White box testing

Static White Box Testing
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White-box testing is the process of carefully and
methodically reviewing the software design,
architecture, or code for bugs without executing it. It's
sometimes referred to as structural analysis.
White-box (or clear-box) testing implies having access
to the code, being able to see it and review it
The obvious reason to perform white-box testing is to
find bugs early and to find bugs that would be difficult
to uncover or isolate with black-box testing.

White Box Testing (Cont..)
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Testing design of the software at this early stage of
development is highly cost effective.
Development teams vary in who has the responsibility
for white-box testing.
In some teams the programmers are the ones who
organize and run the reviews
Inviting the software testers as independent observers.
In other teams the software testers are the ones who
perform this task and
The programmer who wrote the code and a couple of
his peers to assist in the reviews.

Formal Reviews
A

formal review is the process under which
white-box testing is performed.
 Formal review can range from a simple
meeting between two programmers to a
detailed, rigorous inspection of the software's
design or its code.
 If the reviews are run properly, they can prove
to be a great way to find bugs early.

Formal Reviews (Cont..)
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Four essential elements of formal review:
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Identify Problems. The goal of the review is to find problems with the
software not just items that are wrong, but missing items as well.
Follow Rules. A fixed set of rules should be followed. They may set
the amount of code to be reviewed ,how much time will be spent, what
can be commented on, and so on.
Prepare. Each participant is expected to prepare for and contribute to
the review. They need to know what their duties and responsibilities
areand be ready to actively fulfill them at the review.
Write a Report. The review group must produce a written report
summarizing the results of the review and make that report available
to the rest of the product development team.

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Formal reviews are the first nets used in catching
bugs.

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addition to finding problems, holding formal
reviews has a few indirect results:
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Communications. Information not contained in the
formal report is communicated. Inexperienced
programmers may learn new techniques from more
experienced programmers.
Team Trust. If a review is run properly, it can be a
good place for testers and programmers to build
respect for each other's skills and to better
understand each other's jobs and job needs.

Peer Reviews
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The easiest way to get team members together and
doing their first formal reviews of the software is peer
reviews.
Sometimes called buddy reviews.
This method is really more of an "I'll show you mine if
you show me yours" type discussion.
Peer reviews are often held with just the programmer
who designed the architecture or wrote the code and
one or two other programmers or testers acting as
reviewers.

Walkthroughs
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Walkthroughs are the next step up from peer reviews.
In a walkthrough, the programmer who wrote the code
formally presents it to a small group of five or so other
programmers and testers.
The reviewers should receive copies of the software in
advance of the review.
Having at least one senior programmer as a reviewer is
very important.

Walkthroughs (Cont..)
 The

presenter reads through the code line by
line, or function by function, explaining what
the code does and why.
 The reviewers listen and question anything that
looks suspicious.
 It's also very important that after the review the
presenter write a report telling what was found
and how he plans to address any bugs
discovered.

Inspections
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Inspections are the most formal type of reviews.
They are highly structured and require training for each
participant.
Inspections are different from peer reviews and
walkthroughs.
The person who presents the code, isn't the original
programmer.
The other participants are called inspectors.
Each is tasked with reviewing the code from a different
perspective, such as a user, a tester, or a product
support person.

Inspections (cont..)
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This helps bring different views of the product under
review and very often identifies different bugs.
One inspector is even tasked with reviewing the code
backward that is, from the end to the beginning to
make sure that the material is covered evenly and
completely.
Some inspectors are also assigned tasks such as
moderator and recorder to assure that the rules are
followed and that the review is run effectively.

 After

the inspection meeting, the inspectors
might meet again to discuss the defects they
found. and to work with the moderator to
prepare a written report.
 The programmer then makes the changes and
the moderator verifies that they were properly
made.
 Re-inspection may be needed to locate any
remaining bugs.

 Inspections

have proven to be very effective in
finding bugs.
 Especially design documents and code.
 Inspections are gaining popularity as
companies and product development teams
discover their benefits.

Generic Code Review Checklist
 Is

an un-initialized variable referenced?
Looking for omissions is just as important as
looking for errors.
 Are array and string subscripts integer values
and are they always within the bounds of the
array's or string's dimension?
 Are there any potential "off by one" errors in
indexing operations or subscript references to
arrays?

