Black-box Testing
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Black-box testing is a method of
software testing Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to apprecia ...
that examines the functionality of an application without peering into its internal structures or workings. This method of test can be applied virtually to every level of software testing:
unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (alb ...
,
integration Integration may refer to: Biology *Multisensory integration *Path integration * Pre-integration complex, viral genetic material used to insert a viral genome into a host genome *DNA integration, by means of site-specific recombinase technology, ...
,
system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...
and
acceptance Acceptance in human psychology is a person's assent to the reality of a situation, recognizing a process or condition (often a negative or uncomfortable situation) without attempting to change it or protest it. The concept is close in meaning to ...
. It is sometimes referred to as specification-based testing.


Test procedures

Specific knowledge of the application's code, internal structure and programming knowledge in general is not required. The tester is aware of ''what'' the software is supposed to do but is not aware of ''how'' it does it. For instance, the tester is aware that a particular input returns a certain, invariable output but is not aware of ''how'' the software produces the output in the first place.


Test cases

Test cases are built around specifications and requirements, i.e., what the application is supposed to do. Test cases are generally derived from external descriptions of the software, including specifications, requirements and design parameters. Although the tests used are primarily ''functional'' in nature, ''non-functional'' tests may also be used. The test designer selects both valid and invalid inputs and determines the correct output, often with the help of a
test oracle In computing, software engineering, and software testing, a test oracle (or just oracle) is a mechanism for determining whether a test has passed or failed. The use of oracles involves comparing the output(s) of the system under test, for a given ...
or a previous result that is known to be good, without any knowledge of the test object's internal structure.


Test design techniques

Typical black-box test design techniques include: *
Decision table Decision tables are a concise visual representation for specifying which actions to perform depending on given conditions. They are algorithms whose output is a set of actions. The information expressed in decision tables could also be represented ...
testing *
All-pairs testing In computer science, all-pairs testing or pairwise testing is a combinatorial method of software testing that, for ''each pair'' of input parameters to a system (typically, a software algorithm), tests all possible discrete combinations of those par ...
*
Equivalence partitioning Equivalence partitioning or equivalence class partitioning (ECP) is a software testing technique that divides the input data of a software unit into partitions of equivalent data from which test cases can be derived. In principle, test cases are d ...
* Boundary value analysis *
Cause–effect graph A causal map can be defined as a network consisting of links or arcs between nodes or factors, such that a link between C and E means, in some sense, that someone believes or claims C has or had some causal influence on E. This definition could ...
* Error guessing *
State transition State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...
testing *
Use case In software and systems engineering, the phrase use case is a polyseme with two senses: # A usage scenario for a piece of software; often used in the plural to suggest situations where a piece of software may be useful. # A potential scenario ...
testing *
User story In software development and product management, a user story is an informal, natural language description of features of a software system. They are written from the perspective of an end user or user of a system, and may be recorded on index ...
testing *
Domain analysis In software engineering, domain analysis, or product line analysis, is the process of analyzing related software systems in a domain to find their common and variable parts. It is a model of wider business context for the system. The term was coine ...
* Syntax testing * Combining technique


Hacking

In
penetration test A penetration test, colloquially known as a pen test or ethical hacking, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system; this is not to be confused with a vulnerability assessment. T ...
ing, black-box testing refers to a method where an ethical hacker has no knowledge of the system being attacked. The goal of a black-box penetration test is to simulate an external hacking or cyber warfare attack.


See also

*
ABX test An ABX test is a method of comparing two choices of sensory stimuli to identify detectable differences between them. A subject is presented with two known samples (sample , the first reference, and sample , the second reference) followed by one unkn ...
*
Acceptance testing In engineering and its various subdisciplines, acceptance testing is a test conducted to determine if the requirements of a specification or contract are met. It may involve chemical tests, physical tests, or performance tests. In systems en ...
*
Blind experiment In a blind or blinded experiment, information which may influence the participants of the experiment is withheld until after the experiment is complete. Good blinding can reduce or eliminate experimental biases that arise from a participants' expec ...
*
Boundary testing An edge case is a problem or situation that occurs only at an extreme (maximum or minimum) operating parameter. For example, a stereo speaker might noticeably distort audio when played at maximum volume, even in the absence of any other extreme ...
*
Fuzz testing Fuzz may refer to: * Fuzz (film), ''Fuzz'' (film), a 1972 American comedy * ''Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law'', a nonfiction book by Mary Roach * The fuzz, a List of slang terms for police officers, slang term for police officers Music * Fuzz ...
*
Gray box testing Gray-box testing (International English spelling: grey-box testing) is a combination of white-box testing and black-box testing. The aim of this testing is to search for the defects, if any, due to improper structure or improper usage of applicati ...
*
Metasploit Project The Metasploit Project is a computer security project that provides information about security vulnerabilities and aids in penetration testing and IDS signature development. It is owned by Boston, Massachusetts-based security company Rapid7. It ...
*
Sanity testing A sanity check or sanity test is a basic test to quickly evaluate whether a claim or the result of a calculation can possibly be true. It is a simple check to see if the produced material is rational (that the material's creator was thinking ration ...
* Smoke testing *
Software performance testing In software quality assurance, performance testing is in general a testing practice performed to determine how a system performs in terms of responsiveness and stability under a particular workload. It can also serve to investigate, measure, valid ...
*
Software testing Software testing is the act of examining the artifacts and the behavior of the software under test by validation and verification. Software testing can also provide an objective, independent view of the software to allow the business to apprecia ...
*
Stress testing Stress testing (sometimes called torture testing) is a form of deliberately intense or thorough testing used to determine the stability of a given system, critical infrastructure or entity. It involves testing beyond normal operational capacity, ...
*
Test automation In software testing, test automation is the use of software separate from the software being tested to control the execution of tests and the comparison of actual outcomes with predicted outcomes. Test automation can automate some repetitive bu ...
*
Unit testing In computer programming, unit testing is a software testing method by which individual units of source code—sets of one or more computer program modules together with associated control data, usage procedures, and operating procedures&md ...
*
Web application security scanner A dynamic application security testing (DAST) is a non functional testing process where one can assess an application using certain techniques and the end result of such testing process covers security weaknesses and vulnerabilities present in an ap ...
*
White hat hacker A white hat (or a white-hat hacker, a whitehat) is an ethical security hacker. Ethical hacking is a term meant to imply a broader category than just penetration testing. Under the owner's consent, white-hat hackers aim to identify any vulnerabil ...
*
White-box testing White-box testing (also known as clear box testing, glass box testing, transparent box testing, and structural testing) is a method of software testing that tests internal structures or workings of an application, as opposed to its functionality ...


References


External links

*BCS SIGIST (British Computer Society Specialist Interest Group in Software Testing)
''Standard for Software Component Testing''
Working Draft 3.4, 27. April 2001. {{DEFAULTSORT:Black-Box Testing Software testing Hardware testing