smoke test

Beginner 💻 Tech / IT

Definition

A basic sanity check to see if a system fundamentally works before wasting time on detailed testing. Named after the hardware practice of turning something on to see if it catches fire—if it doesn't smoke, it might be okay.

Example Usage

Let's run the smoke tests after deployment to make sure nothing is catastrophically broken before we start the real testing.

Origin

From electronics and hardware testing, adopted by software in the 1980s-90s

Fun Fact

In hardware testing, a successful smoke test literally meant nothing started smoking. In software, it just means nothing crashed immediately, which is somehow still a lower bar.

Source: Software testing and quality assurance practices

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offline

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