Home

Software Testing - Dependency Testing

Quiz

Software testing is performed to verify every functionalities of the software. The software dependency testing is done to analyze the software requirements, initial stages, configurations etc to detect bugs that are not allowing the software to function correctly.

What is Software Dependency Testing?

Software dependency testing is a method in which the beginning stages of an existing piece of software are analyzed to verify the feature.

When analyzing either new or existing features, the softwares affected sections are also verified. This is primarily done for two reasons, to detect issues, and problems in the software. Besides, the compatibility, graphical user interface, and vulnerability are also verified.

Different Types of Software Dependencies

The different types of the software dependencies are listed below −

Logical Dependencies − These are related to the modification to the source code files which are changed as a part of change requests.
Syntactic Dependencies − These are related to the inflow/outflow of information or functional dependencies.
Work Dependencies − These are related to the workflow and produced by the human, and organizational attributes which increases the probability of finding errors in the software.
Data Dependencies − These are related to the security verifications where a particular data structure gets updated by the function, and later utilized in other functions.
Functional Dependencies − These are related to how the elements communicate with others in a circumstance in which the functional modification in one element affects another element working together.

What is a Test Method?

There are numerous approaches taken up to verify a software to make sure that it is working properly as per the requirements. This is ensured with the help of the unit, integration, frontend, and backend testing. A test procedure is implemented for this purpose.

But the choice of the test method to gauge the actual characteristics of the software is very important. Not every test case is effective, test outcomes are used to conclude the effectiveness of the test cases.

The software testing is done to detect errors, and to evaluate if the software is not working as per the requirements. The best approach adopted by the testing team to analyze its quality is known as the testing procedures.

Importances of Software Dependency Testing

The importances of the software dependency testing are listed below −

The software dependency testing identifies the potential risks in the software, and mitigates them.
The software dependency testing ensures compatibility, and reduces the scope of running the regression tests while the software moves to higher versions of dependencies.
The software dependency testing verifies the security vulnerabilities which may come up while using the outdated dependencies (by using the secure versions).
The software dependency testing checks the performance, then detects, and fixes issues related to it while using the dependencies.
The software dependency testing ensures scalability so that the software can handle growth.
The software dependency testing verifies if any changes or replacement with respect to the compatibility, and support are required in order to maintain the software.

Activities of Software Dependency Testing

The activities of the software dependency testing are listed below −

Step 1 − The software is used during the dependency testing to ensure all its modules are deployed both at the client and the server side.

Step 2 − The correct tool is chosen to verify all the modules are present prior to the execution of the code.

Step 3 − Installation of the dependencies namely drivers, graphical user interfaces, database, platforms, certificates etc are done.

Step 4 − Problems, and faults in the software are identified. Moreover, the other aspects namely security, compatibility, graphical user interface are also verified.

Step 5 − If one module is dependent on another, all the dependencies are verified in a particular sequence. In this way, the areas in the code which may not work correctly are identified.

Step 6 − The interlinked dependencies are analyzed automatically or manually.

Step 7 − A few sections of the code are eliminated from the configuration if they are unnecessary.

Single Test Method

The software dependency testing gives a single test method which is dependent on multiple test methods. This is critical since the software expects test ordering. Prior to moving the code to any particular environment, a test method which handles initiation of the web server should be triggered.

Test Procedure

Prior to moving the code to any particular environment, a test procedure which handles initiation of a web server should be triggered. The interlinked test methods namely launch of web server should pass before initiation of the deployment test method. In case it fails, there will be an absence of a web server to verify the program.

The test report should contain one failed test, and more than one skipped test cases because of the software dependency testing. In case the dependency testing is not done, the test report would only display a flow of errors since there is failure encountered at the time of launching of the web server. This means since the first method failed, the others have the same impact. This type of report is known as cascade report which shows the incorrect picture of the software.

dependsonMethods() Attribute

The @test annotation contains an attribute known as the dependsonMethods(). Using the TestNG unit test automation framework, the software can call out an array on which the test function depends.

Example

public class test1 {
   @Test
   public void testMethod1() { 
      System.out.println("Executing the first test");
   }

   @Test(dependsOnMethods={"testMethod1"}) 
   public void testMethod2() { 
      System.out.println("Executing the second test.");
   } 
}

dependsonGroups()

In some scenarios having multiple methods is advantageous, and they are grouped together. It is also a part of the TestNG.

Example

public class test1 {
   @Test(groups = "group1")
   public void testMethod1() {
      System.out.println("Executing the first test");
   }

   @Test(groups = "group2")
   public void testMethod2() {
      System.out.println("Executing the second test");
   }

   @Test(dependsOnGroups = "group1")
   public void dependentTestMethod1() {
      System.out.println("Executing the dependent test");
   }
}

Advantages of Software Dependency Testing

The advantages of the software dependency testing are listed below −

The software dependency testing confirms if the software is working as per the requirements.
The software dependency testing verifies the new, and the existing functionalities of the software.
The software dependency testing takes into account the existing errors, and faults in the software.

Disadvantages of Software Dependency Testing

The disadvantages of the software dependency testing are listed below −

The software dependency testing may be impacted by the dependencies in the software.
The software dependency testing may require usage of tools to detect the dependencies in the software.
The software dependency testing may require resolving the dependencies either manually or through automation.

Conclusion

This concludes our comprehensive take on the tutorial on Software Dependency Testing. Weve started with describing what is software dependency testing, what are the different types of software dependencies, what is a test method, what are the importances of software dependency testing, what are the activities of the software dependency testing, what are the advantages of software dependency testing, and what are the disadvantages of software dependency testing. This equips you with in-depth knowledge of Software Dependency 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.

Print Page