Testing of Software Structure/Architecture (Structural Testing)

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Structural testing, is an approach where the tests are derived from the knowledge of software's structure or internal implementation.

The Objective of Structural Testing is not to check different input or output conditions but to check different data and programming structure used in the program.

In structural testing the testers are required to have the knowledge of the internal implementations of the code. Here the testers require knowledge of how the software is implemented, how it works.

Some key points about structural testing

  • Structural testing is often referred to as white-box, glass-box testing, clear box testing, open box testing, logic driven testing or path driven testing. Also, techniques used for structural testing are structure-based techniques, also referred to as white-box techniques.
  • Structural techniques use information about the test object's internal code structure or architecture.
  • Structural techniques are most used in component and integration testing.
  • This kind of testing requires knowledge of the code, so, it is mostly done by the developers.
  • It can be used on different levels such as unit testing, component testing, integration testing, functional testing etc.

Structural Testing Techniques

  1. Statement Coverage
  2. Branch Coverage
  3. Path Coverage
  4. Condition Coverage