Chapter 1. Software Testing Background

IN THIS CHAPTER

  • Infamous Software Error Case Studies

  • What Is a Bug?

  • Why Do Bugs Occur?

  • The Cost of Bugs

  • What Exactly Does a Software Tester Do?

  • What Makes a Good Software Tester?

In 1947, computers were big, room-sized machines operating on mechanical relays and glowing vacuum tubes. The state of the art at the time was the Mark II, a behemoth being built at Harvard University. Technicians were running the new computer through its paces when it suddenly stopped working. They scrambled to figure out why and discovered, stuck between a set of relay contacts deep in the bowels of the computer, a moth. It had apparently flown into the system, attracted by the light and heat, and was zapped by the high voltage when it ...

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