Domain Testing: Divide and Conquer - Testing Education

“The purpose of testing is to determine whether a program contains any errors”
(Goodenough & Gerhart, 1975, p. 156).
“Testing--A verification method that applies a controlled set of conditions and
stimuli for the purpose of finding errors” (IEEE Computer Society, 2004, 1).
“Software testing in all its guises is a study of the software input space, the domain
over which a program under test is supposed to operate. The whole question of
‘how should testing be done?’ is a matter of input selection” (Hamlet, 2000, p. 71).
Test Case: IEEE Std. 610.12 (1990) defined a test case as:
(1) A set of test inputs, execution conditions, and expected results
developed for a particular objective, such as to exercise a particular program
path or to verify compliance with a specific requirement.
(2) (IEEE Std. 829-1983) Documentation specifying inputs, predicted
results, and a set of execution conditions for a test item. (p. 74)
Bug/Error/Fault: We test to find bugs, also called errors. IEEE Std. 610.12 (1990)
defined a bug, error or fault as:
(1) The difference between a computed, observed, or measured value or
condition and the true, specified, or theoretically correct value or condition.
For example, a difference of 30 meters between a computed result and the
correct result.
(2) An incorrect step, process, or data definition. For example, an incorrect
instruction in a computer program.
(3) An incorrect result. For example, a computed result of 12 when the
correct result is 10.
(4) A human action that produces an incorrect result. For example, an
incorrect action on the part of a programmer or operator. (p. 31)
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