code coverage

Articles

Code Coverage Is Code Coverage a Silver Bullet?

While code coverage is a good number to look at in terms of reach achieved in a testing cycle, is it foolproof? Is this metric a silver bullet for understanding the team’s coverage and vouching for testing scope? In short, no. But it is a vital step on the way to solving your testing coverage issues.

Mukesh Sharma's picture Mukesh Sharma
The Future of Code Coverage Tools

Modern optimizing compilers  are becoming increasingly dependent on dynamic profile information. Because the profile information collected by these compilers also is sufficient for QA, it is likely that code-coverage analysis will become an integrated development environment option. This integration should help to simplify your code development and testing processes and should also improve the accuracy of your coverage information and the performance of your optimized code.

David  Sehr's picture David Sehr

Better Software Magazine Articles

Code Improvement: Five Practices to Help Spread the Joy of Great Code Design

The software we produce is like the neighborhoods in which we live--the blueprints aren't as important as the enjoyment of simply using it. The best design brings joy to both those who create it and those who use it. Jeff Grover and Zhon Johansen detail five practices to help you spread the joy.

Jeff Grover

Conference Presentations

Code Coverage: Where Does it Fit?

Many organizations use code coverage almost religiously in their testing. Just as many or more organizations do not use code coverage or have tried it and stopped. If you want to begin using code coverage for the first time or improve its value and usage within your team, come hear what Dale Brenneman has to share. Using real-life examples, Dale explains the value of code coverage analysis as part of a comprehensive test plan and the potential side effects when you do not use code coverage. Find out about the many levels of code coverage and ways to enhance the value of code coverage analysis with other analysis techniques. Take away a step-by-step approach for integrating code coverage analysis into your organization's test process and fitting it into your functional test automation program.

  • The levels of module code coverage: entry, line, statement, branch, Boolean, cyclomatic path, all paths
Dale Brenneman, McCabe Software
Lipstick on a Pig - How Illusion Leads to Crisis in Real World Projects

Change, ambiguity, and risk are key issues whether you are running a software project, managing a development team, or leading an entire organization. We learn it over and over again. It's not a matter of "if" change will happen-it's a matter of "when." When a crisis inevitably arrives, how do you respond? As Jerry Weinberg observed in The Secrets of Consulting, "It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion." Andy Kaufman looks at key project illusions that threaten success as we lead projects and people in the realm of software development. Whether you're a project team member or a senior executive, Andy provides practical tips you can immediately apply in your organization.

Andy Kaufman, Institute for Leadership Excellence and Development
System Implementation Details: Understand, Test, Ignore

Join John Lambert to see examples of implementation details that cause problems in GUI-based applications, APIs, and Web systems. Find out how you can develop skills that will help you test your current product and will transfer to entirely different products in the future.

John Lambert, Microsoft Corporation
The QA/Testing Perspective on Software Security

Most everyone now realizes that we cannot solve security vulnerabilities with firewalls, virus scanners, and other tactics that build an electronic “moat” around systems. According to Julian Harty, security is not an operational issue, not a developer issue, and not a testing issue. It is a systems issue that you must focus on throughout the software’s life. From a QA/testing perspective, we need to look early in the development process for adequate security requirements. Then, we should assess the designs for vulnerabilities and participate in security code reviews. When specialized, security tests find bugs that get past our early prevention efforts, causal analysis helps prevent the recurring security defects. Dig into system security issues with Julian and learn about manual techniques, commercial software, and home-brew automation tools to help you find security vulnerabilities-before the bad guys do.

Julian Harty, Commercetest Limited

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