What is Component Testing?

by Nataliia Vasylyna | May 20, 2011 12:30 pm

ISTQB Glossary gives us the following definition:

Unit Testing (module testing): See component testing

Component testing: Testing of individual software components (according to IEEE 610)

Component: The smallest element of software, which can be tested separately.

The conclusions that can be drawn from the glossary: component, module and unit testing – the same thing. Is this true? If you try to find a definition of the word “component” and “module” (and, most importantly, the differences between them), you risk going mad.

We are interested in the general definition of the words:

Component (from the Latin. Componens) is a constituent of an element of something.

Let us depict on the basis of this definition of component testing: it is a testing of components software package separately, in isolation.

What could be these parts? For example, we have an internet portal. It is a news ticker, articles and forum. The forum and a block of articles we can call individual components – a component of our product.

In this case, in the forum, and in CMS, we can connect the individual modules, which will be the components relative to their parents. The components of all levels “communicate” with each other. Modes of communication can be called interfaces, and interaction of components – integration.

What are the possible “languages” for communication, interfaces? This may be entries in the database, service calls with different parameters, API[1], and even files.

Unit tests are called test individual classes of our application, and this is white-box technique.

QATestLab is a team of professionals working in various fields to ensure the quality of IT projects: test managers, manual, automated testing test engineers, consultants and trainers.

Related Posts:

• Black Box Test Techniques. Random Testing[2]
• Useful Tips for Choosing a Test Automation Tool[3]
• Myths and Facts: Purpose of Software Testing[4]

Source URL: https://blog.qatestlab.com/2011/05/20/what-is-a-component-testing/

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