Page 91 - SOFTWARE TESTING & QUALITY ASSURANCE

Software Testing and Quality Assurance

6.2 Summary

• Compatibility testing is required in every application as there is a great need to check for issues
related to compatibility.
• Generally, compatibility testing is conducted on a new operating system to check for its
compatibility with word processors or graphics programs.

• Compatibility testing for application programs is conducted on different platforms.
• Equivalence partitioning method is considered to be one of the best choices for compatibility
testing.
• The high level and low level standards and guidelines help to have a reliable software product.

• The data flow which occurs between software programs are tested to ensure that one software
program is compatible with another software program.
• Compatibility is assured based on how the data exchange happens.
6.3 Keywords

De Facto Standard: A standard which has been accepted and adopted but not been defined and
endorsed by the standards organization.
Disk Files: Disk files are file systems which manage to store data on permanent storage devices.

Parallel Processors: Performing several functions at once.
Vector Processors: A computer which has built in instructions and can perform operations on vectors
simultaneously.
Virtualization: Creating a virtual replica of something like operating system, memory, and so on.
6.4 Self Assessment

1. State whether the following statements are true or false:
(a) Compatibility testing is not a concern today.
(b) Today, the Microsoft Virtual PC is commercial software.

(c) There are two levels of requirement standards for compatibility testing.
(d) The high level requirement standards are considered as an extension of the software’s
specifications.
(e) The simplest way to transfer data from one program to another program is by saving and
loading the disk files, which is known as data sharing.
2. Fill in the blanks:
(a) The best approach followed by software testers to test effectively is through __________.
(b) Compatibility testing is carried out using ___________environment.
(c) The concept of using old programs once again with new standard is similar to
______________.

84 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY