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How to Get Specific Labeled (Or specific Changeset) code for build To Build in VSTS 2008

2009-01-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it is required to select specific labeled/change set code for build. For this in Visual Studio Team System(VSTS) 2008 there is one proprty called GetVersion. Specify GetVersion property in TFSBuild.proj XML file anywhere within <PropertyGroup> </PropertyGroup>

Syntax for Changeset -
<PropertyGroup>
<GetVersion>Cxxxx</GetVersion>

</PropertyGroup>

Syntax for Label-
<PropertyGroup>
<GetVersion>Lxxxx</GetVersion>

</PropertyGroup>

Syntax for Latest Version-
<PropertyGroup>
<GetVersion>T</GetVersion>
 </PropertyGroup>

Syntax for Workspace version -
<PropertyGroup>
<GetVersion>Wworkspacename;owner</GetVersion>
</PropertyGroup>

Online Data entry jobs and Data conversion jobs with no deposit fees.

2008-10-06T23:38:00.000-07:00

Wanted data entry workers. Job is only through Internet. Work part time. You can earn Rs.750-2000/- daily. These are genuine Internet jobs. No Investment required. Only serious enquires pleasehttp://www.dataconversionjobs.com/?id=179675 . Register freely to get data entry jobs.

Transact-SQL Optimization Tips

2008-06-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

Transact-SQL Optimization Tips
· Use views and stored procedures instead of heavy-duty queries.
This can reduce network traffic, because your client will send to server only stored procedure or view name (perhaps with some parameters) instead of large heavy-duty queries text. This can be used to facilitate permission management also, because you can restrict user access to table columns they should not see.

· Try to use constraints instead of triggers, whenever possible.
Constraints are much more efficient than triggers and can boost performance. So, you should use constraints instead of triggers, whenever possible.

· Use table variables instead of temporary tables.
Table variables require less locking and logging resources than temporary tables, so table variables should be used whenever possible. The table variables are available in SQL Server 2000 only.

· Try to use UNION ALL statement instead of UNION, whenever possible.
The UNION ALL statement is much faster than UNION, because UNION ALL statement does not look for duplicate rows, and UNION statement does look for duplicate rows, whether or not they exist.

· Try to avoid using the DISTINCT clause, whenever possible.
Because using the DISTINCT clause will result in some performance degradation, you should use this clause only when it is necessary.

· Try to avoid using SQL Server cursors, whenever possible.
SQL Server cursors can result in some performance degradation in comparison with select statements. Try to use correlated sub-query or derived tables, if you need to perform row-by-row operations.

· Try to avoid the HAVING clause, whenever possible.
The HAVING clause is used to restrict the result set returned by the GROUP BY clause. When you use GROUP BY with the HAVING clause, the GROUP BY clause divides the rows into sets of grouped rows and aggregates their values, and then the HAVING clause eliminates undesired aggregated groups. In many cases, you can write your select statement so, that it will contain only WHERE and GROUP BY clauses without HAVING clause. This can improve the performance of your query.

· If you need to return the total table's row count, you can use alternative way instead of SELECT COUNT(*) statement.
Because SELECT COUNT(*) statement make a full table scan to return the total table's row count, it can take very many time for the large table. There is another way to determine the total row count in a table. You can use sysindexes system table, in this case. There is ROWS column in the sysindexes table. This column contains the total row count for each table in your database. So, you can use the following select statement instead of SELECT COUNT(*): SELECT rows FROM sysindexes WHERE id = OBJECT_ID('table_name') AND indid <>So, you can improve the speed of such queries in several times.

· Include SET NOCOUNT ON statement into your stored procedures to stop the message indicating the number of rows affected by a T-SQL statement.
This can reduce network traffic, because your client will not receive the message indicating the number of rows affected by a T-SQL statement.

· Try to restrict the queries result set by using the WHERE clause.
This can results in good performance benefits, because SQL Server will return to client only particular rows, not all rows from the table(s). This can reduce network traffic and boost the overall performance of the query.

· Use the select statements with TOP keyword or the SET ROWCOUNT statement, if you need to return only the first n rows.
This can improve performance of your queries, because the smaller result set will be returned. This can also reduce the traffic between the server and the clients.

· Try to restrict the queries result set by returning only the particular columns from the table, not all table's columns.
This can results in good performance benefits, because SQL Server will return to client only particular columns, not all table's columns. This can reduce network traffic and boost the overall performance of the query.
1.Indexes
2.avoid more number of triggers on the table
3.unnecessary complicated joins
4.correct use of Group by clause with the select list
5.in worst cases Denormalization

Index Optimization tips
· Every index increases the time in takes to perform INSERTS, UPDATES and DELETES, so the number of indexes should not be very much. Try to use maximum 4-5 indexes on one table, not more. If you have read-only table, then the number of indexes may be increased.
· Keep your indexes as narrow as possible. This reduces the size of the index and reduces the number of reads required to read the index.
· Try to create indexes on columns that have integer values rather than character values.
· If you create a composite (multi-column) index, the order of the columns in the key are very important. Try to order the columns in the key as to enhance selectivity, with the most selective columns to the leftmost of the key.
· If you want to join several tables, try to create surrogate integer keys for this purpose and create indexes on their columns.
· Create surrogate integer primary key (identity for example) if your table will not have many insert operations.
· Clustered indexes are more preferable than nonclustered, if you need to select by a range of values or you need to sort results set with GROUP BY or ORDER BY.
· If your application will be performing the same query over and over on the same table, consider creating a covering index on the table.
· You can use the SQL Server Profiler Create Trace Wizard with "Identify Scans of Large Tables" trace to determine which tables in your database may need indexes. This trace will show which tables are being scanned by queries instead of using an index.

