Software Test Patterns: Analysis and Singleton Example

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of software test patterns. It begins by defining test patterns and explaining their significance in software engineering, emphasizing code reuse and software quality. The essay then delves into the practical aspects of test patterns, detailing their usage and application in various software development scenarios. A key focus is on the benefits of utilizing test patterns, such as error identification, optimization of the testing process, and the establishment of a common descriptive framework. Conversely, the essay also addresses the drawbacks, including potential challenges with understandability and increased processing overhead. The second part of the essay presents the singleton test pattern, describing its structure, usage, and providing a real-world example to illustrate its application in testing, specifically in the context of resource control and object creation. The conclusion highlights the overall impact of test patterns on software development and their role in enhancing software quality and balancing user requirements.

Running head: TEST PATTERNS
ESSAY PROJECT 1: TEST PATTERNS
(Name)
(Tutor’s Name)
(Unit Title)
(Date)

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Abstract
Software test patterns is a branch revolution in software engineering which
emphasize the impacts of the software process and the importance of re-use. The field
also puts more weight on software product quality.
This project will have two parts; in part one a discussion of what test patterns are,
when they are used and how test patterns are used will be outlined in detail. In addition,
part one will discuss both benefits and drawbacks of using test patterns. In part two, the
project will select one common test plan and give an example of using the test plan for
testing.
Part one: Test patterns
To start with, object-oriented paradigm has revolutionized the practice of
software engineering. It has made the principle of code re-use possible; this principle
has moved from code re-use to software re-use. This is an important motivation behind
software test pattern.
Patterns in software testing have saved developers, software engineers and
software testers the burden of wasting resources and time over producing redundant
modules. In addition, test pattern is a revelation in software engineering; it is considered
a way to capture experience and knowledge in the software engineering community. It
is also used as a basis of building module and software re-use (Jensen & Tonies,
2015).
Definition of test patterns
A pattern gives a solution to a recurring problem by defining the software
configuration. A test pattern describes the configuration of the objects needed to test

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interactions between the different classes that are integrated according to the system
design. Test patterns are divided into two which are static test patterns and extensible
test patterns. The major goal of a test pattern is to achieve a high-quality software
product. In addition, test patterns are intended for constructing a piece of software
(Falah, 2015).
How and where a test pattern can be used
To start with, a test pattern is a short description of a certain solution. In here the
test pattern is used to describe some of the aspects of system design that are to be
tested. Second, a test pattern is used to describe a problem that is being solved and
how a solution is solved. Test patterns are also used in UML class diagrams so as to
show the relationship between software modules and classes. Also, test patterns are
used to describe the basic implementation of a certain decision which must be made.
Patterns are also used to describe the interactions between test software and the CUT.
It also provides details of how one can integrate into the PACT (Thayer & Dorfman,
2014)
Benefits of using test patterns
One of the benefits of test pattern is to identify the errors and faults in a system.
Second, test patterns are used in defining techniques which are used in fixing errors
and faults. Third, test patterns optimize software testing process. Forth, test patterns
like schema and are used to address unique software testing issues that the existing or
the previous templates never addressed. Also, test patterns are used to efficiently
identify, use and share solutions (Binder, 2013). Test patterns are also used to assure
software scope reliability. They also establish a common descriptive framework for the

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software development process. Lastly, test pattern is a shorthand for describing a
certain aspect of the program. It is also used in shaping an object model and an object
diagram.
Drawbacks of using test patterns
Test patterns cannot be used if the software designer or the developer have not
yet grasped the software design details. Second, at times test patterns decreases the
understandability of a certain software development process by increasing the amount
of code. Third those clients who may wish to access the development process of their
software, there will need to perform what software engineers refer to as transversal for
each data structure this has resulted in undesirable dependencies. Forth test patterns
add to processing overhead and increase the memory size which may not be
appropriate for those software such as some of the embedded systems and low level
systems programming. Lastly, test patterns can be categorized as anti-patterns if used
incorrectly (Tou, 2014).
Part two: Common test pattern
Description of singleton test pattern
There are various test patterns which are used in software engineering. These
test patterns are; page object pattern, façade test pattern, IoC container and page
objects test pattern, observer test pattern through IObservable and IObserver,
advanced strategy test pattern, Fluent Page Object Pattern and singleton test pattern.
The commonly used pattern of these is the singleton test pattern. This pattern has been
used in automation tests and building up easier access to facades and software objects.

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Also, the pattern is simple in terms of modeling it. In that software designed using Java,
singleton pattern ensures that there is only one instance of a class which is created in
java virtual machine. The test pattern is also used in configuration settings, logging, and
device driver objects. The structure of singleton pattern is that it has a static member
which contains the instances of a singleton class, a static public method, and a private
constructor.
An example of testing using singleton
The major aim of singleton test pattern is to limit the number of objects in a code
to only one. The test pattern is specifically used to control object creation. In addition,
this test pattern allows just one entry point so as to create a new class instance. In
addition, singleton pattern is used to control resources like sockets or database
connectors. The test pattern encapsulates a shared software resource into a single
unique class. An example is from a device running Ios. For the executing application,
there is one iPad or iPhone with a single screen and battery. The UIDevice here is the
singleton class as it only provides a single channel for one to interact with the
underlying features. At times singletons patterns are modeled as a server within an
application which accepts requests to store, retrieve, or send and configure the state of
the resource (Soundarajan, 2016).
Conclusion
Software testing pattern is one of the greatest assets in software development.
The use of software test patterns has resulted to increase in quality in software
development process. Lastly, from this paper, it is evident that test patterns have made
software testers to balance between the various user requirements.

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References
Binder, B. (2013, February 9th). Software Test Patterns: Successes and Challenges .
Retrieved from Slideshare: https://www.slideshare.net/robertvbinder/binder-
imbspatterns
Falah, B. (2015). Testing Patterns in Action: Designing a Test-Pattern-Based Suite.
International Review on Computers and Software, 489-494.
Jensen, R. W., & Tonies, C. C. (2015). Software Engineering by Randall W Jensen .
New York: Englewood Cliffs.
Soundarajan, N. (2016). Testing Patterns. Software Engeneering , 78-113.
Thayer, R. H., & Dorfman, M. (2014). Software engineering. Chicago: John Wiley Press.
Tou, J. T. (2014). Software Engineering. New York: Springer.