Chapter 9 Compatibility Testing

Compatibility Testing
Chapter 9

Highlights
 What it means for software to be compatible
 How standards define compatibility
 What platforms are and what they mean for
compatibility
 Why being able to transfer data among
software applications is the key to
compatibility

Compatibility Testing Overview
 Software compatibility testing means
checking that your software interacts with and
shares information correctly with other
software
 Two programs on single computer
 Two programs on networked computer

Example of Compatible Software
 Cutting text from a web page and pasting it into a
document opened in your word processor
 Saving accounting data from one spreadsheet
program and then loading it into a completely
different spreadsheet program
 Having photograph touchup software work correctly
on different versions of the same operating system
 Having your word processor load in the names and
addresses from your contact management program
and print out personalized invitations and envelopes
 Upgrading to a new database program and having all
your existing databases load in and work just as they
did with the old program

Questions for Compatibility Testing
 Other platforms and other application?
 Standards and guidelines?
 Types of data shared?
 Thoroughly analyzing the specification for the
product and any supporting specification

Platform and Application Versions
 Specific operating system
 Specific web browser
 Even specific versions
 OS
 Web browser
 Possibly some other applciations

Backward and Forward Compatibility
 Backward compatibility
 Work with previous versions of the software
 Forward compatibility
 Work with future versions of the software
 Example: *.txt files
 Product feature decision

The Impact of Testing Multiple Versions
 Software application – Multiple versions of platforms
 Huge task
 Figure 9.3
 Equivalence partition all the possible software
combinations into smallest, effective set
 Criteria to choose program to be tested
 Popularity
 Age
 Type
 Manufacturer

Testing Compatibility between
applications
New Software Application
Application # 1
Application # 8
Application # 7
Application # 6
Application # 5
Application # 4
Application # 2 Application # 3

Standards and Guidelines
 Research existing standards and guidelines
that might apply to your software or the
platform
 High-level standards
 General operation
 Look and feel, and so on
 Low-level standards
 Nitty-gritty details
 File formats, network communications
protocols

High-Level Standards and Guidelines
 Compatible with
 Mac, Linux, Windows
 Firefox, Internet explorer
 Example: Certified for Microsoft Windows logo
 Pass compatibility testing by an independent testing
laboratory
 Logo requirements
 Mice with more than three buttons
 Installation on disk drives other than C: and D:
 Supports filenames longer than the DOS 8.3 format
 Doesn’t read, write, or otherwise use the old system
file win.ini, system.ini, autoexec.bat, or config.sys

Low-level Standards and Guidelines
 More important than the high-level standards
 No windows logo isn’t a serious problem
 Low-level example
 *.pict file format for graphics program
 Communication protocols
 Programming language syntax
 Any means used to share information
 Look standards up yourself and develop your
tests directly from the source

Data Sharing Compatibility
 A well-written program that supports and
adheres to published standards and allows
users to easily transfer data to and from other
software is a great compatible product
 Simplest sharing scheme
 Saving and loading disk files
 File export and file import
 Cut, copy and paste
 Figure 9.7
 DDE, COM, OLE