Android applications code coverage tools: a comparative study

Abstract

The widespread adoption of mobile applications necessitates robust quality assurance methods to ensure reliable software behavior. Among these methods, software testing plays a vital role, with code coverage serving as a key metric for evaluating test effectiveness. This study presents a comparative analysis of prominent code coverage tools specifically designed for Android applications. Through an extensive literature review and evaluation of thirteen tools—including Emma, Jacoco, COSMO, WallMauer, and ACVTool—this research highlights their instrumentation strategies, integration capabilities, validation methods, and reporting metrics. The study emphasizes the importance of granularity in coverage (e.g., method, line, and instruction), and the trade-offs between bytecode and source code instrumentation. The findings aim to guide developers and researchers in selecting appropriate tools for enhancing testing coverage in Android app development.