Testing Paths

https://web.dev/articles/ta-test-cases

Last week, we tracked the path a program would take using program graphs. The program graph is good to represent the overall structure of a program; it shows all the ways the code can go. 

Afterwards, I wondered about the other types of paths a program could take, whether it be the best case, worst case, etc. That’s when I found Ramona Schwering’s article about test cases and happy paths.

Although I primarily read this article for it’s definitions and information on the different paths a software could provide, it also covers the idea of a test case and how to prioritize the right ones. Schwering first reminds us what a test case does whilst checking the results of the program: it verifies the program does what it’s intended to do, and it validates the program is what the customer or user wants. 

Next, Schwering explains what drew me to the article in the first place: test paths and their outcomes. The first path is known as the happy path, since it applies to the most common use case of your program; this is what should happen and what we want to happen. The second path is the scary path, which is used to catch errors and ugly outcomes. 

Schwering lists other test paths that aren’t used as frequently as the first two but could be important to recognize. I’ll talk about a few I find interesting.

• An angry path is supposed to get an error; making sure error handling works.

• A desolate path would be important for programs dealing with input data, as it tests to see if it’s given enough data to function correctly. 

Lastly, Schwering goes over the best practices for writing test cases, and how there are two patterns used to structure the cases: Arrange, act, assert and Given, when, then.

I selected this article because it covered my topic of interest and I also enjoyed Schwering’s straight to the point, easy to understand writing style. I decided to do a deeper dive on Schwering herself and found she’s a software developer and tester that speaks at international conferences worldwide. Reading through the post, I found the organization of the information to be helpful in my learning along with the information itself being reflective of my thoughts on our recent classes. 

The content Schwering provides in this article is great for a quick read for anyone wanting to learn more about testing. I personally believe the paths she went over are important to prioritize, especially happy and scary paths. I refreshed myself on the duties of a test case and learned multiple kinds of test paths, and how their importances varies from situation to situation. I enjoyed this article especially due to Schwering’s little illustrations and how easy it was to understand the paths. I hope to create test cases in the future with these paths in mind, using them to my advantage when possible.