Software Testing - Isolation Testing
Software testing is an integral part of the software development lifecycle (SDLC). There are various testing approaches to improve the overall software quality. The isolation testing is a testing methodology which isolates an individual module or a part of code for verification.
What is Software Isolation Testing?
The software isolation testing sets apart individual components or sections of code from each other in order to validate them separately. It helps to identify defects in the early phases of the software development life cycle (SDLC).
The software isolation testing is instrumental in limiting the scope of the bug which makes it easier to identify, and to resolve it. The isolation testing process ultimately improves the quality of the software, and lowers the probability of finding defects at the production.
Characteristics of Software Isolation Testing
The characteristics of the software isolation testing are listed below −
- The software isolation testing takes time to implement large and complicated software as it requires verification of its individual units.
- The software isolation testing may require the creation of drivers and stubs in order to complete its process.
- The software isolation testing is an expensive practice as it involves development of drivers, and stubs. Additionally, the segregation of individual modules of large, and complicated software further increases its cost.
- The software isolation testing is atomic in its characteristics which means each component of the software needs to be verified separately. It checks if the communication with other parts of the code has not introduced new defects in the software.
- The software isolation testing validates whether the individual components of the software are working as expected.
- The software isolation testing can be performed through automation by selecting a correct test framework.
- The software isolation testing uses a mock framework for the creation of the drivers and stubs. This enhances the test effectiveness, and makes the process easier.
- The software isolation testing emphasizes on testing the most important modules of the software.
- The software isolation testing helps to implement CI/CD processes in the software development.
Need of Software Isolation Testing
The need of the software isolation testing are listed below −
- The software isolation testing is capable of detecting defects more easily. This is because when a single unit is tested in isolation there are less number of variables to be considered during testing.
- The software isolation testing prevents defects being carried forward and introduced in other units.
- The software isolation testing improves the overall performance and robustness of the software.
Isolation Testing While Performing Performance Testing
At the time of isolation testing, individual components of the software are segregated, and then its robustness is analyzed. It also identifies if there are any performance problems, resource utilization issues, scalability errors occurring in a single component of a complicated software. The performance testers can fine tune these parameters, and simulate various load, stress criterias so that a particular module is able to take up this task properly.
For example, a database or a web server can be separated out to verify its performance under different loads or traffic, and fine tune it for improving its overall performance.
Isolation Testing While Performing Unit Testing
At the time of isolation testing, individual components of the software are segregated from all the external factors namely database or web servers, external libraries etc. It also identifies if a particular unit is having a defect with a very effective debugging and coding process.
For example, a module in software can be verified by mocking its database dependency. By doing so, the features of that module can be tested in isolation without taking the database into consideration.
Isolation Testing While Performing End To End Testing
At the time of isolation testing, a particular functionality within the complete software can be evaluated. In this way, defects lying in an individual feature of the software can be verified independently before actually starting with the verification of a complete end to end flow.
For example, the payment module of a software is verified to check if it is working properly in isolation.
Isolation Testing While Performing Component Testing
At the time of isolation testing, individual components of the software namely classes, functions, methods etc are segregated and then tested in isolation. Thus it ensures that each unit is working properly as per the requirements. It also verifies if each module's logic, data, and algorithm have been developed correctly, thereby adding to the reliability, and quality of the software.
Advantages of Software Isolation Testing
The advantages of the software isolation testing are listed below −
- The software isolation testing helps to identify the defects in the early stages of the SDLC, thereby decreasing the cost to fix them.
- The software isolation testing improves the overall quality of the software by verifying its individual components.
- The software isolation testing reduces the time for debugging.
- The software isolation testing works towards enhancing the reliability of the software.
Disadvantages of Software Isolation Testing
The disadvantages of the software isolation testing are listed below −
- The software isolation testing takes time to complete for complicated software.
- It is difficult to implement automation at the time of software isolation testing.
- The software isolation testing does not take into account the communication between the different components of the software, hence it gives a false sense of security.
When to Perform the Software Isolation Testing?
The software isolation testing are performed at the time listed below −
- The software isolation testing is performed during the time of development of the software. It helps to validate that the newly developed code works in isolation from the existing code. Thus it detects defects in the early stages of software development prior to being merged with the actual code base.
- The software isolation testing is performed at the time of making updates to the existing code of the software.
- The software isolation testing is performed at the time of performance testing of a particular unit in isolation. It helps to measure the performance of an individual module when it is working separately. In this way, it eliminates the performance issues in the code.
- The software isolation testing is performed at the time when various components of the software are being integrated. It helps to detect errors of the individual modules of the software when they are working in isolation.
Perform the Software Isolation Testing
The software isolation testing are performed by following the steps listed below −
Step 1 − Determine all the modules or units to be tested.
Step 2 − Design the test cases to cover an individual module.
Step 3 − Segregate all the units of the code.
Step 4 − Execute the test cases.
Step 5 − Analyze the test results and report all the discrepancies.
Step 6 − All the defects are fixed and restested.
Conclusion
This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Isolation Testing. Weve started with describing what is software isolation testing, what are the characteristics of software isolation testing, what is the need of software isolation testing, isolation testing while performing performance testing, isolation testing while performing unit testing, isolation testing while performing component testing, isolation testing while performing end to end testing, what are the advantages of software isolation testing, what are the disadvantages of software isolation testing, when to perform the software isolation testing, and how to perform the software isolation testing . This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Isolation Testing. It is wise to keep practicing what youve learned and exploring others relevant to Software Testing to deepen your understanding and expand your horizons.