What is Embedded Software Testing

Machines or devices that run on embedded software are not usually considered computers. They are specially developed for such hardware and they come with memory and time constraints. Incidentally, embedded software testing and application software testing have many things in common. One of the major differences is that embedded testers use hardware-based testing tools, which are not used during application testing. The basic idea behind testing, whether it is application testing or embedded software testing is to discover bugs in the system, reduce risks to users and company, reduce software development costs and finally, reduce overall costs. There are basically three kinds of tests during the development process – unit testing, integration testing and system testing. Three main types of embedded tests In unit testing, a module of code is tested in isolation from the remaining code. The module may consist of a class, single function or even a group of functions (related). Integration testing occurs after unit testing. Here, two (or more) modules are tested together to see how they work as a pair. System testing happens at the system level. However, it is also the stage when you may come across challenges like what if the system is large or what if it is distributed over a vast geographical area? You also have to answer questions like what if the environment where the hardware is going to work is harsh? How will the embedded software work under such a situation? Embedded software should also be tested concurrently with software development because as the software development progresses, the cost of solving problems (fixing bugs) also increases. So issues should be found and solved as early as possible, when it is relatively cheap to tackle them.