White Box Software Testing: Advantages and Disadvantages

Can you tell me what the software development process was like before? It featured software development, quality assurance testers, and trust me, both turned out to be different units. The job of a developer is to implement a set of necessary features and functionalities, whereas the job of a tester is to ensure that the features and functionalities developed have not only met but also exceeded the predetermined requirements.

QA are our heroes here; they make sure everything is working in sync and whether the developed app is good to go or not. I am pretty sure you must have come across terms like white box and black box testing. Both terms are often contrasted with each other. However, the essence lies in testing an app from the user’s perspective without having any knowledge of how it’s being implemented.

With white box testing, it is possible to uncover all hidden errors and structural problems, and do you know what the best part here is? You also get to learn about the specific components, whereas black box testing is about keeping regular tabs on the system as a whole. However, both the kinds are about ensuring that the developed system is working as per pre-determined expectations. This is how everything works here: Test cases pile up, specs shift mid-sprint, and you end up spending hours and hours to sort out the CI/CD chaos, even after all the hustle, those annoying bugs managed to slip through. Have you ever wondered why? It is because most of the time, professionals focus on what the system does rather than focusing on how it thinks. This is where the concept of white box testing can make a difference.

What is White Box Testing?

Often known as structural testing or code-based testing, white box testing is a kind of approach where it is possible to test the internal structure of the developed software. After all, it is no longer about simply developing any kind of software; it’s more about developing high-quality, robust, scalable, feature-rich software which acts as a make-or-break for your organisation. Wondering how? Simple by choosing white box testing.

So what is it? Well, the testing mainly focuses on input-output functionality and for that it isn’t important to know the internal code structure. To conduct everything in a proper manner, it is very important to ensure that whoever is conducting the project has a deep understanding of the source code. Another common term for white box testing are clear box testing and glass box testing. This is a technique where right from the internal structure to design to how things will be implemented, etc, are taken care of.

The tester has a proper understanding of each and every software function and has the potential to develop test cases targeting the code’s internal conditions.

So basically, this is more like a sure-shot methodology which helps in being doubly sure and validating that the software application’s mechanisms, internal framework, and objects and components are much in sync. In addition, this type of testing even assists in uncovering all potential vulnerabilities.

Top Criteria on Which White Box Testing Relies on!

Security Gaps and Vulnerabilities — Keeping tabs to see if security best practices were applied, and if not, there is are high chance for the code to get exploited with unwanted security threats.
Broken or poorly structured paths — Identify broken conditional logic; there is no need for any kind of inefficiency.
Expected Output — By executing all possible inputs to a function, professionals get to see whether it gives back the expected result or not.
Loop testing — Keep proper tabs on single loops, concatenated loops and nested loops for efficiency, conditional logic. In addition to all this, it is possible to handle local and global variables in a seamless manner.
Data Flow Testing (DFT) — Tracking variables as well as values which pass through the code to find a specific bunch of variables which aren’t initialised, you may declare them, but they aren’t used anywhere else, or can even be incorrectly manipulated.

Why should one perform White Box Testing?

So basically, by far, I suppose you have understood what white box testing is, an approach which enables testers to inspect and verify all the inner workings, especially in regards to the code, infrastructure, as well as integrations of the system. Now we will explore the why part: how is the white box testing beneficial?

Thoroughness

The main benefit of white box testing turns out to be, it tends to offer absolute coverage. So, what is the scenario here? It is to test a wide range of codes; and unfortunately, this doesn’t happen with black box testing.

Here you are bound to receive a clear structure for testing. Just make sure testing is clear, engineering-based, and has clearly defined rules.

Seamlessly Automate

As the name suggests, unit tests allow testing small pieces of code as well as units. This is usually done to check if everything is working as pre-determined expectations. Since these tests are simple, it is possible for developers to programmatically run tests to see if something has been broken or not. Unit tests turn out to be a great way of testing especially if the code has been broken before.

Time

There are specific deadlines set to ensure that the software development is conducted in a seamless and amazing manner. White-box testing can successfully speed up the testing process in the most significant manner. A developer can spot a bug, and then they do get to learn about what the scenario is where the issue lies and how the fixing needs to be done.

White box testing successfully eliminates the overall communication costs between developers as well as QA, and here finding as well as fixing issues is possible without waiting for QA.

Optimization

Getting rid of superfluous sections of code can be quite daunting and troublesome. Who has time to go through code section by section. Well, it is possible to successfully get rid of hidden errors by optimizing in a seamless manner. Although these errors might not be visible while conducting normal testing.

Introspection

White box testing enables developers to successfully focus on implementation. Here, developers are forced to consider different sections of code and how they link to different sections. In addition, the current implementation is fine; however, this might not scale up in future, or you might have to cut out some unnecessary parts as well. Basically, with white box testing, developers do have a chance to reevaluate designs and different ways through which they can be improved.

Are there any Cons?

Yes, of course there are!

It turns out to be a pretty complex and expensive procedure which needs the adroitness of a seasoned professional, expertise in terms of programming, as well as having a better understanding of the overall internal structure of the code.
The test script needs to be updated every now and then, especially when the implementation keeps on changing too often.
Another disadvantage of exhaustive testing is that it becomes way more complex and complicated, especially if the app is of a large size.
There are a few conditions which might remain untested in case if it isn’t realistic to test every single one.
Defects in the code might not be detected easily.

Types of White Box Testing

Path Testing

With White box testing, it is possible to check all possible execution paths within the program to be pretty sure regarding each one of the functions, and see whether it behaves in the way we have expected before. This type of testing assists in ensuring all logical conditions within the code are functioning in the proper manner, and to be precise, in the most efficient manner, it is possible to avoid all the unnecessary steps leading to better code reusability.

Loop Testing

It is possible to keep tabs on loops in the program, where it is possible to operate in a seamless manner. Here, with the help of white testing, it is possible to handle variables in the correct manner and doesn’t cause errors such as infinite loops or logic flaws.

Unit Testing

Unit Testing assists in checking if different parts or functions of the app work in the correct manner. It is feasible to check if the app meets pre-determined design requirements or not.

Mutation Testing

Another amazing type of software testing is performed to design new software tests. By conducting mutation testing, it is possible to successfully evaluate the overall quality.

Integration Testing

Another type of white box software testing is integration testing, where it is possible to examine how different parts of the app work together especially in sync.

Penetration Testing

Penetration Testing, or pen testing, is one of the leading practices to find as well as fix any weak spots. And the best part here is, it is done before the app is exploited by real attackers. This type of testing focuses on web application security, mainly to uncover vulnerabilities, including code injection risks.

Tools of White box testing

SonarQube
Veracode
OWASP Code Pulse
JaCoCo
PVS-Studio
Checkmarx
Coverity
Klocwork
CodeClimate
Codacy

Final Words

Software testing as a whole concept is extremely important, no two ways about it, but I guess I could explain well the crux or significance of white box testing and why it shouldn’t be ignored either. The following post was created to offer a clear explanation regarding white box testing, which is why I haven’t mentioned any unfamiliar jargon or buzzwords. So, are you ready to make the most of testing concepts which can assist in catching defects pretty early and enhance overall performance?

Key Takeaways:

To detect relevant vulnerabilities
Complicated business logic
Seamless comprehensive testing of critical systems
To optimise performance to detect different bottlenecks
Security audits are conducted

So that’s all for now! I hope you did find the following post worth considering, and in case if you have any further doubts or queries, feel free to mention them in the comment section below. It is advisable to hire a reputable and reliable development company which has a proven track record of offering the best possible solutions from their space. Good luck with your upcoming development project.

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