Which book on software testing would you recommend for a beginner

[charroo]

i've boguht:
https://www.amazon.com/Friendly-Introdu ... re+testing

but could not understand the material at a certain point.

which other book is good?

thanks

[Portreve]

I decided to look at the Amazon preview of the book, and got as far as this:

What is Software Testing?

Let's start with a few things that it is not:

Hmm... this ought to be good.

1. It's not finding every single defect.

I suppose this is understandable, at least to a point. After all, software that never gets out of the test-and-development cycle can never be sold, and at some point positive cash flow is a good thing. My concern, however, is that this is all too frequently treated as a justification (i.e. a crutch) for pushing under-tested software out the door.

2. It's not randomly pressing buttons, hoping that something will break.

Yes, methodical testing is a good thing. However, sometimes you have to just have a go at something and see if it falls apart.

3. It's not hoping that something will break, period.

Um, yes it is. I mean, not in the "Gee, I hope our programmers are incompetent idiots" sense, but if it's just a worried hope, or just as bad a Pollyanna perspective, well, that isn't particularly healthy, either.

4. It's not something you do after all the programming is complete.

This is probably the first point Mr. Laboon makes with which I 100% agree.

5. It's really, REALLY not something you postpone until users start complaining.

*falls out of chair*
*dies from non-stop, repeated fits of howling laughter*

----------

i've boguht:
https://www.amazon.com/Friendly-Introdu ... re+testing

but could not understand the material at a certain point.

which other book is good?

thanks

So, to be fair, I'm not certain people here — or, honestly, software developers or testers at large — read or have read books on software testing, so I think the better way to approach this subject, charroo, is instead to quote at least some portions of this book which went above your level of understanding, and see if any of us on LMF can explain it better.

FWIW, it's my opinion that software testing is no different from any other form of failure-mode analysis or basic troubleshooting. The person in question must have the following requisites:

• Fundamental understanding of, and background in, the art of troubleshooting;
• Fundamental low-level understanding of the specific subject in question (in this case, "How does software work?");
• Fundamental low-level understanding of related disciplines (in this case, the assorted programming languages used);
• Sufficient spine to tell the people in charge the truth about a given product's actual readiness;
• The ability to function as part of a team and understanding of how to deal with specific personality types

Software coders (i.e. "programmers") are typically, though not exclusively, lacking in soft skills, tend towards being anti-social, have certain stereotypical areas of interest (gaming, science fiction, etc.) and can best be approached through understanding how to relate to them and earning their trust and respect. Otherwise, anything you say or do will be treated with suspicion, and just as likely as not will get you self-defensive hostility.

[charroo]

Thanks for replying.
I'll later read what you've said

Edit
i understood most of your answer and it is what i've been looking for to know.

so there are steps to be taken before starting learning code test...

any simple books about how computers are working? or perhaps i'm better off sticking to webpages that teaches that?

[Portreve]

The following comment may seem as though I'm being rude. I'm very conscious of that fact, so therefore I'm going to offer the disclaimer up front that I do not mean to be cruel or rude:

If you do not understand how computers work at a fundamental level, you have no business troubleshooting or testing software.

It would literally be equivalent to a teenager who's only just started learning how to drive, and suddenly they want to jump into a job doing analysis on how to effectively machine throttle bodies, or some such equivalent.

The very first thing you must possess is technological literacy. I'm not saying you have to be able to read binary, for instance, but you need to understand:

What exists;
How it got there;
Why it's used;
How does it do what it does

Your best first steps would be to get involved with a group of technology (i.e. computer) enthusiasts and absorb from them what you can, and also maybe consider taking some computer-related classes. However, the issue I personally have at this point with suggesting that someone take a computer class is that those sort of classes any longer don't really cover fundamental basics. They're usually little more than Windows- or MS Office how-to classes which might start off with things like "This is a mouse, this is a keyboard, here's a pointer, these are icons, this is a window" and that really wouldn't do you any good at all.

One way I think is good for gaining a background (this involves time and patience) is go grab something, like the book you already have, and start picking it apart, chapter by chapter, concept by concept, and item by item, and then research each of those things. In that way, you can think of this (or some other hypothetical) book as like a recipe to make a particular dish, and then you can say "What is chicken?" and go look it up, and "What is the difference between baking and broiling?" and look up baking and broiling, and so on and so forth.

[Portreve]

Honestly, depending on where you are knowledge-wise, you're likely to have a LOT of ground to cover.

That's not a bad thing. What's at issue is you're simply trying to (massively) time compress a background and experience that most of us have spent a decade or more (on average) acquiring.

[charroo]

Portreve:
i will begin in basic things

[lmuserx4849]

There are general topics that can be covered, but I think of this subject as language/environment specific.
In the Window's world it use to be "Code Complete". For the Java language, "Effective Java" (although getting kind of old). Since the book you mentioned covers java, search for topics on junit.

There are some links in Quality Assurance wiki. As you can see it covers a lot of topics. It could be approached from a high-level perspective (i.e., project management) to the actual coding standards (i.e., GNU Coding Stds) Try also Coding Conventions wiki.

SQA encompasses the entire software development process, which includes processes such as requirements definition, software design, coding, source code control, code reviews, software configuration management, testing, release management, and product integration.

I'd search the internet for tutorials or articles on Best Practices and Unit Testing. Maybe you could find a youtube GoogleTechTalks.
I'm partial to the design/content of Deitel books, "How To" series. They have bullets for: "Good Programming Practices", "Common Programming Errors", "Error Prevention Tips", etc. They aren't inexpensive, but they cover a lot and are very professional. Checkout udemy.com, edx.org, or even khanacademy.org

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