What is integration testing vs unit testing vs functional testing?

by Hruska William Best Software Testing Company In Canada

Unit testing and integration testing have an important role to play in the software development process. Both of these testing methods employ a unique and distinct process for testing the application efficiently. When it comes to functional testing, it is much more important when compared to the above-mentioned two testing types because the entire functionality of the system or application is thoroughly tested using the functional testing method. In this article, you will learn integration testing vs unit testing vs functional testing.

What is Unit testing?

It is a testing method where small pieces of code known as “units” are tested. Single components are checked in this testing method. ROI (Return on Investment) can be optimized if multiple unit tests are run through the codebase platform with fewer integration and functional tests. The teams should also understand the strategic differences between unit testing vs functional testing.

Units can be written easily and executed quickly. Software developers are responsible for conducting unit testing. The requirements are matched with the unit’s behavior. It is the first phase of the Software testing process. Some of the important unit testing tools that are used for different languages are NUnit of the .NET framework, PHPUnit of the PHP framework and JUnit of the Java framework.

What is Integration testing?

It is a testing method where two or more modules are combined and their functionality is analyzed in terms of how they perform when integrated. An ecosystem is formed where such various modules are merged, facilitating integration testing procedures. The objective is to check the overall reliability and performance.

The objective of integration testing is to check the performance, reliability and functionality of the application and system when they are integrated. Integrated testing is generally performed after unit testing and in some scenarios, is performed after unit testing and system testing.

What is Functional testing?

It is a black-box testing technique that ensures that the overall functionality of the application is working as per the required expectations. It verifies whether a desired output can be generated out of a particular input. Test cases are written based on the scenarios and requirements and then applied.

Based on the software’s nature, the number of tests can vary. Each test case comprises input steps, prerequisites, test summary, test data, expected output etc. To carry out the testing process effectively, the team should know the differences between unit testing vs functional testing.

A simple example for understanding unit testing, integration testing and functional testing:

Let’s take the example of a mobile phone. “Battery” and “sim card” are the two important parts of a mobile device.

Unit testing example: The sim card is checked to know whether it can be activated or not. The battery is checked for its capacity and other parameters.

Integration testing example: Sim card and battery are integrated into the phone, which means they have been assembled to start the phone

Functional testing example: The features are checked by checking the functionality of a mobile phone to determine in terms of the usage of a sim card and battery facilities.

Unit Testing Vs Integration Testing Vs Functional Testing:

Unit testing	Integration testing	Functional testing
Individual units or modules are tested	Testing is performed by integrating two or more units/modules	The overall functionality of the application is tested as per the requirements
It is simple to perform	It is quite challenging to perform when compared to unit tests	It is more challenging to perform when compared to both unit and integration testing
The white-box testing technique is used	White box, grey box and black box testing techniques are used	Black box testing technique is used
Those issues that frequently occur in modules are tested	Those issues that occur when different modules are integrated are tested	Those issues that obstruct an application from performing its functionality are tested
Issues cannot be escaped as there are no chances at all	There are fewer chances of issues being escaped	There are more chances of issues being escaped.

 

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing unit testing, integration testing or functional testing or combinations for your specific project, then do get connected with a reputed software testing services company that will provide you strategic advice and support from a testing standpoint, keeping in perspective your business and project specific requirements.

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Created on Mar 7th 2023 01:05. Viewed 388 times.

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