Chapter 2. The Case for Manual Testing

“There are two ways to write error-free programs; only the third one works.”

Alan J. Perlis

The Origin of Software Bugs

The origin of software bugs begins with the very origin of software development itself. It’s clearly not the case that we started out with perfect software and invented ways to screw it up.1 Indeed, the term bug has been in common use within software development from the inception of the discipline2 and is a nomenclature that is used today in every office, garage, dorm room, data center, laboratory, bedroom, cafe, and every other place where software is developed. The first software had bugs, the latest software has bugs, and so have all the bits and bytes in between. ...

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