Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!unix.cis.pitt.edu!gvlv2!faatcrl!jimb From: jimb@faatcrl.UUCP (Jim Burwell) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga Subject: Re: JRCOMM Message-ID: <1424@faatcrl.UUCP> Date: 2 Jun 90 01:56:28 GMT References: <20591@snow-white.udel.EDU> Organization: FAA Technical Center, Atlantic City NJ Lines: 42 jones@uv4.eglin.af.mil (Calvin Jones, III) writes: [stuff deleted] >I sometimes wonder how an author can go through so many beta versions >before release. I'd almost bet that the program is just written without >any formal test plan developed in the hopes that the "beta testers" can >do all the debugging before the >"release" version. Why ? Beta testing is one of the best ways to test a program. Through alpha/beta/gamma testing, a program can be put through the rigors of functioning under many different configurations and situations. As far as I'm concerned, beta testing IS a "formal test plan". Any other form of "formal test plan" requires the author(s) to think up EVERY situation the program will ever encounter. This isn't easy for the author, and even if he/she has the courage to try this "method", there is ALWAYS a situation the author won't think of. e.g., the author can only do SO MUCH as far as testing all by himself. The real acid-test for the program is turning it loose on a few trusted users who won't distribute the program to everyone in the world . These users can run the program through its paces and see what nasty creatures pop out of the code. They can then give some informative feedback to the author(s) who will fix the problems. Nifty, eh ? BTW, the beta-testers don't do "all the debugging". They simply find the bugs, and tell the author(s) about them (hopefully adding other usefull info, such as their environment, what they did, the input which caused the problem, etc,etc ). It's the author's duty to bang his head against the monitor in frustration while finding the bugs (or "debugging"...works for me :-). At any rate, beta-testing is usually the way to go. That's why lil' companies like CBM, IBM, Ashton-Tate, Lotus, Microsoft, Novell, etc do beta testing. And it's especially important with comm. programs.. C'ya Jim -- James S. Burwell UUCP: ...!rutgers!faatcrl!jimb Internet: jimb@faatcrl.UUCP "The Maker is the one who is part of what he makes." - The Redbird, from _The Tales of Alvin Maker_