Software Testing: A Craftsman's Approach, Second Edition [Hardcover]

Paul C. Jorgensen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2002 | ISBN-10: 0849308097 | ISBN-13: 978-0849308093 | Edition: 2

The software development world has changed significantly in the past five years. Noteworthy among its many changes is the emergence of the "Unified Modeling Language" (UML) as an industry standard. While thousands of software computer professionals and students continue to rely upon the bestselling first edition of Software Testing, the time has come to bring it up to date.

Thoroughly revised, the second edition of Software Testing: A Craftsman's Approach reflects the recent growth and changes in software standards and development. Outdated material has been deleted and new topics, figures, case studies now complement its solid, accessible treatment of the mathematics and techniques of software testing. Foremost among this edition's refinements is the definition of a generalized pseudocode that replaces the outdated Pascal code used in the examples. The text is now independent of any particular programming language. The author has also added five chapters on object-oriented testing, incorporated object-oriented versions of two earlier examples, and used them in the chapter on object-oriented testing, which he completely revised with regard to UML. In addition, GUI testing receives full treatment.

The new edition of Software Testing provides a comprehensive synthesis of the fundamentals, approaches, and methods that form the basis of the craft. Mastering its contents will allow practitioners to make well-informed choices, develop creative solutions, and ultimately derive the sense of pride and pleasure that a true craftsperson realizes from a job well done.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Overall, this book is well written and illustrated, but requires effort to get through. This isn't a criticism of the author, who did an outstanding job of conveying information and clearly explaining complex concepts and topics, but reflects the depth of the material. In my opinion a copy of this book should be among the top five in any serious software test professional's library.
- Mike Tarrani, Amazon.com Top 50 Reviewer, Tustin, California

Product Details

• Hardcover: 359 pages
• Publisher: CRC Press; 2 edition (June 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0849308097
• ISBN-13: 978-0849308093
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,420,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Focused on techniques and on doing them right, July 5, 2002

By 

Mike Tarrani "www.tarrani.com" (Deltona, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Software Testing: A Craftsman's Approach, Second Edition (Hardcover)

Books on software testing fall into two basic categories: (1) those that deal with the test process and (2) those that deal with the actual techniques. Most of the more recent books fall into the first category; although there is some degree of crossover in many of the books. This book, however, deals strictly with techniques. The author doesn't dwell on the process or the associated administrative tasks, although he does touch upon them.

Techniques are presented within the context of formal mathematics. This isn't because the material is academic - it's all based on realistic testing scenarios - but, instead, provides you with proven and effective techniques for testing software in a systematic manner. Because many testers have not been exposed to the formal techniques and underlying math, the first section covers the basics: discrete math, set theory and graph theory. Once you've mastered the basics, which are heavily used in the chapters that address the actual techniques, you'll have all the knowledge that you need to go forward.

The remainder of the book is divided into four sections, each of which covers a specific type of testing. These types are: functional, structural, integration and system, and object-oriented testing. For each there are two to three techniques, plus a retrospective on the section that ties everything together. Also, issues and factors associated with each test type, as well as testing in the whole are discussed, giving you a complete picture of the full suite of testing categories.

Overall, this book is well written and illustrated, but requires effort to get through. This isn't a criticism of the author, who did an outstanding job of conveying information and clearly explaining complex concepts and topics, but reflects the depth of the material. In my opinion a copy of this book should be among the top five in any serious software test professional's library.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'm lost! this book should come with a compass, April 15, 2010

By 

Uncle J - See all my reviews

This review is from: Software Testing: A Craftsman's Approach, Third Edition (Hardcover)

The only reason why anyone should buy this book is because they have a college class that requires them to do so. That's the reason why I got it, and man!! I give the author full credit for knowing how to completely confuse his readers with technical details and examples that go way too far.

It is very complete, too complete as a matter of fact, for that I give it 3 stars, I passed my class with an "A" I was able to find everything I needed, but I will sell this book and pretend it was never in my life! it is extremely dry, not very practical, and I feel that it does not give a solid "overall" concept, instead, it goes deep into the weeds. The chapters end abruptly leaving the reader without a clue of what was covered, there should be "summary" sections at the end of each chapter to help you reference the material you just read. The exercise questions are not answered anywhere in the book, what gives? my professor did not have (or provided) the answers (then again, I don't even think he knew how to answer them) I learned more about software testing from the internet and commercial sites offering these services than from this confusing and extremely technical book. Still I passed the class so I guess that's all that matters. Good book for going to sleep.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on Software Testing!, December 8, 2011

By 

C. Chartier (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Software Testing: A Craftsman's Approach, Third Edition (Hardcover)

This is one of the best books on Software Testing I've seen. Not only is the content great (not a lot of the usual fluff - but some "real meat" with examples), but the layout of the book is fantastic as well. It's very easy to just find a topic you are interested in at the moment and get some detail - fast. Excellent job on both content and format!!