Statement Coverage Testing

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Statement Coverage Testing in SDLC

In this article, I am going to discuss Statement Coverage Testing in SDLC. Please read our previous article where we discussed Branch Coverage Testing. At the end of this article, you will understand the following important pointers which are related to Statement Coverage Testing in SDLC.

1. What is Statement Coverage Testing in SDLC?
2. How Should Statement Coverage Be Calculated?
3. How are Statement Coverage Tests Carried Out?
4. What does the Statement Coverage Test Cover?
5. Why do People use Statement Coverage?
6. What are the Advantages of Statement Coverage Testing?
7. What are the Disadvantages of Statement Coverage Testing?

What is Statement Coverage Testing in SDLC?

Statement coverage is a metric used in white box testing to gauge how much of a program’s source code has been run throughout the testing process. It is a method of structural testing that seeks to confirm that each statement in the code has been run at least once. In order to execute every statement during statement coverage testing, test cases are created to exercise several routes through the code. The test cases are written in a way that they traverse every branch and circumstance that could exist in the code. The testing framework or tool maintains track of which statements are covered during the execution of a test case and produces a coverage report.

Under the white box testing process, which is based on the structure of the code, statement coverage generates the scenario of test cases.

How Should Statement Coverage Be Calculated?

This Statement Coverage technique was implemented on the software application’s code with the goal of ensuring that all practical utilities enter the application during use. Additionally, the next step is to demonstrate that the performance is improved using the application system’s validation, which is determined using the formula below.

Typically, there are many different types of elements in the internal source code, including operators, methods, arrays, looping, control statements, exception handlers, etc. Some code statements may or may not be performed by the program depending on the input provided. The objective of the statement coverage technique is to include all potential path lines and executing statements in the code.

Let’s use the following example to better understand how statement coverage is calculated:

To verify the percentage of statement coverage for each scenario, we are using source code to generate two distinct situations based on input values.

Read A
Read B
if A>B
Print “A is greater than B”
else
Print “B is greater than A”
Endif

Set1: When A=8, B=4.
5 statements were carried out.
Number of statements in the source code as a whole: 7
Statement coverage is equal to 5/7 times 100, or 71.00%.

Set 2: If A=1, B=7
6 statements were carried out.
Number of statements in the source code as a whole: 7
Statement coverage is 6/7*100, or 85.20 percent.

How are Statement Coverage Tests Carried Out?

Statement Coverage Testing is used in the build and development phases of the software development life cycle as a component of code validation. The programmers and application developers are now addressing all the inconsistencies and extraneous codes detected in the source code. Failure to do so could lead to redundant source code, needless storage usage, out-of-date code fragments, increased application runtime, etc. When carried out properly, this technique significantly improves the software product’s overall functionality and performance. In terms of improving the functional flow, this type of code testing is a well-known step in the development of software applications. A lack of efficiency and an increase in the application’s execution time may arise from failing to conduct this procedure on the source code.

• The first stage of the statement coverage testing procedure involves tracing the statements in the programs of each software module and analyzing the program’s overall functionality. By comparing the statements’ functional components to the needs given by clients in the form of requirement specification documents, it is possible to identify the statements’ functional components.
• The process for gathering the assertions through the source code and documenting them, which involves adding this document to the project repository, is what comes next. Depending on the functional point included in the code statements, this step can be carried out by the developer or the testing specialists.
• Verifying each of the statements listed in the previous step is the last step in the Statement Coverage testing process. This assessment should include fact-checking such as comparing the functional features of the statements to the requirements given, confirming the application’s modularity, ensuring that the code contains only relevant information, validating code coverage accuracy, validating optimization percentage, etc. If the results of this test execution match the expected result specified during the documentation stage, and this result set is supposed to be in relation to the data provided by the client during the requirement-gathering phase, then this testing procedure is complete and confirmed as a “pass.”

What does the Statement Coverage Test Cover?

The following is covered by the statement coverage:

1. Unused branches
2. Missing Statements
3. Unused statements
4. Dead code

Why do People use Statement Coverage?

The following justifies the use of the statement coverage:

1. To assess the code’s quality.
2. To ascertain the program’s various pathways’ respective flows.
3. Verify the validity of the source code before executing it.
4. The infrastructure and internal coding of the software are tested.

What are the Advantages of Statement Coverage Testing?

Software testing methods like statement coverage testing are used to assess how thoroughly statements in a program have been run. It has various benefits, including:

1. Unexecuted code detection: Statement coverage identifies code sections that have not been run during testing, potentially pointing to untested functionality or dead code.
2. Complete code coverage: Statement coverage aims to run every statement in the code, ensuring a higher level of code coverage than other testing methods, improving the chance of finding flaws and errors.
3. Increased reliability: Statement coverage testing lowers the likelihood of unforeseen flaws, improving the software’s overall dependability and quality.
4. Testers can gauge how thoroughly their testing efforts were carried out by using the metric of statement coverage, which measures how comprehensive test cases are.
5. Aid in debugging: A failure during statement coverage testing reduces the range of likely reasons, making debugging easier and problem resolution more rapid.

What are the Disadvantages of Statement Coverage Testing?

Even while statement coverage testing has some advantages, there are a number of drawbacks to taking into account. Here are some crucial details emphasizing its drawbacks:

1. Insufficient Fault Detection: Statement coverage does not ensure that all potential flaws will be found. It ignores the spectrum of potential program behaviors and the interactions between various statements in favor of determining whether each statement in the code has been run at least once.
2. Limited Test Coverage: Running the tests on their own does not guarantee complete test coverage. It does not ensure that all potential program conditions, branches, or paths will be tested. Important scenarios and edge cases could go untested, resulting in faults that are never found.
3. Achieving high statement coverage can give people a false sense of assurance about the caliber of the testing process. The existence of executed statements does not imply that the system is flawless or that the intended requirements have been met.
4. Statement coverage places too much emphasis on statement execution and too little on the data flow and potential connections between variables. This may result in improper program behavior and unknown data-related faults.
5. Neglecting Exception Handling: Statement coverage alone may not be sufficient to test special cases and error handling. In the event that the system runs into unanticipated circumstances, this could leave it vulnerable.

In the next article, I am going to discuss Decision Coverage Testing. Here, in this article, I try to explain Statement Coverage Testing in SDLC. I hope you enjoy this SDLC Statement Coverage Testing article.