Testing web applications

Traditional testing techniques are not adequate for web-based applications, since they miss their additional features such as their multi-tier nature, hyperlink-based structure, and event-driven feature. Limited work has been done on testing web applications. In this paper, we propose new techniques for white box testing of web applications developed in the .NET environment with emphasis on their event-driven feature. We extend recent work on modeling of web applications by enhancing previous dependence graphs and proposing an event-based dependence graph model. We apply data flow testing techniques to these dependence graphs and propose an event flow testing technique. Also, we present a few coverage testing approaches for web applications. Further, we propose mutation testing operators for evaluating the adequacy of web application tests.     

Electrical properties of dysprosium phthalocyanine films

Forty-four nanometers thick films of alkyl-substituted dysprosium phthalocyanine molecules were prepared on carefully cleaned indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates by the spin casting method. UV–vis absorption spectra and dc conduction characteristics were obtained in order to investigate the structure–conduction property relationship. The conduction is Ohmic at low applied voltages but the space charge limited mechanism is prevalent at relatively high voltages. The conductivities of both as-deposited and heat treated films are found to show directionally anisotropic behaviour. The columnar conductivity was found to be significantly large in the liquid crystalline state.     

Use of the time constant to detect corrosion speed in reinforced concrete structures

The relatively simple to measure ‘time constant’ is presented as an index for characterizing the level of corrosion experienced by steel in concrete. This communication, largely in the form of a technical note, explicitly illustrates that the time constant determined from electrochemical testing has significant merit for monitoring corrosion of steel in concrete, and appears to be insensitive to the area of electrode being probed. In this work, the time constant, κ, is determined following a galvanostatic excitation signal, revealing a good correlation between the value of κ and corrosion status across specimens of widely varying geometry. Although this notion has been suggested in the past, this work presents both a survey and consolidated review to indicate the utility of the parameter as an index to corrosion rate on-site.     

A foam engulfment model for lost foam casting of aluminum

In lost foam casting of aluminum, pressure equilibrium between the liquid metal and the decomposing foam can produce a variety of different shapes for the metal flow front, ranging from convex to concave. In extreme cases, the flow front can become so strongly concave that small pieces of the foam pattern begin to break off inside the concave hollow of the flow front and become enveloped by the advancing liquid metal. When this happens, the entire mechanism of foam decomposition changes from steady ablation to a more chaotic motion in which the metal seems to “chew” its way through the pattern, creating large bubbles of vaporizing polymer liquid in its wake. These bubbles usually lead to undesirable anomalies in the final casting. In most cases, the nonlinear equations that govern the shape of the flow front depend on a single nondimensional number, which relates the onset of the engulfing motion to specific material, geometric, and process parameters. Numerical solutions to these equations are obtained for several special cases. These solutions help to explain a number of experimental observations that until now have been poorly understood.