Glossary of Terms beginning Alphabet-C
CASE:
CASE refers to Computer Aided Software Engineering.
CAST:
CAST refers to Computer Aided Software Testing.
Call Coverage:
Call coverage is a metric, which reports whether you executed each function call. The hypothesis is that bugs commonly occur in interfaces between modules. It is also known as call pair coverage.
Capture / Replay Tool:
Capture / Replay Tool is a test tool which records test input as it is sent to the software under test. The input cases stored can then be used to reproduce the test at a later time. Most commonly it is applied to GUI test tools. Such tools are often used to support automated regression testing.
Cause Effect Graph:
Cause Effect Graph is a graphical representation of inputs and the associated outputs which can be used to design the test cases.
Cause Effect Graphing:
Cause Effect Graphing is a black box test design technique in which test cases are designed from cause-effect graphs.
Certification:
Certification is the process of confirming that a component, system or person complies with its specified requirements, e.g. by passing an exam.
Certification Testing:
Certification Testing is for acceptance of a software application by an authorized agency after the software is validated by thoroughly demonstrated practical trials to the full satisfaction of an agent nominated by the agency.
Changeability:
Changeability refers to the capability of the software product to enable specified modifications to be implemented.
Checkpoint or Verification Point:
Checkpoint or Verification Point is an expected behavior of the application which must be validated with the actual behavior after certain action has been performed on the application.
Classification Tree Method:
Classification Tree Method is a black box test design technique in which test cases, described by means of a classification tree, are designed to execute combinations of representatives of input and/or output domains. [
Client:
Client is a customer who invests his money & pays for the product & becomes the beneficiary of the use of the product.
Client Server Testing:
Client/Server testing involves increased size, scope, and duration of the test effort itself. The necessary test phases include build acceptance testing, prototype testing, system reliability testing, multiple phases of regression testing, and beta, pilot, and field testing.
CMM:
CMM means “Capability Maturity Model” developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI). It is a process capability maturity model, for judging the maturity of the software processes of an organization and for identifying the key practices that are required to increase the maturity of these processes. CMM is intended as a tool for objectively assessing the ability of government contractors’ processes to perform a contracted software project.
CMMI:
The CMM has now been superseded by the CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration). The old CMM has been renamed to Software Engineering CMM (SE-CMM).
Coding:
Coding is a generic term which refers to the generation of a source code.
Code Audit:
Code Audit is an independent review of source code by a person, team, or tool to verify compliance with software design documentation and programming standards. In Code Auditcorrectness and efficiency may also be evaluated. It is in contrast with code inspection, code review, code walkthrough.
Code Complete:
Code Complete refers to a Phase of development where functionality is implemented in entirety; bug fixes are all that are left. All functions found in the Functional Specifications have been implemented.
Code Coverage:
Code Coverage are techniques amongst the first few techniques invented for systematic software testing. It Is a measure used in software testing. It describes the degree to which the source code of a program has been tested. It is a form of testing that inspects the code directly and is therefore a form of white box testing. Test engineers can look at code coverage test results to help them devise test cases and input or configuration sets which will increase the code coverage over vital functions. Currently, the use of code coverage is extended to the field of digital hardware etc.
Code Freeze or Feature Freeze:
Code Freeze or Feature Freeze represents a point in time in the software development process after which the rules for making changes to the source code or related resources become more strict. A freeze helps move the project forward towards a release or the end of an iteration. The stricter rules may include only allowing changes, which fix bugs, or allowing changes only after thorough review by other members of the development team. It is a particular kind of freeze of features, when all work on adding new features is suspended, shifting the effort towards fixing bugs and improving the user experience.
Code Inspection:
Code Inspection is a formal manually performed testing technique where the programmer reviews source code statement by statement with a group who ask questions analyzing the program logic, analyzing the code with respect to a checklist of historically common programming errors, and analyzing its compliance with coding standards.
Code Walkthrough:
Code Walkthrough is a formal testing technique where source code is traced by a group with a small set of test cases, while the state of program variables is manually monitored, to analyze the programmer’s logic and assumptions.
Co-Existence:
Co-Existence is the capability of the software product to co-exist with other independent software in a common environment sharing common resources.
Comparison Testing:
Comparison Testing is the process of comparing strengths and weaknesses of the software with that of some better or similar products from the competitors.
Compatibility Testing:
Compatibility Testing is used to determine how well the software performs under different environment of varied types of hardware / software / operating system / network etc. It ensures that the software is compatible with other elements of a system with which it should operate, e.g. browsers, Operating Systems, or hardware.
Complexity:
Complexity is the degree to which a component or system has a design and / or internal structure that is difficult to understand, maintain and verify.
Completeness:
A product is termed as complete if it meet all the intended requirements.
Compliance:
Compliance is the capability of the software product to adhere to standards, conventions or regulations in laws and similar prescriptions.
Compliance Testing:
Compliance Testing is the process of testing to determine the compliance of component or system.
Component:
Component is a minimal software item for which a separate specification is available & it can be tested in isolation.
Component Integration Testing:
Component Integration Testing is the testing performed to expose defects in the interfaces and interaction between integrated components.
