<< Chapter < Page
  Software engineering     Page 3 / 15
Chapter >> Page >

A testable design is a design that can be easily validated, falsified and maintained. Because testing is a rigorous effort and requires significant time and cost, design for testability is also an important design rule for software development.

For reliability estimation

Software reliability has important relations with many aspects of software, including the structure, and the amount of testing it has been subjected to. Based on an operational profile (an estimate of the relative frequency of use of various inputs to the program), testing can serve as a statistical sampling method to gain failure data for reliability estimation.

Software testing is not mature. It still remains an art, because we still cannot make it a science. We are still using the same testing techniques invented 20-30 years ago, some of which are crafted methods or heuristics rather than good engineering methods. Software testing can be costly, but not testing software is even more expensive, especially in places that human lives are at stake. Solving the software-testing problem is no easier than solving the Turing halting problem. We can never be sure that a piece of software is correct. We can never be sure that the specifications are correct. No verification system can verify every correct program. We can never be certain that a verification system is correct either.

Test levels

The target of the test

Software testing is usually performed at different levels along the development and maintenance processes. That is to say, the target of the test can vary: a single module, a group of such modules (related by purpose, use, behavior, or structure), or a whole system. Three big test stages can be conceptually distinguished, namely Unit, Integration, and System. No process model is implied, nor are any of those three stages assumed to have greater importance than the other two.

Unit testing

Unit testing verifies the functioning in isolation of software pieces which are separately testable. Depending on the context, these could be the individual subprograms or a larger component made of tightly related units. A test unit is defined more precisely in the IEEE Standard for Software Unit Testing (IEEE1008-87), which also describes an integrated approach to systematic and documented unit testing. Typically, unit testing occurs with access to the code being tested and with the support of debugging tools, and might involve the programmers who wrote the code.

Integration testing

Integration testing is the process of verifying the interaction between software components. Classical integration testing strategies, such as top-down or bottom-up, are used with traditional, hierarchically structured software.

Modern systematic integration strategies are rather architecture-driven, which implies integrating the software components or subsystems based on identified functional threads. Integration testing is a continuous activity, at each stage of which software engineers must abstract away lower-level perspectives and concentrate on the perspectives of the level they are integrating. Except for small, simple software, systematic, incremental integration testing strategies are usually preferred to putting all the components together at once, which is pictorially called “big bang” testing.

Questions & Answers

what is microbiologist
Muhammad Reply
what is errata
Muhammad
is the branch of biology that deals with the study of microorganisms.
Ntefuni Reply
What is microbiology
Mercy Reply
studies of microbes
Louisiaste
when we takee the specimen which lumbar,spin,
Ziyad Reply
How bacteria create energy to survive?
Muhamad Reply
Bacteria doesn't produce energy they are dependent upon their substrate in case of lack of nutrients they are able to make spores which helps them to sustain in harsh environments
_Adnan
But not all bacteria make spores, l mean Eukaryotic cells have Mitochondria which acts as powerhouse for them, since bacteria don't have it, what is the substitution for it?
Muhamad
they make spores
Louisiaste
what is sporadic nd endemic, epidemic
Aminu Reply
the significance of food webs for disease transmission
Abreham
food webs brings about an infection as an individual depends on number of diseased foods or carriers dully.
Mark
explain assimilatory nitrate reduction
Esinniobiwa Reply
Assimilatory nitrate reduction is a process that occurs in some microorganisms, such as bacteria and archaea, in which nitrate (NO3-) is reduced to nitrite (NO2-), and then further reduced to ammonia (NH3).
Elkana
This process is called assimilatory nitrate reduction because the nitrogen that is produced is incorporated in the cells of microorganisms where it can be used in the synthesis of amino acids and other nitrogen products
Elkana
Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu Reply
Give Examples of thermophilic organisms
Shu
advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal Reply
Prevent foreign microbes to the host
Abubakar
they provide healthier benefits to their hosts
ayesha
They are friends to host only when Host immune system is strong and become enemies when the host immune system is weakened . very bad relationship!
Mark
what is cell
faisal Reply
cell is the smallest unit of life
Fauziya
cell is the smallest unit of life
Akanni
ok
Innocent
cell is the structural and functional unit of life
Hasan
is the fundamental units of Life
Musa
what are emergency diseases
Micheal Reply
There are nothing like emergency disease but there are some common medical emergency which can occur simultaneously like Bleeding,heart attack,Breathing difficulties,severe pain heart stock.Hope you will get my point .Have a nice day ❣️
_Adnan
define infection ,prevention and control
Innocent
I think infection prevention and control is the avoidance of all things we do that gives out break of infections and promotion of health practices that promote life
Lubega
Heyy Lubega hussein where are u from?
_Adnan
en français
Adama
which site have a normal flora
ESTHER Reply
Many sites of the body have it Skin Nasal cavity Oral cavity Gastro intestinal tract
Safaa
skin
Asiina
skin,Oral,Nasal,GIt
Sadik
How can Commensal can Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
How can Commensal Bacteria change into pathogen?
Sadik
all
Tesfaye
by fussion
Asiina
what are the advantages of normal Flora to the host
Micheal
what are the ways of control and prevention of nosocomial infection in the hospital
Micheal
what is inflammation
Shelly Reply
part of a tissue or an organ being wounded or bruised.
Wilfred
what term is used to name and classify microorganisms?
Micheal Reply
Binomial nomenclature
adeolu
what's microbiome?
john Reply
Microbiology is the scientific study of microorganisms
Ibra
the microorganisms in a particular environment (including the body or a part of the body).
Ibra
describe the bacterial cell
Akello
The biggest populations of microbes reside in the gut.other popular habitats include the skin genitals.The microbial cells and their genetic material ,the microbiome ,live with human from birth .
Zahreen
can agriculture be integrated into biology
David
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Software engineering. OpenStax CNX. Jul 29, 2009 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10790/1.1
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Software engineering' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask