Static Software Testing: Making The Code Clean As Early As PossibleWhen software is developed, before it can be released, it needs to have static software testing performed on it. Unlike many of the other types of software testing, static software testing is one form of testing where the software isn't used. This is the opposite of dynamic testing, where the software needs to be run in order to be tested. This article will look at the reason why static software testing is such an essential part of the software testing process and look at some considerations which need to be borne in mind when it is being carried out. Also called dry run testing, static software testing is performed by the programmer reading his own code rather than having to use any program or application. Static testing is not as detailed as the other software tests are either, as it checks for the sanity of the code, document or algorithm. The code is tested by either manually reading or syntax checking it for errors. The developer who wrote the code is usually the one who can do this test. Static software testing can be done as part of black box testing (from the exterior) and involves going over the requirements and specifications of the software. It is actually done as part of white box testing, however. Many different kinds of tools can be used for static testing. Most of these, including lint-like tools and metric tools are called static analysis tools. They are highly effective in checking for static within the system. One advantage of finding bugs while doing a static software test is that they are cheaper to fix than if they were discovered later in the development. In the software part known as verification and validation, static software testing is part of the verification process. The verification process is telling the software testers and developers that the system and software met the requirements and qualifications for quality. This is also a means of letting them know they can move on to the next phase of software testing. As can be seen using static software quality analysis techniques are essential to ensure that the software is developed in as clean a way as possible right from the outset, while the code is being written, therefore ensuring that later problems are kept to a minimum. By ensuring that static software testing is a normal part of the development process, errors can be kept to a minimum. |