Component Specification:
Component Specification is a description of a component�s function in terms of its output values for specified input values under specified conditions, and required non-functional behavior (e.g. resource-utilization).
Component Testing:
Component Testing is like “Unit Testing” with the difference that all Stubs and Simulators are replaced with the real objects. Here a Unit is a component, and integration of one or more such components is also a Component.
Compound Condition:
Compound Condition refers to two or more single conditions joined by means of a logical operator (AND, OR or XOR), e.g. �A>B AND C>1000�.
Concurrent Testing or Concurrency Testing:
Concurrent Testing Is multi-user testing used to determine the effects of accessing the same application code, module or database records. It Identifies and measures the level of locking, deadlocking and use of single-threaded code and locking semaphores etc.
Condition:
Condition is a logical expression that can be evaluated as True or False, e.g. A>B.
Condition Coverage or Condition Testing:
Condition Coverage is a white-box testing technique, which measures the numbers or percentage of the decision outcome covered by the designed test cases. For example 100% condition coverage indicates that every possible outcome of every decision had been executed at least once during the testing.
Condition Determination Coverage:
Condition Determination Coverage is the percentage of all single condition outcomes that independently affect a decision outcome that have been exercised by a test case suite. 100% condition determination coverage implies 100% decision condition coverage.
Condition Determination Testing:
Condition Determination Testing is a white box test design technique in which test cases are designed to execute single condition outcomes that independently affect a decision outcome.
Condition Outcome:
Condition Outcome is the evaluation of a condition to True or False.
Configuration:
Configuration refers to the composition of a component or system as defined by the number, nature, and interconnections of its constituent parts.
Configuration Auditing:
Configuration Auditing refers to the function to check on the contents of libraries of configuration items, e.g. for standards compliance.
Configuration Control:
Configuration Control refers to an element of configuration management, consisting of the evaluation, co-ordination, approval or disapproval, and implementation of changes to configuration items after formal establishment of their configuration identification.
Configuration Identification:
Configuration Identification refers to an element of configuration management, consisting of selecting the configuration items for a system and recording their functional and physical characteristics in technical documentation.
Configuration Item:
Configuration Item is an aggregation of hardware, software or both, that is designated for configuration management and treated as a single entity in the configuration management process.
Configuration Management:
Configuration Management is a discipline applying technical and administrative direction and surveillance to: identify and document the functional and physical characteristics of a configuration item, control changes to those characteristics, record and report change processing and implementation status, and verify compliance with specified requirements.
Configuration Management Tool:
Configuration Management Tool are the Tools which are used to keep track of changes made to the systems and all related artifacts. Also called version control tools.
Configuration Testing:
Configuration Testing is the Testing of an application on all types of supported hardware and software platforms. It covers various combinations of hardware types, configuration settings and software versions.
Conformance Testing:
Conformance Testing is the process of testing that an implementation conforms to the specification on which it is based. Usually applied to testing conformance to a formal standard.
Consistency:
Consistency refers to adherence to a given set of rules repeatedly. It is the degree of uniformity, standardization, and freedom from contradiction among the documents or parts of a component or system.
Context Driven Testing:
The context-driven school of software testing is flavor of Agile Testing that advocates continuous and creative evaluation of testing opportunities in light of the potential information revealed and the value of that information to the organization right now.
Control Flow:
Control Flow refers to an abstract representation of all possible sequences of events (paths) in the execution through a component or system.
Conversion Testing:
Conversion Testing validates the effectiveness of data conversion processes, including field-field mapping and data translation. It involves testing of programs or procedures used to convert data from existing systems for use in replacement systems.
Correctness:
Correctness refers to the extent to which software is free from design and coding defects. It is a quality attribute pointing towards an extent to which the program satisfies the desired requirements and user objectives.
Cost of Quality:
Cost of Quality refers to the Money spent over and above the expected product development costs. It is aimed to ensure that the customer receives a product, which is of the desired quality giving him due satisfaction. The cost of quality includes prevention, appraisal, and correction or repair costs.
Coverage:
Coverage is the degree, expressed as a percentage, to which a specified coverage item has been exercised by a test suite.
Coverage Analysis:
Coverage Analysis refers to the measurement of achieved coverage to a specified coverage item during test execution referring to predetermined criteria to determine whether additional testing is required and if so, which test cases are needed.
Coverage Item:
Coverage Item is an entity or property used as a basis for test coverage, e.g. equivalence partitions or code statements.
Coverage Tool:
Coverage Tool refers to a tool that provides objective measures of what structural elements, e.g. statements, branches have been exercised by the test suite.
Cross Browser Testing:
Cross Browser Testing is used to test an application with different browser & may be under different OS for usability testing & compatibility testing.
Customer:
Customer is an individual or an organization, internal or external to the producing organization which receives the product.
Cyclomatic Complexity:
Cyclomatic Complexity is a software metric (measurement). It is a measure of the logical complexity of an algorithm, used in white-box testing. It was developed by Thomas McCabe and is used to measure the complexity of a program. It directly measures the number of linearly independent paths through a program’s source code. Empirically it is a number of decision statements plus one.
Explanation to All Alphabets in the Glossary of Terms

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