天行健，君子以自强不息

软件产品的生命周期，我们经常说到Alpha测试，Beta测试（其实还有Gamma, Delta测试），软件发布的时候经常看到RC, RTM,这些究竟是如何界定的，发布阶段到底怎么划分的，我们今天就看看wiki的解释。

A software release is the distribution, whether public or private, of an initial or new and upgraded version of a computer software product. Each time a software program or system is changed, the software engineers and company doing the work decide on how to distribute the program or system, or changes to that program or system. Software patches are one method of distributing the changes, as are downloads and compact discs.
Software release stages

The software release life cycle is composed of different stages that describe the stability of a piece of software and the amount of development it requires before final release. Each major version of a product usually goes through a stage when new features are added, or the alpha stage; a stage when it is being actively debugged, or the beta stage; and finally a stage when all important bugs have been removed, or the stable stage. Intermediate stages may also be recognized. The stages may be formally announced and regulated by the project’s developers, but sometimes the terms are used informally to describe the state of a product. Conventionally, code names are often used by many companies for versions prior to the release of the product, though the actual product and features are rarely secret.
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这是小猪猪第三次看电影了-如果算上在妈妈肚子里的那次。第一次看电影是出生之前，嫌太吵没看完就中途退场了。

第二次是一岁半左右的时候，看投名状，那么惊天动地的打斗场面，居然就睡着了！

这次原计划去看《功夫熊猫》，听看过的朋友反馈还不错，结果错过了档期，早上打电话过去，东海太平洋全天都是新片《赤壁》，本想改变计划。无奈昨天答应他的，他已经记住了，早上一起床就闹着去看电影，冒着毛毛细雨，我们一家三口就出发了。

小朋友的注意力是有时限的，这点跟大人一样，差别是小朋友的更短，两个半小时的《赤壁》看到一个小时以后，就开始坐不出了，把鞋脱了在座位下面跑来跑去，幸好中午场的人不是很多，跑到最后累了，居然又一次在电影院睡着了！我原本还担心八卦阵那样血腥的打斗场面会不会对他幼小的心灵造成什么阴影，不知道两岁多点这个时候会不会有记忆？反正我两岁左右的事情是一点不记得了，:-D

距离电影快结束的时候，突然发现我放在裤兜里的钱包不见了，因为那一排就我们一家三口，所以初步怀疑是滑落在地上了，后来赶紧借手电过来找，把那排座位翻了遍，都没找着，心想完了，赶紧挂失吧，还好就两张招行的卡，赶紧95555就打过去了，报了卡号之后，很快就挂失了，正打算在挂另外一张的时候，电影散场了，工作人员帮忙在座位的夹缝找到了丢失的钱包-虚惊一场。顺便赞一句-招行的服务效率和质量还是不错的，没辜负我一直是他的忠实用户。

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自动化测试是近年在国内比较流行的概念，针对自动化测试对应的就是手工测试了，这两个概念之间的对照，从维基百科（wiki）转摘如下：

Test automation

Test automation is the use of software to control the execution of tests, the comparison of actual outcomes to predicted outcomes, the setting up of test preconditions, and other test control and test reporting functions. Commonly, test automation involves automating a manual process already in place that uses a formalized testing process. < ==这里说，测试自动化是对已经比较规范的的手工流程进行自动化的过程，言外之意就是如果你连手工的流程都还不规范，还是别自动化了。

Over the past few years, tools with graphical user interfaces (GUI) that help programmers quickly create applications have dramatically improved programmer productivity. This has increased the pressure on testers, who are often perceived as bottlenecks to the delivery of software products. Testers are being asked to test more and more code in less and less time. <==看来自动化测试工具也不全是好事，测试人员的压力越来越大了。Test automation is one way to do this, as manual testing is time consuming. As different versions of software are released, the new features will have to be tested manually time and again. But, now there are tools available that help the testers in the automation of the GUI which reduce the test time as well as the cost; other test automation tools support execution of performance tests.

