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Glass Box Testing



What is Glass Box Testing?

Glass box testing is a testing technique that examines the program structure and derives test data from the program logic/code. The other names of glass box testing are clear box testing, open box testing, logic driven testing or path driven testing or structural testing.

Glass Box Testing Techniques:

  • Statement Coverage - This technique is aimed at exercising all programming statements with minimal tests.

  • Branch Coverage - This technique is running a series of tests to ensure that all branches are tested at least once.

  • Path Coverage - This technique corresponds to testing all possible paths which means that each statement and branch is covered.

Calculating Structural Testing Effectiveness:

Statement Testing = (Number of Statements Exercised / Total Number of Statements) x 100 %

Branch Testing = (Number of decisions outcomes tested / Total Number of decision Outcomes) x 100 %

Path Coverage = (Number paths exercised / Total Number of paths in the program) x 100 %

Advantages of Glass Box Testing:

  • Forces test developer to reason carefully about implementation.

  • Reveals errors in "hidden" code.

  • Spots the Dead Code or other issues with respect to best programming practices.

Disadvantages of Glass Box Testing:

  • Expensive as one has to spend both time and money to perform white box testing.

  • Every possibility that few lines of code is missed accidentally.

  • In-depth knowledge about the programming language is necessary to perform white box testing.

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