Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Reading Reflection on First Testing Reading

I think it's rather sad that more programmers don't like testing and test designing. While I don't feel especially thrilled about learning about test design per say, I do like running tests on things to make sure they work – whether they be things that I'm going to be graded on or things that I'm giving others to use. Not only do I want the grade and I want others that receive my help to agree that I helped, but I have a sense of pride when I work hard on a program. Testing is vital this to make sure that it meets requirements – and who doesn't get a ping of pride when a test, especially a rigorous one, is passed by one's creation? I don't feel guilty when I test and make sure my creation works. I don't feel guilty because I know I may have messed up – I know I'm not perfect, and scoff at those who think they are.

I was intrigued by the notion of using testing to prevent bugs, not just to catch them. It seemed foreign at first, but after a thought this seems to be tied closely to test-driven testing, and not so unfamiliar.

I enjoy how he broke down the "phases of thinking" on testing. The fact that it's impossible to test to show that software works is an important thing to remember and should be stressed more. Similarly phase two's objective of "show the software doesn't work" is also an infinite war between testers and coders, though at least it gets us farther than just trying to prove that it does work. Phase three – to reach a certain degree of quality – is probably as far as most companies go. I somehow doubt that most companies try to get their testers to do further research into testing as a discipline – they probably just test their things, assuming they having any dedicated testers at all.

Though I didn't particularly enjoy re-reading, say, the definitions of an ORACLE, it's good to know that things that I've been taught are also mentioned and important in real applications.

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