Software Test Design

7

Testing of Error Cases

“Experience is simply the name we give to our mistakes.”

– Oscar Wilde

In the last chapter, you saw how white-box testing techniques improve test coverage by examining how the code works. Understanding your application’s implementation lets you write more detailed tests covering more of the code behavior, in addition to the checks identified by black-box testing. This chapter examines how best to test the final aspect of core behavior: the code’s response to error conditions. There are still many other aspects, such as how usable, maintainable, and secure the application is, but this is the last section of testing focusing on the code’s active behavior, testing what it should do in different situations.