A Survey on the Identification of Effective Metamorphic Relations for Metamorphic Testing

PhD Qualifying Examination


Title: "A Survey on the Identification of Effective Metamorphic Relations for 
Metamorphic Testing"

by

Mr. Congying XU


Abstract:

Metamorphic Testing (MT) has proven invaluable in overcoming the oracle and 
test case generation problems. Instead of checking individual concrete inputs, 
MT verifies the behavior of a subject under test against a Metamorphic Relation 
(MR) that governs multiple related inputs and their outputs. A significant 
advantage of MT is that an MR can be applied to a wide range of test inputs, 
exercising diverse program behaviors without the need to prepare oracles for 
individual inputs. MT has achieved success in detecting critical faults across 
various software domains, including compilers, databases, and AI-enabled 
systems.

Effective MRs are the key to MT. However, the identification of effective MRs 
poses challenges due to the requirement of domain-specific knowledge and 
reliance on the expertise of developers. This hinders the wider adoption of MT. 
This survey provides a comprehensive summary of research efforts on identifying 
effective MRs. Specifically, we review papers that systematically identify MRs 
from various sources, such as specifications and code. Additionally, we review 
papers focused on selecting effective MRs that are good at detecting faults. 
This survey also outlines several open challenges and highlights research 
opportunities.


Date:                   Monday, 12 August 2024

Time:                   3:00pm - 5:00pm

Venue:                  Room 5510
                        Lifts 25/26

Committee Members:      Prof. Shing-Chi Cheung (Supervisor)
                        Dr. Shuai Wang (Chairperson)
                        Dr. Dongdong She
                        Prof. Raymond Wong