Test oracle: Difference between revisions

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{{other uses2uses|oracleOracle (disambiguation)}}

In [[computing]], [[software engineering]], and [[software testing]], a '''test oracle''' (or just '''oracle''') is a mechanism for determining whether a test has passed or failed.<ref>Kaner, Cem; [http://www.testingeducation.org/k04/OracleExamples.htm ''A Course in Black Box Software Testing''], 2004</ref> The use of oracles involves comparing the output(s) of the system under test, for a given [[test case|test-case]] input, to the output(s) that the oracle determines that product should have. The term "test oracle" was first introduced in a paper by William E. Howden.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Howden |first1=W.E. |date=July 1978 |title=Theoretical and Empirical Studies of Program Testing |journal=IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=293–298 |doi=10.1109/TSE.1978.231514 }}</ref> Additional work on different kinds of oracles was explored by [[Elaine Weyuker]].<ref>Weyuker, Elaine J.; "The Oracle Assumption of Program Testing", in ''Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on System Sciences (ICSS), Honolulu, HI, January 1980'', pp. 44-49</ref>