· You can use sp_MSforeachtable undocumented stored procedure to rebuild all indexes in your database. Try to schedule it to execute during CPU idle time and slow production periods.
sp_MSforeachtable @command1="print '?' DBCC DBREINDEX ('?')"

SQL SERVER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS - Part II

2008-05-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

What is normalization? - Well a relational database is basically composed of tables that contain related data. So the Process of organizing this data into tables is actually referred to as normalization.
What is a Stored Procedure? - Its nothing but a set of T-SQL statements combined to perform a single task of several tasks. Its basically like a Macro so when you invoke the Stored procedure, you actually run a set of statements.
Can you give an example of Stored Procedure? - sp_helpdb , sp_who2, sp_renamedb are a set of system defined stored procedures. We can also have user defined stored procedures which can be called in similar way.
What is a trigger? - Triggers are basically used to implement business rules. Triggers is also similar to stored procedures. The difference is that it can be activated when data is added or edited or deleted from a table in a database.
What is a view? - If we have several tables in a db and we want to view only specific columns from specific tables we can go for views. It would also suffice the needs of security some times allowing specfic users to see only specific columns based on the permission that we can configure on the view. Views also reduce the effort that is required for writing queries to access specific columns every time.
What is an Index? - When queries are run against a db, an index on that db basically helps in the way the data is sorted to process the query for faster and data retrievals are much faster when we have an index.
What are the types of indexes available with SQL Server? - There are basically two types of indexes that we use with the SQL Server. Clustered and the Non-Clustered.
What is the basic difference between clustered and a non-clustered index? - The difference is that, Clustered index is unique for any given table and we can have only one clustered index on a table. The leaf level of a clustered index is the actual data and the data is resorted in case of clustered index. Whereas in case of non-clustered index the leaf level is actually a pointer to the data in rows so we can have as many non-clustered indexes as we can on the db.
What are cursors? - Well cursors help us to do an operation on a set of data that we retrieve by commands such as Select columns from table. For example : If we have duplicate records in a table we can remove it by declaring a cursor which would check the records during retrieval one by one and remove rows which have duplicate values.
When do we use the UPDATE_STATISTICS command? - This command is basically used when we do a large processing of data. If we do a large amount of deletions any modification or Bulk Copy into the tables, we need to basically update the indexes to take these changes into account. UPDATE_STATISTICS updates the indexes on these tables accordingly.
Which TCP/IP port does SQL Server run on? - SQL Server runs on port 1433 but we can also change it for better security.
From where can you change the default port? - From the Network Utility TCP/IP properties –> Port number.both on client and the server.
Can you tell me the difference between DELETE & TRUNCATE commands? - Delete command removes the rows from a table based on the condition that we provide with a WHERE clause. Truncate will actually remove all the rows from a table and there will be no data in the table after we run the truncate command.
Can we use Truncate command on a table which is referenced by FOREIGN KEY? - No. We cannot use Truncate command on a table with Foreign Key because of referential integrity.
What is the use of DBCC commands? - DBCC stands for database consistency checker. We use these commands to check the consistency of the databases, i.e., maintenance, validation task and status checks.
Can you give me some DBCC command options?(Database consistency check) –
DBCC CHECKDB - Ensures that tables in the db and the indexes are correctly linked.
DBCC CHECKALLOC - To check that all pages in a db are correctly allocated. DBCC SQLPERF - It gives report on current usage of transaction log in percentage.
DBCC CHECKFILEGROUP - Checks all tables file group for any damage.
What command do we use to rename a db? - sp_renamedb ‘oldname’ , ‘newname’
Well sometimes sp_reanmedb may not work you know because if some one is using the db it will not accept this command so what do you think you can do in such cases? - In such cases we can first bring to db to single user using sp_dboptions and then we can rename that db and then we can rerun the sp_dboptions command to remove the single user mode.
What is the difference between a HAVING CLAUSE and a WHERE CLAUSE? - Having Clause is basically used only with the GROUP BY function in a query. WHERE Clause is applied to each row before they are part of the GROUP BY function in a query.
What do you mean by COLLATION? - Collation is basically the sort order. There are three types of sort order Dictionary case sensitive, Dictionary - case insensitive and Binary.

What is Ajax ?

2008-04-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

What is Ajax ?

Building Web Applications Just Got More Fun

Web applications are fun to build. They are like the fancy sport scar of Web sites. Web applications allow the designer and developer to get together and solve a problem for their customers that the customers might not have even know they had. That's how the blogging tools like Movable Type and Blogger came about after all. I mean, before Blogger, did you know you needed an online tool to build your Web site blog?

But most Web applications are slow and tedious. Even the fastest of them has lots of free time for your customers to go get a coffee, work on their dog training, or (worst of all) head off to a faster Web site. It's that dreaded hourglass! You click a link and the hourglass appears as the Web application consults the server and the server thinks about what it's going to send back to you.

Ajax is Here to Change That

Ajax (sometimes called Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) is a way of programming for the Web that gets rid of the hourglass. Data, content, and design are merged together into a seamless whole. When your customer clicks on something on an Ajax driven application, there is very little lag time. The page simply displays what they're asking for. If you don't believe me, try out Google Maps for a few seconds. Scroll around and watch as the map updates almost before your eyes. There is very little lag and you don't have to wait for pages to refresh or reload.

What is Ajax ?

Ajax is a way of developing Web applications that combines:

· XHTML and CSS standards based presentation

· Interaction with the page through the DOM

· Data interchange with XML and XSLT

· Asynchronous data retrieval with XMLHttpRequest

· JavaScript to tie it all together

In the traditional Web application, the interaction between the customer and the server goes like this:

1. Customer accesses Web application

2. Server processes request and sends data to the browser while the customer waits

3. Customer clicks on a link or interacts with the application

4. Server processes request and sends data back to the browser while the customer waits

5. etc....

