Functional Testing

Functional Testing is a type of software testing that focuses on verifying that the software system functions as intended. It involves testing the application's features and functionality against the requirements or specifications to ensure the expected outputs are produced for given inputs.

Key Characteristics of Functional Testing:

Focus on Business Requirements: It ensures that the application behaves as per the defined requirements.

Black-Box Testing Approach: Testers typically do not need knowledge of the internal code or logic.

Input and Output Validation: Functional testing involves providing appropriate input and checking whether the output matches the expected results.

User-Centric: Emphasizes how the software works from an end-user's perspective.

Types of Functional Testing:

Unit Testing: Tests individual components or units of a system.

Integration Testing: Validates the interaction between integrated components.

Smoke Testing: A preliminary test to check the basic functionality of an application.

Sanity Testing: Verifies minor changes in functionality after bug fixes or small updates.

Regression Testing: Ensures new changes haven't adversely affected existing functionalities.

User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Confirms the system meets user needs before deployment.