Domain Testing: Divide and Conquer - Testing Education

Whittaker and Jorgensen (2002) described an attack-based approach to doing
domain testing. They argued that testing any software along four (input, output,
storage and computational) dimensions with the right set of attacks will, to a large
extent, ensure finding the major bugs in software.
2.01.03 Linear or Non-Linear
Not all domains of programs are linear in nature. Kaner and Bach (2003) described
linearizable and non-linearizable domains. Linearizable variables are ones whose
values can be mapped onto a number line, such as a variable representing a range of
numbers. On the other hand, non-linearizable variables are those whose values
cannot be mapped onto a number line, such as printers (Kaner et al., 1999; Kaner &
Bach, 2003).
Kaner and Bach (2003) also characterized linearizable variables as variables
whose values represent ordered sets and non-linearizable variables as ones whose
values represent non-ordered sets. Most of the literature on domain testing refrains
from wandering into the territory of non-linear domains, but there are some who do
discuss it.
Jeng and Weyuker (1994) described a simplified domain testing strategy
that is applicable to non-linear domains as much as it is to linear domains. Zeil et
al. (1992b) depicted detection of linear errors in non-linear domains. According to
both Jeng and Weyuker (1994) and Zeil et al. (1992b), it does not matter whether
the domain is continuous or discrete.
2.01.04 Overlapping or Disjoint Subdomains
Some researchers have suggested that partitioning of input domain should result in
non-overlapping or disjoint partitions since their analysis is based on a pure
mathematical model of doing partitioning (Howden, 1976; Jorgensen, 2002; Myers,
1979; White & Cohen, 1980). Some people talk about having disjoint or non-
overlapping partitions because according to them, if two partitions (for example, A
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