There is a lot of customer waiting.

Ajax Acts as an Intermediary

The Ajax engine works within the Web browser (through JavaScript and the DOM) to render the Web application and handle any requests that the customer might have of the Web server. The beauty of it is that because the Ajax engine is handling the requests, it can hold most information in the engine itself, while allowing the interaction with the application and the customer to happen asynchronously and independently of any interaction with the server.

Asynchronous

This is the key. In standard Web applications, the interaction between the customer and the server is synchronous. This means that one has to happen after the other. If a customer clicks a link, the request is sent to the server, which then sends the results back.

With Ajax, the JavaScript that is loaded when the page loads handles most of the basic tasks such as data validation and manipulation, as well as display rendering the Ajax engine handles without a trip to the server. At the same time that it is making display changes for the customer, it is sending data back and forth to the server. But the data transfer is not dependent upon actions of the customer

Some of the characteristics of Ajax applications include:

· Continuous Feel: Traditional web applications force you to submit a form, wait a few seconds, watch the page redraw, and then add some more info. Forgot to enter the area code in a phone number? Start all over again. Sometimes, you feel like you're in the middle of a traffic jam: go 20 metres, stop a minute, go 20 metres, stop a minute ... How many E-Commerce sales have been lost because the user encountered one too many error message and gave up the battle? Ajax offers a smooth ride all the way. There's no page reloads here - you're just doing stuff and the browser is responding. The server is only telling the screen what changed rather than having it redraw the whole screen from scratch.

· Real-Time Updates: As part of the continous feel, Ajax applications can update the page in real-time. Currently, news services on the web redraw the entire page at intervals, e.g. once every 15 minutes. In contrast, it's feasible for a browser running an Ajax application to poll the server every few seconds, so it's capable of updating any information directly on the parts of the page that need changing. The rest of the page is unaffected.

· Graphical Interaction: Flashy backdrops are abundant on the web, but the basic mode of interaction has nevertheless mimicked the 1970s-style form-based data entry systems. Ajax represents a transition into the world of GUI controls visible on present-day desktops. Thus, you will encounter animations such as fading text to tell you something's just been saved, you will be able to drag items around, you will see some static text suddenly turn into an edit field as you hover over it.

· Language Neutrality - Ajax strives to be equally usable with all the popular languages rather than be tied to one language. Past GUI attempts such as VB, Tk, and Swing tended to be married to one specific programming language. Ajax has learned from the past and rejects this notion. To help facilitate this, XML is often used as a declarative interface language.

To prevent any confusion, these things are not characteristic of Ajax :

· Proprietary: " Ajax " is perhaps one of the most common brand names in history, but in the present context, " Ajax " is neither the name of a company nor a product. It's not even the name of a standard or committee. It's a label for a design approach involving several related technologies and open standards such as HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Each of these is "open" in the sense that its based on a published standard governed by a standards body and able to be implemented in any browser, free of legal and information constraints.

· Plugin-Based: Ajax applications do not require users to install browser plugins, or desktop software for that matter.

· Browser Specific: As long as the user is working with a relatively recent, mainstream, browser (say 2001+), the application should work roughly the same way. Browser-specific applications somewhat defeat the purpose of Ajax.

SQL SERVER INTERVIEW QUESTIONS - Part I

2008-04-23T07:01:00.000-07:00

What is COMMIT & ROLLBACK statement in SQL?
Commit statements helps in termination of the current transaction and do all the changes that occur in transaction persistent and this also commits all the changes to the database.COMMIT we can also use in store procedure.

ROLLBACK do the same thing just terminate the current transaction but one another thing is that the changes made to database are ROLLBACK to the database.

What is difference between OSQL and Query Analyzer ?
Both are the same but there is little difference OSQL is command line tool which is execute query and display the result same a query analyzer but query analyzer is graphical and OSQL is a command line tool. OSQL have not ability like query analyzer to analyze queries and show statics on speed of execution and other useful thing about OSQL is that its helps in scheduling.

What is SQL whats its uses and its component ?
The Structured Query Language (SQL) is foundation for all relational database systems. Most of the large-scale databases use the SQL to define all user and administrator interactions. QL is Non-Procedural language . Its allow the user to concentrate on specifying what data is required rather than concentrating on the how to get it.
The DML component of SQL comprises four basic statements:
* SELECT to get rows from tables
* UPDATE to update the rows of tables
* DELETE to remove rows from tables
* INSERT to add new rows to tables

Write some disadvantage of Cursor?
Cursor plays there row quite nicely but although there are some disadvantage of Cursor .Because we know cursor doing roundtrip it will make network line busy and also make time consuming methods. First of all select query gernate output and after that cursor goes one by one so roundtrip happen. Another disadvange of cursor are ther are too costly because they require lot of resources and temporary storage so network is quite busy.

What is Log Shipping and its purpose ?
In Log Shipping the transactional log file from one server is automatically updated in backup database on the other server and in the case when one server fails the other server will have the same DB and we can use this as the DDR(disaster recovery) plan.

Question: What are the null values in SQL SERVER ?
Before understand the null values we have some overview about what the value is. Value is the actual data stored in a particular field of particular record. But what is done when there is no values in the field. That value is something like .Nulls present missing information. We can also called null propagation.

What is difference between OSQL and Query Analyzer?
Both are same for functioning but there is a little difference OSQL is command line tool which execute query and display the result same a Query Analyzer do but Query Analyzer is graphical. OSQL have not ability like Query Analyzer to analyze queries and show statistics on speed of execution .And other useful thing about OSQL is that its helps in scheduling which is done in Query Analyzer with the help of JOB.

