Princìpi di software testing (Meyer)

Da un articolo di Bertrand Meyer, uno dei nomi più importanti nel campo del software design:

• Principle 1: Definition. To test a program is to try to make it fail.

• Principle 2: Tests versus specs. Tests are no substitute for specifications.

• Principle 3: Regression testing. Any failed execution must yield a test case, to remain a permanent part of the project’s test suite.

• Principle 4: Applying oracles. Determining success or failure of tests must be an automatic process.

• Principle 5: Manual and automatic test cases. An effective testing process must include both manually and automatically produced test cases.

• Principle 6: Empirical assessment of testing strategies. Evaluate any testing strategy, however attractive in principle, through objective assessment using explicit criteria in a reproducible testing process.

• Principle 7: Assessment criteria. A testing strategy’s most important property is the number of faults it uncovers as a function of time.

Su alcuni di questi princìpi (in particolare sull'ultimo) ho dei dubbi. Ma vale la pena di leggere l'articolo (su IEEE Computer, agosto 2008), per chi ha la possibilità di accedere alla rivista (che consiglio).