Free taster
5 of 6 sections open
Finding Bugs Before Users Do
Finding Bugs Before Users Do
Testing is trying to break your own program before releasing it. Like a car manufacturer crash-testing vehicles - better to find problems in the factory than on the road! You need to test with normal data (should work), extreme/boundary data (edge cases), and erroneous/invalid data (should be rejected). If you only test with data you expect, you'll miss bugs users will find immediately.
What is normal test data?: Typical, everyday values the program should handle
Computer Science glossary
- What is normal test data?
- Typical, everyday values the program should handle
- What is boundary test data?
- Values at the edge of valid ranges (just inside and outside limits)
Earn the mark scheme marks
Exam Tips
- Boundary = both sides: Test value just inside AND just outside the limit
- State expected outcome: Always say what SHOULD happen for each test
- Iterative catches early: Finding bugs early is cheaper and easier to fix
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 15
A program accepts scores between 0 and 100. Which value is an example of erroneous test data?
Tap an answer to check it
This topic in real past papers
Every real exam question we've found on testing, with a full worked answer.
AQA Paper 1
Both sittings we have full papers for include at least one question where you must find and fix a real logic error in given code, worth 2 to 3 marks.
OCR Paper 2
All three sittings we have full papers for include a question asking you to find and fix two real logic errors in given code, worth 2 to 4 marks.