What are the different types of Locks ?
There are three main types of locks that SQL Server
(1)Shared locks are used for operations that does not allow to change or update data, such as a SELECT statement.
(2)Update locks are used when SQL Server intends to modify a page, and later promotes the update page lock to an exclusive page lock before actually making the changes.
(3)Exclusive locks are used for the data modification operations, such as UPDATE, INSERT, or DELETE.

Explain some SQL Server 2000 Query?
Here are some sql server 2000 query like Sql Insert Query, Delete Sql Query, Update Sql Query and Sql Create Query:
1) Sql Insert Query:
a) How to encrypt data by using Sql Insert Query.
insert into table_name(Tablecolumn1, tablecolumn2,. . . . .) values ('value1', pwdencrypt('value'),. . . .)

b) How to copy data from one table to another with the help of Sql Insert Query.
--: insert into table_name(column1,column2,. . . . ) select column1, column2, . . . . from table_name2

c) Sql Insert Query using where clause
--: insert into tablename(column1,column2) select column1,column2 from tablename2 where id=value.

What is 'Write-ahead log' in Sql Server 2000 ?
Before understanding it we must have an idea about the transaction log files. These files are the files which holds the data for change in database .
Now we explain when we are doing some Sql Server 2000 query or any Sql query like Sql insert query,delete sql query,update sql query and change the data in sql server database it cannot change the database directly to table .Sql server extracts the data that is modified by sql server 2000 query or by sql query and places it in memory.Once data is stores in memory user can make changes to that a log file is generated this log file is gernated in every five minutes of transaction is done. After this sql server writes changes to database with the help of transaction log files. This is called Write-ahead log.

What do u mean by Extents and types of Extends?
An Extent is a collection of 8 sequential pages to hold database from becoming fragmented. Fragment means these pages relates to same table of database these also holds in indexing. To avoid for fragmentation Sql Server assign space to table in extents. So that the Sql Server keep upto date data in extents. Because these pages are continuously one after another. There are usually two types of extends:-Uniform and Mixed.
Uniform means when extent is own by a single object means all collection of 8 ages hold by a single extend is called uniform.
Mixed mean when more then one object is comes in extents is known as mixed extents.

What is different in Rules and Constraints?
Rules and Constraints are similar in functionality but there is a An little difference between them. Rules are used for backward compatibility. One the most exclusive difference is that we can bind rules to a datatypes whereas constraints are bound only to columns. So we can create our own datatype with the help of Rules and get the input according to that.

What is defaults in Sql Server and types of Defaults?
Defaults are used when a field of columns is almost common for all the rows for example in employee table all living in delhi that value of this field is common for all the row in the table if we set this field as default the value that is not fill by us automatically fills the value in the field its also work as intellisense means when user inputing d it will automatically fill the delhi . There are two types of defaults object and definations.
Object deault:-These defaults are applicable on a particular columns . These are usually deined at the time of table designing.When u set the object default field in column state this column in automatically field when u left this filed blank.
Defination default:-When we bind the datatype with default let we named this as dotnet .Then every time we create column and named its datatype as dotnet it will behave the same that we set for dotnet datatype.

