What is a smoke test? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicates:
What is a smoke testing and what will it do for me?
What is a sanity test/check

What is a smoke test and why is it useful?

Solution 1:

"Smoke test" is a term that comes from electrical engineering. It refers to a very basic, very simple test, where you just plug the device in and see if smoke comes out.

It doesn't tell you anything about whether or not the device actually works. The only thing it tells you is that it is not completely broken.

It is usually used as a time-saving step before the more thorough regression/integration/acceptance tests, since there is no point in running the full testsuite, if the thing catches fire anyway.

In programming, the term is used in the same sense: it is a very shallow, simple test that checks for some simple properties like: does the program even start? Can it print its help message? If those simple things don't work, there is no point in even attempting to run the full testsuite, which can sometimes take minutes or even hours.

Solution 2:

A smoke test is basically just a sanity check to see if the software functions on the most basic level.

If your smoke test fails, it means there is no point in running your other functional tests.

Solution 3:

A smoke test is a quick, lightweight test or set of tests, usually automated, that confirm that the basic functionality of system is working correctly. It tends to emphasize broad, not deep tests, and is usually done before launching a more extensive set of tests.

Solution 4:

From wikipedia:

It refers to the first test made after repairs or first assembly to provide some assurance that the system under test will not catastrophically fail. After a smoke test proves that "the pipes will not leak, the keys seal properly, the circuit will not burn, or the software will not crash outright," the assembly is ready for more stressful testing.

In computer programming and software testing, smoke testing is a preliminary to further testing, which should reveal simple failures severe enough to reject a prospective software release. In this case, the smoke is metaphorical.

Solution 5:

Smoke test is a quick test to see if the application will "catch on fire" when you run it the first time. In other words, that the application isn't broken.