLICATION IN MACHINE TESTING

In order to realize visualization of three-dimensional data field （TDDF） in instrument, two methods of visualization of TDDF and the usual manner of quick graphic and image processing are analyzed. And how to use OpenGL technique and the characteristic of analyzed data to construct a TDDF, the ways of reality processing and interactive processing are described. Then the medium geometric element and a related realistic model are constructed by means of the first algorithm. Models obtained for attaching the third dimension in three-dimensional data field are presented. An example for TDDF realization of machine measuring is provided. The analysis of resultant graphic indicates that the three-dimensional graphics built by the method developed is featured by good reality, fast processing and strong interaction