In a former job I did some testing for a large bank deposit system using a
tool for on-line testing automation. I don't remember its name, but it was
a very bad experience - albeit partly due to us using it for a purpose it
was not designed to handle.

Nowadays I only write small, internal programs for The Cancer Registry of
Norway, basically just requiring me to try it once (sometimes I don't even
get to do that) before considering it finished. My programs are not
flawless, but whenever an error is discovered - I can normally fix it
within minutes or hours and the users are happy.

My point is that testing is such a wide subject, and that requirements vary
a lot. In general, I guess test suites could be invaluable for batch
testing of large systems - whereas testing of online programs is far more
difficult. The first thing you ought to find out is what you want to test.
From there it will be easier to ask questions to see if someone has been in
a similar situation and may offer some advice. Besides, it will clarify for
yourself what your requirements should be.

I'm looking forward to the rest of this thread - it is an interesting
subject that maybe will lead to a new branch of IBO components?

Set

>The other day I asked about software testing tools, I got one
>response (Thanks Geoff). I guess nobody is using them, so how do
>you all make sure that adding a new feature to a program or fixing a bug
>doesn't invite 15 new bugs to the party. I thought a testing tool
>might do this, in that you could run a test suite, and at least
>compare results to make sure the differences are what you would
>expect to be different. I know this is OT but it's something that
>people new to IBO or even the gurus might find handy.