Chapter 1. Software Testing Background

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Infamous Software Error Case Studies

• What Is a Bug?

• Why Do Bugs Occur?

• The Cost of Bugs

• What Exactly Does a Software Tester Do?

• What Makes a Good Software Tester?

In 1947, computers were big, room-sized machines operating on mechanical relays and glowing vacuum tubes. The state of the art at the time was the Mark II, a behemoth being built at Harvard University. Technicians were running the new computer through its paces when it suddenly stopped working. They scrambled to figure out why and discovered, stuck between a set of relay contacts deep in the bowels of the computer, a moth. It had apparently flown into the system, attracted by the light and heat, and was zapped by the high voltage when it landed on the relay.

The computer bug was born. Well, okay, it died, but you get the point.

Welcome to the first chapter of Software Testing. In this chapter, you'll learn about the history of software bugs and software testing.

Highlights of this chapter include

• How software bugs impact our lives

• What bugs are and why they occur

• Who software testers are and what they do