Statement Coverage Testing in White Box Testing

The purpose of white box testing is to make sure that functionality is proper and the information on the code coverage. It tests the internal structure of the software. It is also known as structural testing, glass testing and clear box testing.

Statement coverage is the most basic form of code coverage. A statement is covered if it is executed. Note that a statement does not necessarily correspond to a line of code. Multiple statements on a single line can confuse issues - the reporting if nothing else.

- In this type of testing the code is executed in such a manner that every statement of the application is executed at least once.
- It helps in assuring that all the statements execute without any side effect.
- Statement coverage criteria call for having adequate number of test cases for the program to ensure execution of every statement at least once.
- In spite of achieving 100% statement coverage, there is every likelihood of having many undetected bugs.
- A coverage report indicating 100% statement coverage will mislead the manager to feel happy with a false temptation of terminating further testing which can lead to release a defective code into mass production.
- We can not view 100% statement coverage sufficient to build a reasonable amount of confidence on the perfect behavior of the application.
- Since 100% statement coverage tends to become expensive, the developers chose a better testing technique called branch coverage.