Software Testing, Second Edition

Introduction

It seems as though each day there's yet another news story about a computer software problem or security breach: a bank reporting incorrect account balances, a Mars lander lost in space, a grocery store scanner charging too much for bananas, or a hacker gaining access to millions of credit card numbers.

Why does this happen? Can't computer programmers figure out ways to make software just plain work? Unfortunately, no. As software gets more complex, gains more features, and is more interconnected, it becomes more and more difficult—actually, mathematically impossible—to create a glitch-free program. Despite how competent the programmers are and how much care is taken, there will always be software problems.

This is where software testing ...