A dry run (or practice run) is a
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 ...
process where the effects of a possible failure are intentionally mitigated.
For example, an aerospace company may conduct a "dry run" test of a jet's new pilot ejection seat while the jet is parked on the ground, rather than while it is in flight.
The usage of "dry run" in acceptance procedures (for example in
factory acceptance testing) is meant as following: the factory, which is a subcontractor, must perform a complete test of the system it has to deliver before the actual acceptance by customer.
Etymology
The term dry run appears to have originated from
fire departments
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
in the
U.S
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. In order to practice, they would carry out dispatches of the fire brigade where water was not pumped. A run with real fire and water was referred to as a wet run. The more general usage of the term seems to have arisen from widespread use by the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
See also
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Code review
Code review (sometimes referred to as peer review) is a software quality assurance activity in which one or several people check a program mainly by viewing and reading parts of its source code, and they do so after implementation or as an interr ...
*
Pilot experiment
A pilot study, pilot project, pilot test, or pilot experiment is a small-scale preliminary study conducted to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale research pr ...
*
Preview (computing)
Preview is a computing function to display a document, page, or film before it is produced in its final form. In the case of printed material this is known as "print preview".
Contents preview
Using Preview feature, users can preview and see th ...
References
External links
World Wide Words: Dry Run*
Wiktionary - dry run
Tests
Software testing
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