Mutation Analysis for SQL Database Applications

Testing database applications is crucial for ensuring good quality software as undetected faults can result in unrecoverable data corruption. SQL is the most widely used interface language for relational database systems. Our approach aims to achieve better testing by selecting fault revealing databases. We propose the use of mutation analysis on SQL statements and discuss two scenarios for applying strong and weak mutation techniques. Experiments using real applications, real faults and real data were performed to: (i) evaluate the applicability of the approach, and (ii) compare fault-revealing abilities of input databases.