ASP.Net FAQ's

2008-03-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Describe the role of inetinfo.exe, aspnet_isapi.dll andaspnet_wp.exe in the page loading process.
inetinfo.exe is theMicrosoft IIS server running, handling ASP.NET requests among other things.When an ASP.NET request is received (usually a file with .aspx extension), the ISAPI filter aspnet_isapi.dll takes care of it by passing the request to the actual worker process aspnet_wp.exe.
What’s the difference between Response.Write() andResponse.Output.Write()?
Response.Output.Write() allows you to write formatted output.
What methods are fired during the page load?
Init() - when the page is instantiated
Load() - when the page is loaded into server memory
PreRender() - the brief moment before the page is displayed to the user as HTML
Unload() - when page finishes loading.
When during the page processing cycle is ViewState available?
After the Init() and before the Page_Load(), or OnLoad() for a control.
What namespace does the Web page belong in the .NET Framework class hierarchy?
System.Web.UI.Page
Where do you store the information about the user’s locale?
System.Web.UI.Page.Culture
What’s the difference between Codebehind="MyCode.aspx.cs" andSrc="MyCode.aspx.cs"?
CodeBehind is relevant to Visual Studio.NET only.
What’s a bubbled event?
When you have a complex control, like DataGrid, writing an event processing routine for each object (cell, button, row, etc.) is quite tedious. The controls can bubble up their eventhandlers, allowing the main DataGrid event handler to take care of its constituents.
Suppose you want a certain ASP.NET function executed on MouseOver for a certain button. Where do you add an event handler?
Add an OnMouseOver attribute to the button. Example: btnSubmit.Attributes.Add("onmouseover","someClientCodeHere();");
What data types do the RangeValidator control support?
Integer, String, and Date.
Explain the differences between Server-side and Client-side code?
Server-side code executes on the server. Client-side code executes in the client's browser.
What type of code (server or client) is found in a Code-Behind class?
The answer is server-side code since code-behind is executed on the server. However, during the code-behind's execution on the server, it can render client-side code such as JavaScript to be processed in the clients browser. But just to be clear, code-behind executes on the server, thus making it server-side code.
Should user input data validation occur server-side or client-side? Why?
All user input data validation should occur on the server at a minimum. Additionally, client-side validation can be performed where deemed appropriate and feasable to provide a richer, more responsive experience for the user.
What is the difference between Server.Transfer and Response.Redirect? Why would I choose one over the other?
Server.Transfer transfers page processing from one page directly to the next page without making a round-trip back to the client's browser. This provides a faster response with a little less overhead on the server. Server.Transfer does not update the clients url history list or current url. Response.Redirect is used to redirect the user's browser to another page or site. This performas a trip back to the client where the client's browser is redirected to the new page. The user's browser history list is updated to reflect the new address.
Can you explain the difference between an ADO.NET Dataset and an ADO Recordset?
Valid answers are:
· A DataSet can represent an entire relational database in memory, complete with tables, relations, and views.
· A DataSet is designed to work without any continuing connection to the original data source.
· Data in a DataSet is bulk-loaded, rather than being loaded on demand.
· There's no concept of cursor types in a DataSet.
· DataSets have no current record pointer You can use For Each loops to move through the data.
· You can store many edits in a DataSet, and write them to the original data source in a single operation.
· Though the DataSet is universal, other objects in ADO.NET come in different versions for different data sources.
What is the Global.asax used for?
The Global.asax (including the Global.asax.cs file) is used to implement application and session level events.
What are the Application_Start and Session_Start subroutines used for?
This is where you can set the specific variables for the Application and Session objects.
Can you explain what inheritance is and an example of when you might use it?
When you want to inherit (use the functionality of) another class. Example: With a base class named Employee, a Manager class could be derived from the Employee base class.
Whats an assembly?
Assemblies are the building blocks of the .NET framework. Overview of assemblies from MSDN
Describe the difference between inline and code behind.
Inline code written along side the html in a page. Code-behind is code written in a separate file and referenced by the .aspx page.
Explain what a diffgram is, and a good use for one?
The DiffGram is one of the two XML formats that you can use to render DataSet object contents to XML. A good use is reading database data to an XML file to be sent to a Web Service.
Whats MSIL, and why should my developers need an appreciation of it if at all?
MSIL is the Microsoft Intermediate Language. All .NET compatible languages will get converted to MSIL. MSIL also allows the .NET Framework to JIT compile the assembly on the installed computer.
Which method do you invoke on the DataAdapter control to load your generated dataset with data?
The Fill() method.
Can you edit data in the Repeater control?
No, it just reads the information from its data source.
Which template must you provide, in order to display data in a Repeater control?
ItemTemplate.
How can you provide an alternating color scheme in a Repeater control?
Use the AlternatingItemTemplate.
What property must you set, and what method must you call in your code, in order to bind the data from a data source to the Repeater control?
You must set the DataSource property and call the DataBind method.
What base class do all Web Forms inherit from?
The Page class.
Name two properties common in every validation control?
ControlToValidate property and Text property.
Which property on a Combo Box do you set with a column name, prior to setting the DataSource, to display data in the combo box?
DataTextField property.
Which control would you use if you needed to make sure the values in two different controls matched?
CompareValidator control.

Software Testing Dictionary

2008-03-16T08:50:00.000-07:00

Acceptance Test Formal tests (often performed by a customer) to determine whether or not a system has satisfied predetermined acceptance criteria. These tests are often used to enable the customer (either internal or external) to determine whether or not to accept a system.

Ad Hoc TestingTesting carried out using no recognised test case design technique. [BCS]

Alpha Testing Testing of a software product or system conducted at the developer's site by the customer.

Automated Testing Software testing which is assisted with software technology that does not require operator (tester) input, analysis, or evaluation.

Background testing. is the execution of normal functional testing while the SUT is exercised by a realistic work load. This work load is being processed "in the background" as far as the functional testing is concerned. [ Load Testing Terminology by Scott Stirling ]

Bug: glitch, error, goof, slip, fault, blunder, boner, howler, oversight, botch, delusion, elision. [B. Beizer, 1990], defect, issue, problem

Beta Testing. Testing conducted at one or more customer sites by the end-user of a delivered software product or system.

Benchmarking is specific type of performance test with the purpose of determining performance baselines for comparison. [Load Testing Terminology by Scott Stirling ]

Big-bang testing Integration testing where no incremental testing takes place prior to all the system's components being combined to form the system.[BCS]

Black box testing. A testing method where the application under test is viewed as a black box and the internal behavior of the program is completely ignored. Testing occurs based upon the external specifications. Also known as behavioral testing, since only the external behaviors of the program are evaluated and analyzed.

Boundary Value Analysis (BVA). BVA is different from equivalence partitioning in that it focuses on "corner cases" or values that are usually out of range as defined by the specification. This means that if function expects all values in range of negative 100 to positive 1000, test inputs would include negative 101 and positive 1001. BVA attempts to derive the value often used as a technique for stress, load or volume testing. This type of validation is usually performed after positive functional validation has completed (successfully) using requirements specifications and user documentation.

Breadth test. - A test suite that exercises the full scope of a system from a top-down perspective, but does not test any aspect in detail [Dorothy Graham, 1999]

Cause Effect Graphing. (1) [NBS] Test data selection technique. The input and output domains are partitioned into classes and analysis is performed to determine which input classes cause which effect. A minimal set of inputs is chosen which will cover the entire effect set. (2)A systematic method of generating test cases representing combinations of conditions. See: testing, functional.[G. Myers]

Clean test. A test whose primary purpose is validation; that is, tests designed to demonstrate the software`s correct working.(syn. positive test)[B. Beizer 1995]

Code Inspection. A manual [formal] testing [error detection] technique where the programmer reads source code, statement by statement, to a group who ask questions analyzing the program logic, analyzing the code with respect to a checklist of historically common programming errors, and analyzing its compliance with coding standards. Contrast with code audit, code review, code walkthrough. This technique can also be applied to other software and configuration items. [G.Myers/NBS] Syn: Fagan Inspection

Code Walkthrough. A manual testing [error detection] technique where program [source code] logic [structure] is traced manually [mentally] by a group with a small set of test cases, while the state of program variables is manually monitored, to analyze the programmer's logic and assumptions.[G.Myers/NBS] Contrast with code audit, code inspection, code review.

