1. Basics of Software Testing

• Software Testing: The process of evaluating a software application to ensure it meets the required quality standards.
• Objective:
  • Verification: Ensuring the software meets its specified requirements.
  • Validation: Ensuring the software meets the user’s needs and expectations.
• Levels of Testing:
  • Unit Testing: Testing individual components or modules.
  • Integration Testing: Testing the interaction between integrated components or systems.
  • System Testing: Testing the complete and integrated software system.
  • Acceptance Testing: Testing the software against user requirements.

2. Types of Software Testing

• Manual Testing: Test cases are executed manually without any automation tools.
• Automated Testing: Test cases are executed using automated tools.
• Functional Testing:
  • Unit Testing: Focuses on individual units of source code.
  • Integration Testing: Verifies the interaction between integrated components.
  • System Testing: Validates the complete and integrated software.
  • User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Ensures the software can handle required tasks in real-world scenarios, according to specifications.
• Non-Functional Testing:
  • Performance Testing: Determines the speed, responsiveness, and stability under a particular workload.
  • Load Testing: Tests the software’s behavior under expected load conditions.
  • Stress Testing: Evaluates the software’s behavior under extreme conditions.
  • Security Testing: Identifies vulnerabilities, threats, and risks in a software application.
  • Usability Testing: Assesses how easy and user-friendly the software is.
  • Compatibility Testing: Checks how the software performs across different devices, operating systems, and browsers.
• Other Testing Types:
  • Regression Testing: Ensures that new code changes don’t negatively impact existing functionalities.
  • Smoke Testing: A quick test to check the basic functionality of the software.
  • Sanity Testing: A subset of regression testing to verify specific functionality after changes.
  • Exploratory Testing: Simultaneously learning, test design, and test execution.
  • Ad-Hoc Testing: Unplanned testing with no specific approach.

3. Testing Techniques

• Black-Box Testing: Testing without knowledge of the internal code structure.
  • Equivalence Partitioning: Dividing input data into equivalent partitions for testing.
  • Boundary Value Analysis: Testing at the boundaries between partitions.
  • Decision Table Testing: Using a table to represent combinations of inputs and outputs.
• White-Box Testing: Testing with knowledge of the internal code structure.
  • Statement Coverage: Ensures every statement in the code is executed at least once.
  • Branch Coverage: Ensures every branch (decision) in the code is executed.
  • Path Coverage: Ensures every possible path in the code is executed.
• Gray-Box Testing: Combines both Black-Box and White-Box testing methodologies.

4. Test Automation Tools

• Selenium: A tool for automating web browsers.
• JUnit: Framework for unit testing in Java.
• TestNG: Testing framework inspired by JUnit, used for integration and unit testing in Java.
• JUnit: Framework for unit testing in Java.
• PyTest: Framework for testing Python applications.
• Jest: JavaScript testing framework maintained by Facebook, often used with React.
• Cypress: End-to-end testing framework for web applications.
• Appium: Tool for automating mobile applications.
• LoadRunner: Performance testing tool for examining system behavior under load.
• JMeter: Open-source tool for performance and load testing.

5. Testing Life Cycle

• Requirement Analysis: Understanding what needs to be tested.
• Test Planning: Defining the objectives and approach of testing.
  • Test Plan: A document describing the scope, approach, resources, and schedule for testing activities.
• Test Case Development: Creating test cases and test scripts.
  • Test Case: A set of conditions under which a tester determines if a feature is working as expected.
• Test Environment Setup: Setting up the necessary hardware and software environment for testing.
• Test Execution: Running the tests based on the planned test cases.
• Test Reporting: Documenting the test results and any defects found.
• Test Closure: Finalizing and closing the testing process, often including post-test analysis.

6. Defect Life Cycle

• New: When a defect is found and reported.
• Assigned: The defect is assigned to a developer to fix.
• Open: The developer begins working on the defect.
• Fixed: The developer has made the necessary code changes to fix the defect.
• Retest: The tester retests the fixed defect.
• Closed: The defect is verified and closed if the fix works as expected.
• Reopened: If the defect still exists after retesting, it is reopened.

7. Test Documentation

• Test Plan: A document outlining the strategy, scope, and resources for testing.
• Test Case: Detailed documentation of testing actions.
• Test Script: Automated test steps.
• Test Summary Report: A report summarizing the testing activities and results.

8. Best Practices in Software Testing

• Start Early: Begin testing activities early in the software development lifecycle.
• Automate When Possible: Automate repetitive tasks to save time and reduce human error.
• Prioritize Tests: Focus on testing the most critical parts of the application first.
• Regularly Review Test Cases: Ensure test cases are up-to-date and relevant.
• Perform Regression Testing: Continuously test the application after changes to catch any issues.
• Use Metrics: Track testing metrics like defect density, test coverage, and test execution rate to monitor quality.
• Collaborate: Work closely with developers, business analysts, and other stakeholders to ensure a comprehensive testing process.

9. Test Metrics

• Test Coverage: The percentage of the code or application tested.
• Defect Density: The number of defects per size of the software module (e.g., per 1,000 lines of code).
• Test Execution Rate: The number of test cases executed per unit of time.
• Defect Removal Efficiency (DRE): The percentage of defects identified and removed in the testing phase.

10. Agile and Testing

• Continuous Testing: Continuous feedback loop to assess product quality at every stage of the software development lifecycle.
• Scrum Testing: Testing activities within a Scrum framework, often with a focus on collaboration and incremental delivery.
• Test-Driven Development (TDD): Writing tests before writing the corresponding code.

This notes provides a comprehensive overview of software testing, covering the basics, types of testing, tools, techniques, life cycles, and best practices. It serves as a quick reference for testers and developers involved in the software testing process.
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