Generic Code Review Checklist
(cont..)
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Is a variable used where a constant would actually
work better for example, when checking the boundary
of an array?
Is a variable ever assigned a value that's of a different
type than the variable? For example, does the code
accidentally assign a floating-point number to an
integer variable?
Is memory allocated for referenced pointers?
If a data structure is referenced in multiple functions or
subroutines, is the structure defined identically in each
one?

Data Declaration Errors
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Are all the variables assigned the correct length, type,
and storage class? For example, should a variable be
declared as a string instead of an array of characters?
If a variable is initialized at the same time as it's
declared, is it properly initialized and consistent with its
type?
Are there any variables with similar names? This isn't
necessarily a bug, but it could be a sign that the names
have been confused with those from somewhere else
in the program.

Data Declaration Errors (Cont..)
 Are

any variables declared that are never
referenced or are referenced only once?
 Are all the variables explicitly declared within
their specific module? If not, is it understood
that the variable is shared with the next higher
module?

Computation Errors
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Do any calculations that use variables have different
data types, such as adding an integer to a floatingpoint number?
Do any calculations that use variables have the same
data type but are different lengths adding a byte to a
word, for example?
Are the compiler's conversion rules for variables of
inconsistent type or length understood and taken into
account in any calculations?
Is the target variable of an assignment smaller than the
right-hand expression?

Computation Errors (cont..)
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Is overflow or underflow in the middle of a numeric calculation
possible?
Is it ever possible for a divisor/modulus to be zero?
For cases of integer arithmetic, does the code handle that some
calculations, particularly division, will result in loss of precision?
Can a variable's value go outside its meaningful range? For
example, could the result of a probability be less than 0% or
greater than 100%?
For expressions containing multiple operators, is there any
confusion about the order of evaluation and is operator
precedence correct? Are parentheses needed for clarification?

Comparison Errors
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Are the comparisons correct? It may sound pretty simple, but
there's always confusion over whether a comparison should be
less than or less than or equal to.
Are there comparisons between fractional or floating-point values?
If so, will any precision problems affect their comparison? Is
1.00000001 close enough to 1.00000002 to be equal?
Does each Boolean expression state what it should state? Does
the Boolean calculation work as expected? Is there any doubt
about the order of evaluation?
Are the operands of a Boolean operator Boolean? For example, is
an integer variable containing integer values being used in a
Boolean calculation?

Control Flow Errors
 If

the language contains statement groups
such as begin...end and do...while, are the
ends explicit and do they match their
appropriate groups?
 Will the program, module, subroutine, or loop
eventually terminate? If it won't, is that
acceptable?
 Is there a possibility of premature loop exit?

Control Flow Errors (cont..)
 Is

it possible that a loop never executes? Is it
acceptable if it doesn't?
 If the program contains a multi-way branch
such as a switch...case statement, can the
index variable ever exceed the number of
branch possibilities? If it does, is this case
handled properly?
 Are there any "off by one" errors that would
cause unexpected flow through the loop?

Subroutine Parameter Errors
 Do

the types and sizes of parameters received
by a subroutine match those sent by the calling
code? Is the order correct?
 If constants are ever passed as arguments, are
they accidentally changed in the subroutine?

Subroutine Parameter Errors (cont)
 Does

a subroutine alter a parameter that's
intended only as an input value?
 Do the units of each parameter match the units
of each corresponding argument English
versus metric, for example?
 If global variables are present, do they have
similar definitions and attributes in all
referencing subroutines?

Input/Output Errors
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Does the software strictly adhere to the specified format of the
data being read or written by the external device?
If the file or peripheral isn't present or ready, is that error condition
handled?
Does the software handle the situation of the external device
being disconnected, not available, or full during a read or write?
Are all conceivable errors handled by the software in an expected
way?
Have all error messages been checked for correctness,
appropriateness, grammar, and spelling?

Other Checks
 Will

the software work with languages other
than English? Does it handle extended ASCII
characters? Does it need to use Unicode
instead of ASCII?
 If the software is intended to be portable to
other compilers and CPUs, have allowances
been made for this? Portability, if required, can
be a huge issue if not planned and tested for.

Other Checks (cont..)
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Has compatibility been considered so that the software
will operate with different amounts of available
memory, different internal hardware such as graphics
and sound cards, and different peripherals such as
printers and modems?
Does compilation of the program produce any
"warning" or "informational" messages? They usually
indicate that something questionable is being done.
Purists would argue that any warning message is
unacceptable.

White box testing

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