The Self-testing COTS Components (STECC) Method

Component-based development is a major trend in software engineering. One of the expected benefits of using components in software development is an increase of the final system»s quality. Unfortunately, experience showed that use of components does not necessarily imply such an increase and that components, particularly third-party components, need to be tested prior to their integration into a system. This book introduces a new approach called the Self-testing COTS Components (STECC) Method. The STECC method aims to meet the requirements of both the provider and the user of components. On the one hand, the provider of a component usually does not wish to disclose certain information. On the other hand, the user needs to test the component, which might require this information. The STECC method not only benefits the user of a component in that the user can test a component as required. It can also benefit its provider, as self-testability provided by an appropriately augmented component can be an advantage in competition.