Test Generation Via Dynamic Symbolic Execution for Mutation Testing

Mutation testing has been used to assess and improve the quality of test inputs. Generating test inputs to achieve high mutant-killing ratios is important in mutation testing. However, existing test-generation techniques do not provide effective support for killing mutants in mutation testing. In this paper, the authors propose a general test-generation approach, called PexMutator, for mutation testing using Dynamic Symbolic Execution (DSE), a recent effective test-generation technique. Based on a set of transformation rules, PexMutator transforms a program under test to an instrumented meta-program that contains mutant-killing constraints. Then PexMutator uses DSE to generate test inputs for the meta-program. The mutant-killing constraints introduced via instrumentation guide DSE to generate test inputs to kill mutants automatically.