Coexistence Testing.Coexistence isn’t enough. It also depends on load order, how virtual space is mapped at the moment, hardware and software configurations, and the history of what took place hours or days before. It’s probably an exponentially hard problem rather than a square-law problem. [from Quality Is Not The Goal. By Boris Beizer, Ph. D.]

Compatibility bug A revision to the framework breaks a previously working feature: a new feature is inconsistent with an old feature, or a new feature breaks an unchanged application rebuilt with the new framework code. [R. V. Binder, 1999]

Compatibility Testing. The process of determining the ability of two or more systems to exchange information. In a situation where the developed software replaces an already working program, an investigation should be conducted to assess possible comparability problems between the new software and other programs or systems.

Composability testing –testing the ability of the interface to let users do more complex tasks by combining different sequences of simpler, easy-to-learn tasks. [Timothy Dyck, ‘Easy’ and other lies, eWEEK April 28, 2003]

Conformance directed testing. Testing that seeks to establish conformance to requirements or specification. [R. V. Binder, 1999]

CRUD Testing. Build CRUD matrix and test all object creation, reads, updates, and deletion. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Data-Driven testing An automation approach in which the navigation and functionality of the test script is directed through external data; this approach separates test and control data from the test script. [Daniel J. Mosley, 2002]

Data flow testing Testing in which test cases are designed based on variable usage within the code.[BCS]

Database testing. Check the integrity of database field values. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Defect The difference between the functional specification (including user documentation) and actual program text (source code and data). Often reported as problem and stored in defect-tracking and problem-management system

Defect Also called a fault or a bug, a defect is an incorrect part of code that is caused by an error. An error of commission causes a defect of wrong or extra code. An error of omission results in a defect of missing code. A defect may cause one or more failures.[Robert M. Poston, 1996.]

Decision Coverage. A test coverage criteria requiring enough test cases such that each decision has a true and false result at least once, and that each statement is executed at least once. Syn: branch coverage. Contrast with condition coverage, multiple condition coverage, path coverage, statement coverage.[G.Myers]

Dirty testing Negative testing. [Beizer]

Dynamic testing. Testing, based on specific test cases, by execution of the test object or running programs [Tim Koomen, 1999]

End-to-End testing. Similar to system testing; the 'macro' end of the test scale; involves testing of a complete application environment in a situation that mimics real-world use, such as interacting with a database, using network communications, or interacting with other hardware, applications, or systems if appropriate.

Equivalence Partitioning: An approach where classes of inputs are categorized for product or function validation. This usually does not include combinations of input, but rather a single state value based by class. For example, with a given function there may be several classes of input that may be used for positive testing. If function expects an integer and receives an integer as input, this would be considered as positive test assertion. On the other hand, if a character or any other input class other than integer is provided, this would be considered a negative test assertion or condition.

Error: An error is a mistake of commission or omission that a person makes. An error causes a defect. In software development one error may cause one or more defects in requirements, designs, programs, or tests.[Robert M. Poston, 1996.]

Error Guessing: Another common approach to black-box validation. Black-box testing is when everything else other than the source code may be used for testing. This is the most common approach to testing. Error guessing is when random inputs or conditions are used for testing. Random in this case includes a value either produced by a computerized random number generator, or an ad hoc value or test conditions provided by engineer.

Error guessing. A test case design technique where the experience of the tester is used to postulate what faults exist, and to design tests specially to expose them [from BS7925-1]

Error seeding. The purposeful introduction of faults into a program to test effectiveness of a test suite or other quality assurance program. [R. V. Binder, 1999]

Exception Testing. Identify error messages and exception handling processes an conditions that trigger them. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Exhaustive Testing.(NBS) Executing the program with all possible combinations of values for program variables. Feasible only for small, simple programs.

Exploratory Testing: An interactive process of concurrent product exploration, test design, and test execution. The heart of exploratory testing can be stated simply: The outcome of this test influences the design of the next test. [James Bach]

Failure: A failure is a deviation from expectations exhibited by software and observed as a set of symptoms by a tester or user. A failure is caused by one or more defects. The Causal Trail. A person makes an error that causes a defect that causes a failure.[Robert M. Poston, 1996]

Follow-up testing, we vary a test that yielded a less-thanspectacular failure. We vary the operation, data, or environment, asking whether the underlying fault in the code can yield a more serious failure or a failure under a broader range of circumstances.[Measuring the Effectiveness of Software Testers,Cem Kaner, STAR East 2003]

Formal Testing. (IEEE) Testing conducted in accordance with test plans and procedures that have been reviewed and approved by a customer, user, or designated level of management. Antonym: informal testing.

Free Form Testing. Ad hoc or brainstorming using intuition to define test cases. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Functional Decomposition Approach. An automation method in which the test cases are reduced to fundamental tasks, navigation, functional tests, data verification, and return navigation; also known as Framework Driven Approach. [Daniel J. Mosley, 2002]

Functional testing Application of test data derived from the specified functional requirements without regard to the final program structure. Also known as black-box testing.

Gray box testing Examines the activity of back-end components during test case execution. Two types of problems that can be encountered during gray-box testing are:
§Ò¨i A component encounters a failure of some kind, causing the operation to be aborted. The user interface will typically indicate that an error has occurred.
§Ò¨i The test executes in full, but the content of the results is incorrect. Somewhere in the system, a component processed data incorrectly, causing the error in the results.
[Elfriede Dustin. "Quality Web Systems: Performance, Security & Usability."]

