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I recently wrote about installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 Release Candidate 1 before its official release. After re-reading the article, I though it would be a good idea to explain what a “Release Candidate” is, and I might explain what other versions of tests exist out there in the programming world! Also, this isn’t the end-all-be-all list of how things are done in the real world as different companies might add or skip steps all together.

Unit Testing

“Unit testing” refers to testing an individual program - of course, this test only applies within a larger system, i.e. Operating System or the Human Resources program within your company’s Information System. Testing a program by itself would be the first step for a program as you would want to make sure it work the way it should before you integrate it into the larger system: You would want to make sure that the Inventory System can access and write to the database before you integrate it into the Purchasing System.

Volume Testing

Testing an application with large amounts of data can revile bugs that weren’t noticeable with a smaller amount of test data, this is the purpose of Volume Testing: Making sure the Payroll System can access all of the records a giant database and can run queries without choking.

Integration Testing

Integration Testing is done by testing all related sub-systems together: The Inventory System can access the Purchasing, Manufacturing and Sales systems. Each of these sub-systems is working as intended, they are sharing data together and each can run quires on tables from different databases.

System Testing

When all of the individual programs are functioning as intended (or close to it) you test all parts together, as a whole. This is a “System Test”: The Operating System can initiate the Networking Utility, the Indexing Service is crawling user folders, the Power Management applet can be accessed and the Power Scheme can be changed. All of the individual programs are working and playing nicely together. System Testing is similar to Integration Testing, though a System Test refers to the entire system, which would include all related and non-related sub-systems.

Acceptance Testing

Acceptance Testing is conducing any tests as required by the user. The test could be considered as a “test run” by the end user: Is the user happy with the system’s functionality, are they using features as intended, etc.

Alpha Testing

Testing an incomplete or early version of the system, or individual program is referred to as “Alpha Testing”. This test is geared toward ensuring that smaller features of a larger system are working: Is the new “Weapons Inventory Heads Up Display” reading the game’s available “Weapon Inventory” database and can the player change weapons? Also, this test is used to make sure that these new features haven’t messed up other features that are currently in place. Usually, many parts of the system are broken in this stage, as it is usually done very early in the development phase.

Programing CodeBeta Testing

Beta Tests are done on a close-to-complete and stable system. Obviously, Beta Tests are done after an Alpha Test. A beta system is close to completion and almost ready for the end user.

Mixing Tests

Now that you are marinating on all of that knowledge, consider that these tests can be combined: Alpha-Unit testing is the testing of an individual program before it’s completely finished. Beta-Unit testing, on the other hand, is performed after Alpha testing, when the individual program is complete and ready to use by end users.

Release Candidates

RC’s are an example of a test done by some companies and not others. After a round (or a few rounds) of beta testing, Release Candidates are compiled. These versions are very close to official release. Additional tests are done to ensure that all features are working as intended and there are no bugs. If any (”any” is subjective, it can refer to an “acceptable” amount of bugs for this release version or any at all), they are fixed and another Release Candidate, i.e. RC 2, can be complied for additional testing.

Gold Release

Software that “has gone gold” is the final version of a particular product. This release is ready for instillation or, for consumer software, has been sent to the production plant for mass-production and will be for sale soon. These releases are almost identical to the final Release Candidate, with only the very latest (and/or most essential) bugs fixed.

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