Difference Between System and Integration Testing: This article is a simple guide to understanding the difference between system and integration testing. System testing and integration testing are two types of software testing that involve different test activities.
Integration testing is a type of system testing that involves checking the interactions between components. If a software application has multiple parts, each part should work independently from other parts. The output of one part should not affect the output of another part. System testing, on the other hand, checks for various errors and security vulnerabilities in the entire application.
What is Integration Testing?
Integration Testing is concerned with testing individual software components in isolation and verifying that they function properly when integrated into the larger system. These tests can be performed at any level of software development but are usually performed late, close to release. The purpose of Integration Tests is to ensure that individual units work together seamlessly.
Integration Testing should always be used to verify that the End-to-End scenario works – a full-scale operation with a real database, network calls, etc.
Integration Testing relies heavily on mock objects, stubs, and fakes as inputs to expected outputs. Integration Tests should use real components where possible but mock them in other cases.
Integration Testing seeks to discover not only that specific integration points are robust but also common pitfalls in the more general design of the system.
Integration Testing, if performed well, should uncover problems in design that may be missed by unit tests alone. As a result, integration testing is an important tool for helping to increase quality and reduce risk.
Integration Testing may also involve various other forms of testing, or combinations thereof: Unit Testing, API Testing, System Testing (with real databases, etc), or Performance Testing.
Integration testing can also be performed manually or automated with CI tools such as Selenium or some other web test runner in the case of a browser-based system.
When is Integration Testing Done?
Integration Testing can be performed at any time during the Software Development Life Cycle. Integration testing is often performed after unit testing but before system, component, or (in the case of web applications) browser testing.
However, it should also be done prior to major changes in order to verify that the new code still works with previously existing components within the system.
Integration Testing is done to test a group of components together as part of an integrated whole and to make sure that no conflicts were created during the development process. Integration tests check whether all the components fit together and work properly by simulating user activity against various components within the application being tested as well as checking functionality between processes or applications.
What Tests are Done in Integration Testing?
Top to Bottom Approach
Top to Bottom is a software development approach which means that test cases are written from the highest level of integration at the top of the hierarchy all the way down to units tests at the bottom.
Since Integration Testing deals with integrating multiple components, it typically starts by verifying that high-level functionality works properly and then proceeds to lower levels. Once the high-level functions are verified, the system is broken into components further and each component is tested thoroughly.
Bottom to Top Approach
The Bottom to Top approach is the opposite of the Top to Bottom approach, in this approach tests are written from lowest level integration at the bottom all the way up to a high-level functionality at the top. In this approach, testers start with unit tests and move towards integrated system testing. This kind of test case writing can be done when components interact with each other at a high level through the components below, so the order of testing is determined by the dependencies between units. Once the low-level functions are verified, these functions can be used to test further components above.
Hybrid Approach
The Hybrid Approach is a combination of Top to Bottom and Bottom to Top, which means that test cases are written from top-level integration at the top all the way down to unit tests at the bottom. In this approach testers start with high-level acceptance scenario tests in order to verify that high-level functionality works properly then they proceed to lower levels.
Testing Tools and Methods of Integration Testing:
While performing Integration testing, we use specific tools which help in writing the test cases.
For example: If the application is deployed on the Web then you will be using Selenium to run your tests. Selenium can be used for both Low Level as well as High-Level tests.
What is System Testing?
System testing is the final step in the software development process, after unit and integration testing. It is used to test if the system works as planned by validating functional requirements and non-functional requirements. System testing depends on a plan created during risk analysis which could be based on using various tools such as checklists, scenarios, etc. This plan will be used by a system tester to validate the developed software.
When is System Testing Done?
System Testing is done after completing integration testing in order to verify that the developed system satisfies non-functional requirements and business rules. It’s also known as Acceptance Testing (AT) or End-to-End (E2E) testing since it verifies if the developed system satisfies non-functional requirements and business rules, including security requirements.
What Tests are Done in System Testing?
System testing normally starts by verifying the system functionality of a particular business scenario (non-functional requirements). The test cases for this approach will be created based on the success criteria defined in the previously conducted risk analysis. The following are some types of tests that can be used during System Testing:
Functional Tests
- Unit Testing
- Regressiopn Testing
- Retesting
- UAT
- Smoke Testing
- Sanity Testing
- Integration Testing & Many more
Non-Functional Tests
- Performance Testing
- Security Testing
- Usability Testing
- Scalability & manu more
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