Automatic test generation for dynamic data structures

Nowadays, many test data generation approaches are employed on basic numerical types such as integer and real data. However, in real practice, pointers and dynamic data structures are so widely used that most recent test data generation approaches are restricted in application. This paper proposes a path-oriented test data generation approach specifically for dynamic pointer data. Firstly, a least restrictive shape involved in input structure is created, which meets pointer constraints for a given path. Secondly, the value of data field in the created shape is determined. The experiment results show that our approach is effective and practicable in test generation for dynamic pointer data.