Domain Testing: Adding Formulas to Notes in Math

When creating a new note for a data cell in Math, the user is given the option to insert a formula into the note. However, adding a formula to the note prevents the user from editing the spreadsheet further.

OpenOffice.org is a free office suite that includes a word processor, a spreadsheet creator, and a presentation creator. Math is the spreadsheet component of OpenOffice.org and is used to calculate statistics, create graphs, merge data, and perform other math-data functions.

This example demonstrates the use of Domain testing. In Domain testing, we are evaluating a function's acceptance of input by choosing representative data to enter into the data fields.

In this presentation, we are looking at the Note function in Math, which allows us to add a notation to a spreadsheet cell. Some of our options for input include numbers, characters, or symbols. However, Math also gives us the option of inserting formulas into the note (which should not be a problem since a formula is comprised of numbers, characters, and symbols).

For this presentation, we are going to look adding formulas to a spreadsheet cell. Our expected acceptable input is mathematical formulas, so we simply want to verify that the program correctly accepts formulas. The best way to perform a domain test is to lay out our possible values in a chart:

Variable	Risk (Potential Failure)	Classes that Should Not Trigger the Failure	Classes that Might Trigger the Failure	Test (Best Representative)	Notes
Standard Input (Numbers, characters, symbols)	Theoretically, any notation should be allowed in this space.	Text, numbers, etc.	Mathematical formulas (as they are not specifically mentioned in the Help)	a + b = R	Tests symbols and text.
Non-Character Input	Someone might wish to add an image as a notation	Characters	Images, files, etc.	Paste/Drag an image or other file into the notation.
White space	What if nothing is entered at all?	Mathematical Formulas	Pressing the 'Enter' key	Force the program to accept a null space	Clear the input line and press 'Enter'

Aftering adding a formula to the spreadsheet, we find that the mouse cursor remains as a formula editing cursor, even after clicking on parts of the spreadsheet. Similarly, we are unable to select any cells or work with any specific parts of the spreadsheet. Our menu options are still available, however, and we can close and reopen our file, allowing us to return to full functionality.

It appears that no data has been corrupted, but imagine if a user had hundreds of data to add to a spreadsheet, and to each data s/he wanted to make a notation of the formula that was used to achieve that result. Would the user have to close and reopen the file every time after adding a formula to the notation? The hassle aside, could the user rest assured that her/his data was being saved correctly and maintained upon each instance of the application locking up?

What have we accomplished? We have looked at a function that accepts input from the user, and performed Domain testing by analyzing what inputs we could enter into the Note function. We found that options that are given to us as input cause Math to perform unexpected results, requiring us to restart the application.

More information about the bug in this presentation can be found on the OpenOffice issue tracker.

The Notes function allows many things to be inserted, yet most cause errors. For example, the user can insert a Floating Frame, which causes a portion of the spreadsheet to be permanently uneditable. Users can also insert graphics, applets, and plug-ins, all which can impair the user's ability to edit their file.

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