🧪 What Is Software Testing?
Before diving into the types, let’s quickly define software testing:
Software Testing is the process of evaluating a software product to ensure it meets the specified requirements and is free of defects.
There are two major categories of software testing:
- Static Testing
- Dynamic Testing
Understanding the difference between these is critical for anyone starting a QA career.
📘 What Is Static Testing?
Static testing is a type of software testing that examines the code, documentation, or design without executing the program.
It’s done early in the Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and helps catch issues before the software runs.
✅ Common Static Testing Techniques:
- Code reviews
- Static code analysis
- Walkthroughs
- Inspections
- Linting tools (e.g., ESLint for JavaScript)
🔍 Example:
A QA engineer reviews the requirement document and finds inconsistencies in the login flow description before development begins.
⚙️ What Is Dynamic Testing?
Dynamic testing involves executing the code and checking the actual behavior of the application against expected results.
It validates:
- Functional correctness
- System behavior
- Performance under load
- Security vulnerabilities
✅ Common Dynamic Testing Techniques:
- Unit Testing
- Integration Testing
- System Testing
- User Acceptance Testing (UAT)
🔍 Example:
A tester clicks the “Login” button on a web page, enters credentials, and verifies whether the user is successfully redirected to the dashboard.
📊 Key Differences Between Static and Dynamic Testing
| Feature | Static Testing | Dynamic Testing |
|---|---|---|
| Execution | Done without running the code | Requires code execution |
| Timing | Early in SDLC | Later in SDLC |
| Who Performs | Developers, QA, Business Analysts | QA testers, developers, end users |
| Goal | Prevent defects | Find defects during execution |
| Examples | Reviews, inspections, static analysis | UI tests, unit tests, functional tests |
| Tools | SonarQube, ESLint, StyleCop | Selenium, JUnit, Postman, Cypress |
🎯 When to Use Each?
| Use Case | Recommended Testing Type |
|---|---|
| Reviewing business rules | Static Testing |
| Validating UI functionality | Dynamic Testing |
| Checking code standards | Static Testing |
| Simulating real user actions | Dynamic Testing |
💡 Best Practice:
Combine both static and dynamic testing in your QA process to catch issues early and ensure software quality end-to-end.
🚀 Conclusion
Both static and dynamic testing play vital roles in software quality:
- Static Testing = Prevention
- Dynamic Testing = Detection
Together, they help reduce cost, speed up development, and improve user experience.
