Understanding Structural Testing | What Is Structural Testing ?
Overview:
Structural trying out delves into the inner layout and implementation of the software program, requiring involvement from the development group inside the testing procedure. Unlike behavioral trying out, which focuses on external behaviors, structural checking out objectives to evaluate specific components of the software program in step with its layout and structure.
Structural testing is also referred to as white box testing or clear box testing and is a technique where the actual insides of an application are tested as against the efficiency or behavior of the black box testing. The tester knows the internal code and structure of the software because of which he can form the test cases.
What is structural testing?
Structural testing refers to the process of testing the internal arrangement of software programs, the code used in the programs. It checks the code delivered by developers by also focusing on the internal layout of the program.
Who performs structural testing?
Developers do the structural test since they are the ones who write the code of building the software in the project. They can view application code, can make changes into it and most important can test it also.
Key concepts of structural testing:
key concepts that help to simplify the definition and understanding of structural testing are highlighted, and major techniques that are used in this area are described.
1. Code Coverage: Structural testing aims to achieve maximum code coverage, which includes:
- Statement Coverage: Making sure that each statement that is executable in the code is run at the minimum once.
- Branch Coverage: Making sure all important decision making points in the code are covered to avoid the creation of possibly infinite branches of the code (true/false).
- Path Coverage: Covering all both directions of path in the code.
2. Types of Structural Testing :
- Unit Testing: Process of checking one or two units of the software to certify that the parts or unit functions as designed. This is normally done by conducting test on functions, methods or classes in isolation.
- Integration Testing: Verification of the entire integrated unit or component with its counterpart so as to check for the defects within the interface.
- Control Flow Testing: Pay attention to the movement of the control structures in the code (loops, if else etc. ) to assure that they are working properly.
- Data Flow Testing: Identifying and verifying all modifications made to data in the application, and how the data is used in the program’s execution.
- Mutation Testing: The method of insertions or additions which is applied to the code with the purpose to make improvements in the test cases detectability. This assists in assessing the extent of the test cases’ quality.
Advantages of Structural Testing:
- Early Bug Detection: Can be used to pin point defects at an early stage of the process of development.
- Thorough Testing: This is an advantage since it facilitates code testing to ensure all the partitions of the code are tested hence improving code quality.
- Code Optimization: Aids in determines areas in a program that do not include active code that can be removed to streamline the program.
- Improved Test Case Quality: as it concentrates on the code coverage it ensures that test cases are all inclusive and efficient .
- Better Understanding of Code: Developers are able to review the code and it helps them further in maintaining the code as well as development of the same.
Disadvantages of Structural Testing:
While structural testing offers significant advantages, it also has several drawbacks and limitations:
- Complexity and Time-Consuming: Structural testing can be very detailed, especially when the tests applied run on big and complex code banks. The internal structure and the design of the comprehensive test cases usually take considerable time and energy to comprehend as well.
- Dependency on Source Code: This type of testing involves the knowledge of the source code of the program or application being tested. When little, and often no attention has been paid to documenting the code or writing it in a testable manner, testing can be a real problem.
- Limited Functional Testing: Structural testing is more concerned with hidden features and behavior of an application more than the visible features. Consequently, it is likely to overlook some of the concerns that constitute the general user experience or functional specs.
- Maintenance Overhead: Structural tests become necessary to incorporate with new changes that are added in the code over the time. This maintenance can turn into a problem particularly in a circumstance where there is constant change in the code or refactoring is frequently done.
- Not User-Centric: As structural testing focuses on the logical structure and various code branches, it does not imitate actual end-users’ behavior. This situation can cause a situation whereby the application passes different structural tests, yet it fails when used in the field.
- False Sense of Security: A high level of code coverage attained through structural testing can on occasion be misleading. Just because a certain coverage is achieved it does not necessarily imply optimal functional and usability quality.
- Requires Skilled Testers: It is therefore important that people with adequate knowledge on the code and the principles of programming be used in the process of carrying out structural testing. This can reduce the selection of testers to be used, and in essence raise the overall costs of testing.
- Tool Limitations: These automatic tools used for structural testing may have some degree of restriction and may not support all the programming languages and every coder construct hence inadequate testing is executed.
- Focus on Known Paths: Structural testing is normally done on code segments that are recognized, frequent and probable condition set. This might lack some specific conditions of utilization or some specific behavior, which is possible during the real application of IT systems.
