Test case generation for collaborative real-time editing tools

Efficient testing of the collaborative and real-time aspects of Collaborative Real-time Editing Tools (CRETs) is extremely challenging. Changes in testing parameters and conflict resolution policies result in significant time and effort for modifying the corresponding test cases. In this paper we propose a time-line diagram approach to visually model aspects of timing and collaborative conflicts useful for efficient generation of test cases. A specification language, ACDATE, is introduced to formally specify the corresponding test scenarios. We develop an algorithm that allows configuring test parameters and collaboration policies on the fly, automatically generates textual test cases corresponding to the timeline diagram, and creates corresponding test scripts in the ACDATE language. A prototype implementation shows good results, with automatically generated test cases consistent across from a visual and textual perspective.