High-level tests. These tests involve testing whole, complete products [Kit, 1995]

Inspection A formal evaluation technique in which software requirements, design, or code are examined in detail by person or group other than the author to detect faults, violations of development standards, and other problems [IEEE94]. A quality improvement process for written material that consists of two dominant components: product (document) improvement and process improvement (document production and inspection).

Integration The process of combining software components or hardware components or both into overall system.

Integration testing - testing of combined parts of an application to determine if they function together correctly. The 'parts' can be code modules, individual applications, client and server applications on a network, etc. This type of testing is especially relevant to client/server and distributed systems.

Interface Tests Programs that probide test facilities for external interfaces and function calls. Simulation is often used to test external interfaces that currently may not be available for testing or are difficult to control. For example, hardware resources such as hard disks and memory may be difficult to control. Therefore, simulation can provide the characteristics or behaviors for specific function.

Internationalization testing (I18N) - testing related to handling foreign text and data within the program. This would include sorting, importing and exporting test and data, correct handling of currency and date and time formats, string parsing, upper and lower case handling and so forth. [Clinton De Young, 2003].

Interoperability Testing which measures the ability of your software to communicate across the network on multiple machines from multiple vendors each of whom may have interpreted a design specification critical to your success differently.

Latent bug A bug that has been dormant (unobserved) in two or more releases. [R. V. Binder, 1999]

Lateral testing. A test design technique based on lateral thinking principals, to identify faults. [Dorothy Graham, 1999]

Load testing Testing an application under heavy loads, such as testing of a web site under a range of loads to determine at what point the system's response time degrades or fails.

Load §Ò¡Ìstress test. A test is design to determine how heavy a load the application can handle.

Load-stability test. Test design to determine whether a Web application will remain serviceable over extended time span.

Monkey Testing.(smart monkey testing) Input are generated from probability distributions that reflect actual expected usage statistics -- e.g., from user profiles. There are different levels of IQ in smart monkey testing. In the simplest, each input is considered independent of the other inputs. That is, a given test requires an input vector with five components. In low IQ testing, these would be generated independently. In high IQ monkey testing, the correlation (e.g., the covariance) between these input distribution is taken into account. In all branches of smart monkey testing, the input is considered as a single event.

Maximum Simultaneous Connection testing. This is a test performed to determine the number of connections which the firewall or Web server is capable of handling.

Mutation testing. A testing strategy where small variations to a program are inserted (a mutant), followed by execution of an existing test suite. If the test suite detects the mutant, the mutant is §Ò⌠ retired.§Ò¡ö If undetected, the test suite must be revised. [R. V. Binder, 1999]

Multiple Condition Coverage. A test coverage criteria which requires enough test cases such that all possible combinations of condition outcomes in each decision, and all points of entry, are invoked at least once.[G.Myers] Contrast with branch coverage, condition coverage, decision coverage, path coverage, statement coverage.

Negative test. A test whose primary purpose is falsification; that is tests designed to break the software[B.Beizer1995]

Orthogonal array testing: Technique can be used to reduce the number of combination and provide maximum coverage with a minimum number of TC.Pay attention to the fact that it is an old and proven technique. The OAT was introduced for the first time by Plackett and Burman in 1946 and was implemented by G. Taguchi, 1987

Parallel Testing Testing a new or an alternate data processing system with the same source data that is used in another system. The other system is considered as the standard of comparison. Syn: parallel run.[ISO]

Penetration testing The process of attacking a host from outside to ascertain remote security vulnerabilities.

Performance testing can be undertaken to: 1) show that the system meets specified performance objectives, 2) tune the system, 3) determine the factors in hardware or software that limit the system's performance, and 4) project the system's future load- handling capacity in order to schedule its replacements" [Software System Testing and Quality Assurance. Beizer, 1984, p. 256]

Prior Defect History Testing. Test cases are created or rerun for every defect found in prior tests of the system. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Qualification Testing. (IEEE) Formal testing, usually conducted by the developer for the consumer, to demonstrate that the software meets its specified requirements. See: acceptance testing.

Quality. The degree to which a program possesses a desired combination of attributes that enable it to perform its specified end use.

Quality Assurance (QA) Consists of planning, coordinating and other strategic activities associated with measuring product quality against external requirements and specifications (process-related activities).

Quality Control (QC) Consists of monitoring, controlling and other tactical activities associated with the measurement of product quality goals.

Our definition of Quality: Achieving the target (not conformance to requirements as used by many authors) & minimizing the variability of the system under test

Recovery testingTesting how well a system recovers from crashes, hardware failures, or other catastrophic problems.

Regression Testing. Testing conducted for the purpose of evaluating whether or not a change to the system (all CM items) has introduced a new failure. Regression testing is often accomplished through the construction, execution and analysis of product and system tests.

Regression Testing. - testing that is performed after making a functional improvement or repair to the program. Its purpose is to determine if the change has regressed other aspects of the program [Glenford J.Myers, 1979]

Reengineering.The process of examining and altering an existing system to reconstitute it in a new form. May include reverse engineering (analyzing a system and producing a representation at a higher level of abstraction, such as design from code), restructuring (transforming a system from one representation to another at the same level of abstraction), recommendation (analyzing a system and producing user and support documentation), forward engineering (using software products derived from an existing system, together with new requirements, to produce a new system), and translation (transforming source code from one language to another or from one version of a language to another).

Reference testing. A way of deriving expected outcomes by manually validating a set of actual outcomes. A less rigorous alternative to predicting expected outcomes in advance of test execution. [Dorothy Graham, 1999]

Reliability testing. Verify the probability of failure free operation of a computer program in a specified environment for a specified time.

Reliability of an object is defined as the probability that it will not fail under specified conditions, over a period of time. The specified conditions are usually taken to be fixed, while the time is taken as an independent variable. Thus reliability is often written R(t) as a function of time t, the probability that the object will not fail within time t.