Many test automation tools provide record and playback features that allow users to record interactively user actions and replay it back any number of times, comparing actual results to those expected. However, reliance on these features poses major reliability and maintainability problems. Most successful automators use a software engineering approach, and as such most serious test automation is undertaken by people with development experience. <==大多数成功的测试自动化案例都是把它作为一个软件工程来实施，并且大多数情况下测试自动化都是具有开发经验的人来担任的。

A growing trend in software development is to use testing frameworks such as the xUnit frameworks (for example, JUnit and NUnit) which allow the code to conduct unit tests to determine whether various sections of the code are acting as expected under various circumstances. <==看来测试自动化框架的确很流行。Test cases describe tests that need to be run on the program to verify that the program runs as expected. All three aspects of testing can be automated.
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这是经典的软件测试的两个概念，难怪有人说，软件测试的过程就是Verification和validation的过程。其中的verification我们就翻译为确认-对需求的确认。validation翻译为验证-验证最终的产品是我们期望的。下面看看wiki的定义吧。

Verification and Validation (software)

In software project management, software testing, and software engineering, Verification and Validation (V&V) is the process of checking that a software system meets specifications and that it fulfils its intended purpose. It is normally part of the software testing process of a project. In pharmaceutical industry, verification involves testing the suitability of well established procedures or (compendial) methods, whereas validation varies from Cross validation, Empirical validation, periodic partial validation, internal/external validation, competence validation by nature, and Cleaning validation, Process validation, Equipment validation, or Documentation validation by tasks.

Definitions
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黑盒和白盒只是一个相对的概念，严格意义上说，并并没有绝对的黑盒和白盒，而且现在也有了灰盒的概念。

看看wiki上对于黑盒白盒的定义吧。

Black box testing

Black box testing takes an external perspective of the test object to derive test cases. These tests can be functional or non-functional, though usually functional. The test designer selects valid and invalid input and determines the correct output. There is no knowledge of the test object’s internal structure.

This method of test design is applicable to all levels of software testing: unit, integration, functional testing, system and acceptance. The higher the level, and hence the bigger and more complex the box, the more one is forced to use black box testing to simplify. While this method can uncover unimplemented parts of the specification, one cannot be sure that all existent paths are tested.

Test design techniques

Typical black box test design techniques include:

* Equivalence partitioning
* Boundary value analysis
* Decision table testing
* Pairwise testing
* State transition tables
* Use case testing
* Cross-functional testing

[edit] Hardware

Functional testing devices like power supplies, amplifiers, and many other simple function electrical devices is common in the electronics industry. Automated functional testing of specified characteristics is used for production testing, and part of design validation.

White box testing

White box testing (a.k.a. clear box testing, glass box testing or structural testing) uses an internal perspective of the system to design test cases based on internal structure. It requires programming skills to identify all paths through the software. The tester chooses test case inputs to exercise paths through the code and determines the appropriate outputs. In electrical hardware testing, every node in a circuit may be probed and measured; an example is in-circuit testing (ICT).

Since the tests are based on the actual implementation, if the implementation changes, the tests probably will need to change, too. For example ICT needs updates if component values change, and needs modified/new fixture if the circuit changes. This adds financial resistance to the change process, thus buggy products may stay buggy. Automated optical inspection (AOI) offers similar component level correctness checking without the cost of ICT fixtures, however changes still require test updates.
Software Testing Portal

While white box testing is applicable at the unit, integration and system levels of the software testing process, it is typically applied to the unit. While it normally tests paths within a unit, it can also test paths between units during integration, and between subsystems during a system level test. Though this method of test design can uncover an overwhelming number of test cases, it might not detect unimplemented parts of the specification or missing requirements, but one can be sure that all paths through the test object are executed.

Typical white box test design techniques include:

* Control flow testing

* Data flow testing

For more information on Control flow testing and Data flow testing click on this link to download pdf.

