METHOD AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR SIMPLIFYING CONSTRUCTION OF A PROGRAM FOR TESTING COMPUTER SOFTWARE SUBROUTINES IN AN APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE

Method and computer program product for testing software subroutines in an application programming interface. In an exemplary embodiment, a C++ class hierarchy is established for creating a set of intrinsic data element objects containing values of base parameters and a set of list data element objects representing grouped data structures and the subroutines themselves by containing a root-level parameter list for the subroutine, The classes representing each type of base parameter type have associated therewith program code means for creating a user interface for editing the values of such data elements. The list class contains associated program code means for generating a dialog box to display the contents of the grouped data element and provide means to initiate editing of the individual data element values. The data element objects are created by instantiating the appropriate C++ class for a base parameter, grouped data structure, or root-level parameter list. A test program using the C++ class hierarchy that allows easy editing of subroutine values can be quickly and reliably written by instantiating classes to mimic the parameters of subroutines being tested and since the user interface is included. As embodied, the invention lends itself to easy adaptation for nested data structures and for dynamic data allocation situations that are particularly troublesome for test program creation.