Testing Strategies

Black-Box Testing

• tests with no knowledge of internal workings
• typically tests features according to specification
• sample techniques (detail on p. 276):
  • equivalence partitioning
  • boundary value analysis
  • testing with pre/postconditions
  • model-based testing

White-Box Testing

• uses knowledge about the code
• sample techniques (detail on p. 277):
  • code coverage-based testing
  • path testing
  • mutation testing
  • dynamic symbolic execution

Black-Box vs. White-Box Testing

Fuzzing

• black-box when generating test inputs from specification
• white-box when generating test inputs from source code

Neither strategy is superior, each has advantages and disadvantages.

Gray-Box Testing

• Example 1
  • design tests according to the code of multiple modules (white box)
  • conduct tests through the exposed interfaces (black box)
• Example 2
  • create and run tests according to pre/postcondition of a module (black box)
  • measure the code coverage (white box)
  • if code coverage doesn't meet goal, we can generate more tests from the code to exercise the uncovered statements or paths (white box)