Black Box Vs White Box Testing

In the field of software testing, some methods are used to find defects and evaluate the quality of the product. Among them are White-Box Testing and Black-Box Testing. Let’s see what each of them is about.

What is Black Box Testing?

Figure 1 – Black Box Testing. Source: instatus.

Black Box Testing is the method that does not consider the internal structure, design, and product implementation to be tested. In other words, the tester does not know its internal functioning. The Black Box only evaluates the external behavior of the system. The inputs received by the system and the outputs or responses it produces are tested.

What is White Box Testing?

Figure 2 – White Box Testing. Source: instatus.

The White Box Test method is the one that looks at the code and structure of the product to be tested and uses that knowledge to perform the tests. This method is used in the Unit Testing phase, although it can also occur in other stages such as Integration Tests. For the execution of this method, the tester or the person who will use this method must have extensive knowledge of the technology used to develop the program.

Black Box Vs White Box Testing

To simplify the distinction between the two, let’s look at the comparison table:

Key Differences

• Black Box Test only considers the system’s external behavior, while White Box Test considers its internal functioning.
• Implementation knowledge is not required when applying Black Box Testing, unlike White Box Test.
• It takes less time to perform Black Box Testing than White Box Testing.

Key Similarities

White Box Testing and Black Box Testing have different functionalities. Still, both tests guarantee that it is possible to have the best version of the software and that the system performs without problems as desired.