Code Coverage Tools & Solutions 

How It Works

Ensure code coverage for embedded safety and security-critical applications by employing a blend of techniques with Parasoft C/C++test and C/C++test CT to meet compliance standards. Code instrumentation is central to this effort, which involves integrating additional code into the user codebase to track the execution of statements, branches, and MC/DC code structures. Often, code coverage must be gathered directly from the target hardware, which both C/C++ testing solutions do.

Parasoft C/C++test and C/C++test CT, together with Parasoft DTP, collects coverage metrics and produces documentation that’s indispensable for safety-critical applications. Generated reports detail each line of code’s execution status—whether it’s fully, partially, or not—serve as a critical reference for development teams and certification auditors, facilitating the assessment of code coverage compliance.

It’s imperative that code coverage analysis tools are TÜV-certified for use in safety-critical applications, like both C/C++test and DTP.

How It Works

Fundamental in software testing and quality assurance, code coverage metrics offer valuable insights into testing thoroughness and pinpoint areas that may require more attention. Parasoft’s C and C++ testing solutions collect various types of code coverage metrics during dynamic analysis testing, whether conducted locally or via integration with the CI/CD pipeline.

Embedded developers can examine coverage results directly in a preferred code editor, ensuring a streamlined workflow. Teams can guarantee adherence to requirements with tailored quality gates to automatically validate builds based on predefined code coverage metrics.

Our solutions intelligently aggregate coverage information from various execution runs, including testing on target hardware, providing a comprehensive understanding of the code’s test coverage. By analyzing coverage at granular levels like method, class, file, or project, teams can accurately pinpoint areas with insufficient coverage and higher risk.

DTP’s comprehensive reports and dashboards show aggregated, in-depth test coverage and compliance metrics. Teams can automate requirements traceability between test cases, code artifacts, and requirements to ensure a cohesive, efficient development process required in safety-critical development.

How It Works

Development and testing teams can execute unit tests either locally or within the CI/CD pipeline and effortlessly examine coverage results directly within the developer IDE with Parasoft’s Java code coverage and .NET code coverage tools. Here’s what else they can do:

• Pinpoint precisely which lines of code are covered during execution by navigating through test cases.
• Analyze code coverage at varying levels, such as method, class, file, or project, to readily identify areas with insufficient coverage and higher risk.
• Get a comprehensive test coverage overview from integrated Parasoft CTP and DTP, which gather code coverage from functional testing, merging and correlating unit testing coverage with functional coverage.
• Boost code coverage metrics by identifying uncovered lines of code and utilizing our solutions to generate new test cases, bridging coverage gaps effectively.
• Tailor quality gates to automatically validate builds based on predefined code coverage metrics, ensuring adherence to desired standards.
• Streamline the publication of testing results into Parasoft DTP for in-depth analysis of coverage metrics across builds, facilitating informed decision-making and continuous improvement.

How It Works

With insight into previously tested legacy applications, teams can evaluate the effectiveness of their inherited regression test suite and determine if new test cases are needed to strengthen their regression safety net.

For legacy applications with low coverage, Parasoft Jtest or C/C++test rapidly generate unit tests in bulk that can be run in regression to ensure that the new functionality introduced does not impact the existing functionality.

In parallel with regression testing, teams often adopt a coverage policy that helps them create a baseline for new development. However, it can be challenging to ensure high code coverage on modified code when the existing legacy code has low levels of coverage.

Parasoft enables teams to collect, analyze, and monitor code coverage metrics that correlate specifically with new or modified code. This ensures that all new or changed code is thoroughly tested and meets the organization’s quality standards and incrementally increases the coverage across the codebase.

Read Blog: Testing Legacy Code & 3 Steps to Update

How It Works

Publish code coverage captured during automated test execution in the CI/CD pipeline into Parasoft DTP for advanced build-to-build reporting and analysis. Set quality gates for modified code coverage in the CI/CD pipeline, and leverage Parasoft DTP’s modified code coverage widget to analyze and view code coverage that correlates only to new code or to modified lines of code.

By ensuring any new or modified code has high levels of code coverage, development teams can mitigate the risk of untested changes slipping into production and incrementally increase the overall test coverage of their codebase.

Read Blog: Application Coverage Is the Most Powerful Metric You’re Not Measuring

How It Works

Our solutions capture code coverage from multiple testing practices, like unit testing, API testing, microservices testing, web UI testing, integration testing, and end-to-end testing. Results go to Parasoft DTP for build-to-build trend analysis.

Application code coverage monitoring capabilities collect and analyze code coverage during the execution of automated tests regardless of the testing framework.

DTP’s code coverage dashboards correlate and merge code coverage results from multiple test types to determine areas of low test coverage with high risks. Teams gain actionable insights on where tests are needed to fill code coverage gaps and mitigate the risk of untested code in the hands of end users.

With the data collected by Parasoft code coverage tools, teams can optimize test execution in their CI/CD pipeline with test impact analysis. Use test impact analysis to reduce the number of tests needed to be executed to validate application changes by identifying and running only the subset of test cases that correlate to code modifications.

Read Blog: Measuring Code Coverage: Guide to Effective Testing