Summary

This chapter showed you how having access to the software's source code while the program is running can open up a whole new area of software testing. Dynamic white-box testing is a very powerful approach that can greatly reduce your test work by giving you "inside" information about what to test. By knowing the details of the code, you can eliminate redundant test cases and add test cases for areas you didn't initially consider. Either way, you can greatly improve your testing effectiveness.

Chapters 4 through 7 covered the fundamentals of software testing:

• Static black-box testing involves examining the specification and looking for problems before they get written into the software.

• Dynamic black-box testing involves testing the software without knowing how it works.

• Static white-box testing involves examining the details of the written code through formal reviews and inspections.

• Dynamic white-box testing involves testing the software when you can see how it works and basing your tests on that information.

In a sense, this is all there is to software testing. Of course, reading about it in four chapters and putting it into practice are very different things. Being a good software tester requires lots of dedication and hard work. It takes practice and experience to know when and how to best apply these fundamental techniques.

In Part III, "Applying Your Testing Skills," you'll learn about different types of software testing and how you can apply the skills from your "black and white testing box" to real-world scenarios.