What exactly is a "smoke test"?
It it a very basic test that does not require much time or effort.
It's purpose is to see if the system blows up or runs. It is not
exhaustive or even remotely complete testing. It is frequently included
as part of an automated build.
For a web application, it might involve loading the page, logging in
and selecting a few menus or buttons. The web application "should"
automatically report any crashes back to its developer.
An example smoke test for my site would be (4 steps):
1. browser to
http://www.gerardvignes.com/
2. the site will take a few seconds to load a crude drawing of a
programmer at the computer and should print gmv.context.status.success
on the white status line at the bottom.
3. Click "Contact" on one of the two light-blue menus, and my contact
information should load (again, with the success message in the status
line).
4. Click "NoteCard" just above the status line, and the light-green
service "Small 3x5 NoteCard" should appear. It has its own status
message, just below the buttons "blank, edit, save, discard, remove".
This status message should read "OK NoteCard Index service is
available".
These four simple steps exercise much of the JavaScript code, Ajax
connection, PHP code and MySQL connection. If any errors occur, the
application will attempt to send me an email reporting the error. It
will also display the error for you to read.
It usually takes me less than 1 minute to perform this test.
Thanks,
Gerard Vignes
http://www.GerardVignes.com
Seattle, WA