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不知道最近几年软件测试在高校中是否有专门的专业或者课程，或者说细分到测试这么细的分支。但是毫无疑问的是，软件测试已经成为软件行业一个越来越重要的分支了，因为高校里面没有专门的专业，甚至可能没有专门的课程进行系统的学习，那么从事这个行业的广大测试同行这部分的基础知识可能就都是通过自学、培训机构得来了。软件测试跟软件开发一样，也是一门系统的科学，包括的范畴也很广泛：测试流程，测试管理，测试工具，测试方法等等。

我打算利用接下来的一段时间，从wiki（维基百科，国内绝大部分用户可能无法访问）转载一些软件测试基础相关的概念，跟大家分享，首先就从软件测试的基本定义和测试用例开始。

Software testing

Software testing is the process of exercising a software to verify that it satisfies its requirements and to detect errors. Software testing is an empirical technical investigation conducted to provide stakeholders with information about the quality of the product or service under test[1] , with respect to the context in which it is intended to operate. This includes, but is not limited to, the process of executing a program or application with the intent of finding software bugs. Quality is not an absolute; it is value to some person. With that in mind, testing can never completely establish the correctness of arbitrary computer software; testing furnishes a criticism or comparison that compares the state and behaviour of the product against a specification. An important point is that software testing should be distinguished from the separate discipline of Software Quality Assurance (S.Q.A.), which encompasses all business process areas, not just testing.[citation needed]

Over its existence, computer software has continued to grow in complexity and size. Every software product has a target audience. For example, a video game software has its audience completely different from banking software. Therefore, when an organization develops or otherwise invests in a software product, it presumably must assess whether the software product will be acceptable to its end users, its target audience, its purchasers, and other stakeholders. Software testing is the process of attempting to make this assessment.

A study conducted by NIST in 2002 reports that software bugs cost the U.S. economy $59.5 billion annually. More than a third of this cost could be avoided if better software testing was performed.[2]

Scope
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看到这个标题，如果你认为我在痴人说梦，那么请一定仔细阅读本文。你还在认为测试和开发是天生的一对冤家，有不可调节的矛盾，是对立的两面么？开发的天职是构建程序，测试则恰恰相反，是从事破坏活动。其实从另外一个角度讲，矛盾的两者又是对立的统一面-共同为了把产品的质量提高。有的时候我们抱怨开发团队不够重视测试团队，请在抱怨的同时进行思考，是否我们的测试团队或者测试人员是不合格的。是否我们具备的测试人员的基本素质了呢。

在产品的开发过程中，需要测试和开发通力合作，互相尊重和理解，下面就具体阐述一下测试人员如何才能赢得开发人员的尊重。

第一，开发人员是一个比较单纯的群体,他们通常衡量一个人价值的方法是你的技术实力,因此好水平的测试人员很容易赢得开发人员的尊重。

第二，测试人员赢得开发人员尊重的方法首先是做好自己的本质工作,即掌握基本的测试方法和测试理论,更多的发现产品的缺陷。

第三，测试人员赢得开发人员过程中注重不但要能发现问题,而且可以重现问题,这是一个比较关键的问题,对于不能每次都重现的问题,也要搞清楚什么条件下问题出现的概率比较大，隔离问题，为进一步重现提供线索。

第四，测试人员不但要能发现问题,而且要在汇报问题的时候准确描述问题发生时的情况,包括配置，版本，设备情况,操作步骤,问题截图，日志等等。

第五，测试人员会使用自动化测试工具,提高测试覆盖率,而自动化测试工具实际是需要编程能力的,如果你熟练掌握这些工具说明和开发人员已经没有太多本质的区别。

第六，测试人员掌握开发人员不掌握的技能,比如性能测试的原理，方法和工具,这些东西在项目前期的技术验证都可以给开发人员提供很大的帮助，在后期的调试或者定位问题也可以给开发提供一些帮助。

