Test executive with stack corruption detection, stack safety buffers, and increased determinism for uninitialized local variable bugs

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• including a plurality of test executive steps in a test executive sequence in response to user input;
• configuring each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input;
• and
• executing the test executive sequence, wherein said executing comprises executing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, said executing the test executive step comprises:
• storing a first portion of a stack;
• invoking execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step;
• and
• checking the stored portion of the stack against contents of the stack after the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step finishes executing to determine whether any contents in the first portion of the stack changed during execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step.

A system comprising:

• a sequence editor;
• a test executive engine;
• a host computer operable to execute the sequence editor and the test executive engine;
• and
• a unit under test (UUT) coupled to the host computer;
• wherein the host computer is operable to execute the sequence editor to create a test executive sequence for testing the UUT, wherein said creating the test executive sequence comprises including a plurality of test executive steps in the test executive sequence in response to user input to the sequence editor and configuring each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input to the sequence editor;
• wherein the host computer is further operable to execute the test executive engine, wherein the test executive engine is operable to control execution of the test executive sequence, wherein said controlling execution of the test executive sequence comprises causing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence to be executed on the host computer;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, the test executive engine is operable to:
• store a first portion of a stack;
• invoke execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step;
• and
• check the stored portion of the stack against contents of the stack after the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step finishes executing to determine whether any contents in the first portion of the stack changed during execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step.

A carrier medium comprising program instructions executable to:

• include a plurality of test executive steps in a test executive sequence in response to user input;
• configure each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input;
• and
• execute the test executive sequence, wherein said executing comprises executing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, said executing the test executive step comprises:
• allocating a safety buffer on a stack to prevent the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step from corrupting the stack;
• initializing the safety buffer so that each bit in the safety buffer is set to an initial value;
• copying one or more parameters for the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step onto the stack after said allocating the safety buffer;
• and
• invoking execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step.

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• including a plurality of test executive steps in a test executive sequence in response to user input;
• configuring each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input;
• and
• executing the test executive sequence, wherein said executing comprises executing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, said executing the test executive step comprises:
• allocating a safety buffer on a stack to prevent the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step from corrupting the stack;
• initializing the safety buffer so that each bit in the safety buffer is set to an initial value;
• copying one or more parameters for the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step onto the stack after said allocating the safety buffer;
• and
• invoking execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step.

A system comprising:

• a sequence editor;
• a test executive engine;
• a host computer operable to execute the sequence editor and the test executive engine;
• and
• a unit under test (UUT) coupled to the host computer;
• wherein the host computer is operable to execute the sequence editor to create a test executive sequence for testing the UUT, wherein said creating the test executive sequence comprises including a plurality of test executive steps in the test executive sequence in response to user input to the sequence editor and configuring each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input to the sequence editor;
• wherein the host computer is further operable to execute the test executive engine, wherein the test executive engine is operable to control execution of the test executive sequence, wherein said controlling execution of the test executive sequence comprises causing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence to be executed on the host computer;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, the test executive engine is operable to:
• allocate a safety buffer on a stack to prevent the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step from corrupting the stack;
• initialize the safety buffer so that each bit in the safety buffer is set to an initial value;
• copy one or more parameters for the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step onto the stack after said allocating the safety buffer;
• and
• invoke execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step.

A carrier medium comprising program instructions executable to:

• include a plurality of test executive steps in a test executive sequence in response to user input;
• configure each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input;
• and
• execute the test executive sequence, wherein said executing comprises executing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, said executing the test executive step comprises:
• initializing at least a portion of unused space on a stack so that each bit in the portion is set to an initial value;
• and
• invoking execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step after said initializing the portion of unused space on the stack;
• wherein the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step utilizes the stack for storage of one or more local variables used in the user-supplied code module;
• wherein said initializing the portion of unused space on the stack aids in determining whether the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step has an uninitialized local variable bug.

A computer-implemented method comprising:

• including a plurality of test executive steps in a test executive sequence in response to user input;
• configuring each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input;
• and
• executing the test executive sequence, wherein said executing comprises executing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, said executing the test executive step comprises:
• initializing at least a portion of unused space on a stack so that each bit in the portion is set to an initial value;
• and
• invoking execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step after said initializing the portion of unused space on the stack;
• wherein the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step utilizes the stack for storage of one or more local variables used in the user-supplied code module;
• wherein said initializing the portion of unused space on the stack aids in determining whether the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step has an uninitialized local variable bug.

A system comprising:

• a sequence editor;
• a test executive engine;
• a host computer operable to execute the sequence editor and the test executive engine;
• and
• a unit under test (UUT) coupled to the host computer;
• wherein the host computer is operable to execute the sequence editor to create a test executive sequence for testing the UUT, wherein said creating the test executive sequence comprises including a plurality of test executive steps in the test executive sequence in response to user input to the sequence editor and configuring each of the test executive steps to call a user-supplied code module in response to user input to the sequence editor;
• wherein the host computer is further operable to execute the test executive engine, wherein the test executive engine is operable to control execution of the test executive sequence, wherein said controlling execution of the test executive sequence comprises causing each of the test executive steps in the test executive sequence to be executed on the host computer;
• wherein for each test executive step in the test executive sequence, the test executive engine is operable to:
• initialize at least a portion of unused space on a stack so that each bit in the portion is set to an initial value;
• and
• invoke execution of the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step after said initializing the portion of unused space on the stack;
• wherein the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step utilizes the stack for storage of one or more local variables used in the user-supplied code module;
• wherein said initializing the portion of unused space on the stack aids in determining whether the user-supplied code module called by the test executive step has an uninitialized local variable bug.