- Potential for Test Redundancy: The domain is defense that, due to the nature of structural testing relying on code structure, it is possible to create much testing that is superfluous and does not bring much incremental value while increasing the overall testing effort and the required level of expertise.
- Limited to Code Structure: Does not have to take the functionality from a user point of view thus missing some interface problem areas.
- Complexity in Large Systems: Overcoming the large and complex systems and completing the management and writing of tests can be a difficult and time consuming task.
- Requires Skilled Developers: The requirement of the tester to understand various aspects of the code might not always be possible.
- Potential for Overhead: If abused it can cause a situation where boast numbers of code coverage while the real users cases and functional specs are all but forgotten.
Structural Testing Tools:
- JBehave
- Cucumber
- JUnit
- Cfix
Different names for structural testing:
- White box testing
- Glass box testing
- Open box testing
- Code box testing
- Transparent box testing
- Clear box testing
- Comprehensive testing
How can one do structural testing?
In structural testing, the inputs or data are normally furnished by the developers to test the behavior of the program. These inputs go through the program and the program produces outputs. If the abovementioned outputs correspond with the expected ones, then it is possible to state that the test is successful, otherwise, it is a fail.
Levels of software testing related to structural testing:
- Unit Testing: Checks segments of the code one at a time.
- Integration Testing: At the system level it only tests the interface or interaction between the integrated units.
Opposite of structural testing:
Black box testing is performed when structural testing is not being done; this is the type of testing. Black box testing is conducted by applying inputs to the software and testing the responses by using the software’s GUI without any concern with the code implementation.
Levels of software testing related to black box testing:
- System Testing: Carried out by software testers backed by the whole application.
- Acceptance Testing: refers to testing activities conducted by client-side business people termed as alpha testing and by the end users termed as beta testing.
More Information on Structural Testing :
To provide more details and a thorough understanding of structural testing, here are some additional aspects to consider:
1. Techniques of Structural Testing:
- Control Flow Testing: Designed based on the control flow graph of the program, the testing of this aspect mainly consists of test cases that target the control flow of the program.
- Data Flow Testing: Describes the point at which variables acquire values as well as the point at which these values are used.
- Branch Testing: Makes certain that the branches or decisions of a program are invoked and tested at the least once.
- Path Testing: There are different techniques that are used when conducting this type of testing, for instance, running tests on all possible paths all through the code in order to check all statements and branches.
2. Tools for Structural Testing:
- Static Analysis Tools: Like PMD, FindBugs and Checkstyle and similar tools scan over the code without actually running it.
- Dynamic Analysis Tools: As for example, JUnit and NUnit, it runs the particular code and then checks the inner state of the thing and result.
3. Benefits of Structural Testing:
- Early Detection of Defects: Problems can be highlighted before the software gets to the testing phase of its development.
- Code Coverage: It increases the number of tests run at the different parts of the code, thus covering more ground.
- Improves Code Quality: Must help developers write cleaner, pretty, optimized, and easy-to-maintain code.
- Reduces Debugging Time: This is because; early identification is essential in cutting down the period that is required in troubleshooting in the later stages.
4. Challenges of Structural Testing:
- Requires In-depth Knowledge: This implies that to effectively test one has to understand the internal structure the code.
- Time-consuming: One disadvantage of detailed test cases writing is for all the code paths, and time-consuming.
- Not User-focused: Can overlook key matters that relate to the use of the software by the user since she or he is not concerned with two UI or UX.
Here's the reference video for you to watch and better understand the topic:
Conclusion :
Structural testing or white-box testing is one of the key subcategories of software testing that emphasizes on the internal structure of the application. They make sure that the internal structure of the code, the used logic, and the possible code paths are correct and match the intended functionality. Although structural testing reveals errors that might not be noticeable during other tests and enhances code quality, it has some drawbacks. These are complexity, reliance on the source code, maintenance overhead, and possibly a deviation from aspects that are critically important to users.
Thus, in order to develop an adequate and versatile set of tests that would cover the structural aspect as well as other types of testing such as functional testing, user acceptance testing, and performance testing, one has to implement the latter two methodologies in addition to using structural testing. By covering all these angles it is possible to achieve the organization’s internal code quality as well as the end users’ satisfaction with the quality of the applications they are being delivered with.