第七，测试人员要了解系统架构等开发方面的知识,这些知识不是开发人员所独有的,作为高级测试人员这些知识也是必备的,这些知识的掌握不但可以提高测试人员的知识面,而且缩小了测试人员和开发人员的沟通成本。

第八，测试人员要掌握软件质量保证的知识,测试的高级阶段就是软件质量保证,而软件质量保证会含盖软件开发的全过程,掌握软件质量保证实际从项目的需求阶段就可以参与开发。

第九，掌握开发技术或者开发语言,测试人员如果掌握开发技术,实际上增强了问题查找和定位能力,很多时候,有经验的测试人员可以通过缺陷的表现形式定位出问题发生的原因,这没有什么不可能的,如果你有开发经验,这些问题也许就是你犯过的错误,或者是你长期测试积累出来的经验和教训。

有了这些能力,还怕开发人员不尊重你这个测试人员吗？还在抱怨开发人员不重视测试团队么？

（注，本文思路主要来源于测试同行bbbian，部分内容有删减，原文链接）

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国内原版的软件测试专著本来就不多，关于性能测试的就更少了，现在随着行业内对软件测试特别是性能测试的重视，软件测试需求人才需求也在不断扩大。除了亲自动手实践之外，理论方面的学习只能靠阅读各种书籍了，现在测试人员又有福音了，又一本优秀的国内软件测试方面的著作面世了，这就是6月刚刚出版的《软件性能测试与LoadRunner实战》，作者于涌是一位经验丰富的资深测试专家，有多年的开发经验，我们也是老朋友了。同时圈子里的几位测试大拿段念（网名关河），51的朴老师，测试时代的贺老师，还有Zee老弟都给予了非常中肯的评价。别的不多说了，首先看看这本书的介绍：

http://www.china-pub.com/39876

【内容简介】
本书在介绍软件性能测试概念的基础上，结合实际测试案例的剖析，重点讲解了LoadRunner工具的使用技巧和实战技术。.
全书分为4个部分。在“基础篇”中，介绍了使用LoadRunner工具进行软件性能测试的基本应用，如性能测试流程、性能测试场景和脚本的调试等技术。在“实战篇”中，分别对数据库、邮件协议以及LoadRunner .NET插件等应用进行了详细的讲解。在“提高篇”中，讲解了一个完整的GIS测试案例，把前面的知识整体贯穿起来，培养读者具有大型项目测试的能力。附录部分，提供了性能测试中经常用到的非常重要的模板文件和规范化的软件测试相关文档。..
本书图文并茂，通俗易懂，适合性能测试设计人员、性能测试开发人员、性能测试分析人员、项目经理、测试组长参考学习。…

【媒体评论】
LoadRunner是性能测试领域中应用较为普遍的商业测试工具，具有强大的功能，也比较容易入门。但大部分LoadRunner的初学者在掌握了简单的录制/回放技术后，想要进一步使用LoadRunner完成复杂任务的时候，都会发现自己对LoadRunner中复杂的参数设置、脚本语言的高级用法等不能很快掌握。而目前市面上又缺乏一本系统介绍LoadRunner进阶用法的书。
本书的出现恰逢其时，在本书的第一部分中，作者介绍了LoadRunner的基本使用，包括协议的选择、脚本的参数化、关联和脚本调试技术；在本书的第二部分中，则突出了LoadRunner的高级应用，在这部分内容的编排上，作者独具匠心地提炼出了使用LoadRunner过程中遇到的具有代表性的问题，并针对具体的问题给出了解决思路和示例代码。因此，本书既可以作为读者进一步了解LoadRunner的学习教材，也可以被当成LoadRunner应用的速查手册，读者可以直接在书中找到自己想要解决问题的答案。
另外，贯穿在本书中的还有不少作者在实际工作中得到的真知灼见，和处理具体问题的技巧，这些都会帮助读者提高测试技能。
——段念 Google（谷歌）TestLeader
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