Range Testing. For each input identifies the range over which the system behavior should be the same. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Risk management.An organized process to identify what can go wrong, to quantify and access associated risks, and to implement/control the appropriate approach for preventing or handling each risk identified.

Robust test. A test, that compares a small amount of information, so that unexpected side effects are less likely to affect whether the test passed or fails. [Dorothy Graham, 1999]

Sanity Testing - typically an initial testing effort to determine if a new software version is performing well enough to accept it for a major testing effort. For example, if the new software is often crashing systems, bogging down systems to a crawl, or destroying databases, the software may not be in a 'sane' enough condition to warrant further testing in its current state.

Scalability testing is a subtype of performance test where performance requirements for response time, throughput, and/or utilization are tested as load on the SUT is increased over time. [Load Testing Terminology by Scott Stirling ]

Sensitive test. A test, that compares a large amount of information, so that it is more likely to defect unexpected differences between the actual and expected outcomes of the test. [Dorothy Graham, 1999]

Smoke test describes an initial set of tests that determine if a new version of application performs well enough for further testing.[Louise Tamres, 2002]

Specification-based test. A test, whose inputs are derived from a specification.

Spike testing. to test performance or recovery behavior when the system under test (SUT) is stressed with a sudden and sharp increase in load should be considered a type of load test.[ Load Testing Terminology by Scott Stirling ]

State-based testing Testing with test cases developed by modeling the system under test as a state machine [R. V. Binder, 1999]

State Transition Testing. Technique in which the states of a system are fist identified and then test cases are written to test the triggers to cause a transition from one condition to another state. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Static testing. Source code analysis. Analysis of source code to expose potential defects.

Statistical testing. A test case design technique in which a model is used of the statistical distribution of the input to construct representative test cases. [BCS]

Storage test. Study how memory and space is used by the program, either in resident memory or on disk. If there are limits of these amounts, storage tests attempt to prove that the program will exceed them. [Cem Kaner, 1999, p55]

Stress / Load / Volume test. Tests that provide a high degree of activity, either using boundary conditions as inputs or multiple copies of a program executing in parallel as examples.

Structural Testing. (1)(IEEE) Testing that takes into account the internal mechanism [structure] of a system or component. Types include branch testing, path testing, statement testing. (2) Testing to insure each program statement is made to execute during testing and that each program statement performs its intended function. Contrast with functional testing. Syn: white-box testing, glass-box testing, logic driven testing.

System testing Black-box type testing that is based on overall requirements specifications; covers all combined parts of a system.

Table testing. Test access, security, and data integrity of table entries. [William E. Lewis, 2000]

Test Bed. An environment containing the hardware, instrumentation, simulators, software tools, and other support elements needed to conduct a test [IEEE 610].

Test Case. A set of test inputs, executions, and expected results developed for a particular objective.

Test conditions. The set of circumstances that a test invokes. [Daniel J. Mosley, 2002]

Test Coverage The degree to which a given test or set of tests addresses all specified test cases for a given system or component.

Test Criteria. Decision rules used to determine whether software item or software feature passes or fails a test.

Test data. The actual (set of) values used in the test or that are necessary to execute the test. [Daniel J. Mosley, 2002]

Test Documentation. (IEEE) Documentation describing plans for, or results of, the testing of a system or component, Types include test case specification, test incident report, test log, test plan, test procedure, test report.

Test Driver A software module or application used to invoke a test item and, often, provide test inputs (data), control and monitor execution. A test driver automates the execution of test procedures.

Test Harness A system of test drivers and other tools to support test execution (e.g., stubs, executable test cases, and test drivers). See: test driver.

Test Log A chronological record of all relevant details about the execution of a test.[IEEE]

Test Plan.A high-level document that defines a testing project so that it can be properly measured and controlled. It defines the test strategy and organized elements of the test life cycle, including resource requirements, project schedule, and test requirements

Test Procedure. A document, providing detailed instructions for the [manual] execution of one or more test cases. [BS7925-1] Often called - a manual test script.

Test strategy. Describes the general approach and objectives of the test activities. [Daniel J. Mosley, 2002]

Test Status. The assessment of the result of running tests on software.

Test Stub A dummy software component or object used (during development and testing) to simulate the behaviour of a real component. The stub typically provides test output.

Test Suites A test suite consists of multiple test cases (procedures and data) that are combined and often managed by a test harness.

Testability. Attributes of software that bear on the effort needed for validating the modified software [ISO 8402]

Testing. The execution of tests with the intent of providing that the system and application under test does or does not perform according to the requirements specification.

Unit Testing. Testing performed to isolate and expose faults and failures as soon as the source code is available, regardless of the external interfaces that may be required. Oftentimes, the detailed design and requirements documents are used as a basis to compare how and what the unit is able to perform. White and black-box testing methods are combined during unit testing.

Usability testing. Testing for 'user-friendliness'. Clearly this is subjective, and will depend on the targeted end-user or customer.

Validation. The comparison between the actual characteristics of something (e.g. a product of a software project and the expected characteristics).Validation is checking that you have built the right system.

Verification The comparison between the actual characteristics of something (e.g. a product of a software project) and the specified characteristics.Verification is checking that we have built the system right.

Volume testing. Testing where the system is subjected to large volumes of data.[BS7925-1]

Walkthrough In the most usual form of term, a walkthrough is step by step simulation of the execution of a procedure, as when walking through code line by line, with an imagined set of inputs. The term has been extended to the review of material that is not procedural, such as data descriptions, reference manuals, specifications, etc.

White Box Testing (glass-box). Testing is done under a structural testing strategy and require complete access to the object's structure¡that is, the source code.[B. Beizer, 1995 p8],