ICST 2024
Mon 27 - Fri 31 May 2024 Canada

This program is tentative and subject to change.

Tue 28 May 2024 11:00 - 11:30 at Room 4 - Session 1

Kotlin, a Java Virtual Machine (JVM) based language, offers modern features such as concise syntax and enhanced null safety and was adopted by Google as the preferred language for Android development. Despite the rise in popularity, there is a notable absence of comprehensive mutation testing tools for Kotlin developers. Existing tools, such as PIT and arcmutate, face challenges in effectively supporting Kotlin mutation testing. The lack of specialized mutation operators and developer-friendly tools for Kotlin poses challenges to developers and testers, impacting the overall reliability and quality of Kotlin codebases. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing Kotlin-specific mutation operators and a flexible, open-source, developer-friendly tool, Mutant-Kraken. Mutant-Kraken leverages traditional mutation testing concepts while tailoring to the unique aspects of Kotlin by investigating unique programming features of Kotlin. Mutant-Kraken adopts an approach that utilizes the Tree-sitter parser to create an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST) for Kotlin files, allowing source code-level mutations. The tool’s four-phase process includes gathering files, generating mutants, building and testing, and producing clear HTML-based mutation analysis results. The approach emphasizes configurability, enabling developers to customize settings such as ignored files, timeout, and mutation operators, making it adaptable to diverse Kotlin projects. Mutant-Kraken includes seven, novel Kotlin-specific mutation operators, addressing features like null checks and functional programming. In an experimental study on three open-source Kotlin projects, Mutant-Kraken has been evaluated to be feasible, efficient, and effective.

This program is tentative and subject to change.

Tue 28 May

Displayed time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) change

11:00 - 12:30
Session 1Mutation at Room 4
11:00
30m
Talk
Mutant-Kraken: A Mutation Testing Tool for Kotlin
Mutation
Josue Morales Towson University, Lin Deng Towson University, Josh Dehlinger Towson University, Suranjan Chakraborty Towson University
11:30
30m
Talk
Timed Model-Based Mutation Operators for Simulink Models
Mutation
Jian Chen Queen's University, Manar Alalfi Toronto Metropolitan University, Thomas Dean
12:00
30m
Talk
Improving the Efficacy of Testing Scientific Software: Insights from Mutation Testing
Mutation
Kris Roker University of North Florida, Upulee Kanewala University of North Florida