Glossary of the Lecture 2 «WEB projects testing» for the software testing courses

Adaptive layout (Responsive layout) – a type of layout, in which elements of the web page are adjusted to the extension and orientation of the device. Templates are created and predefined in advance.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) – a language for creating styles which define the appearance of the elements of the web page. 

Cache – an intermediate buffer, memory, to which there is a quick access. It contains information that is most likely to be requested and stored on intermediate servers or the user's computer. The cache is used to increase the speed of working with web resources and reduce traffic.

(Memory, buffer, cache, intermediate buffer)

Check-list – a list containing a number of necessary checks for testing.

Cookies – small text files in which the browser saves data about the user. Most often this is authentication, personal preferences and settings, statistics of site visits.

HTML –  a hypertext markup language on Internet resources. Due to the ability of browsers to interpret HTML in a user-friendly form of a document, the language is widely used in the world and is used to create most sites.

HTML5 – a new version of the HTML language, which adds more modern tags for working with audio, visual elements, and many other improvements.

JavaScript – a scripting language that allows to perform certain actions with HTML pages and objects placed on it in a browser on a user's computer. 

(JavaScript programming language, scripting language, toad script, ECMAScript)

Layout – creating a structure of HTML-code that places elements of a web-page (images, text, etc.) in a browser window, according to the developed layout, so that the design elements look similar to the layout.

Responsive layout – a layout, in which the sizes of elements and their proportions are set in percent. This page structure is called flexible or «rubber». When reducing the width of the page with such a structure, its elements will smoothly compress and decrease relatively to each other.

Redirect – a special script or software solution, the purpose of which is to force the user to redirect from the selected page to another page.

(Redirection)

URL – Uniform Resource Locator – a unique address of a web page or some other resource (image, file, video content) on the Internet.

(Link, page path, page URL, web address)

User Interface, GUI – a type of user interface in which the interface elements (menus, buttons, icons, lists, etc.) presented to the user on the display are created in the form of graphic images. In the graphical interface, the execution of actions most often occurs through the direct manipulation of the graphic elements.

WebSite – a set of logically interconnected web pages, as well as the location of the server content. Generally, a website on the Internet is an array of related data that has a unique address and is perceived by the user as a whole (with the same domain name and IP address).

(Resource, web resource, online service, web service, Internet service, platform, portal)

Banner – a graphic image of an advertising nature, similar to an advertising module in the press. It can have animated elements (up to video and interactive objects). As a rule, it contains a hyperlink to the advertiser's website or to the page with additional information.

(Image, internet banner, advertising banner)

Combobox – a combination of a drop-down list (that opens with a click of the mouse) and a single-line text field that allows the user to enter a value manually or select from the list.

(Combined List)

Checkbox – a multiple-choice button. A graphical interface element that allows the user to control a parameter with two states – ☑ on and ☐ off. In the on state, a check mark (✓), or a cross (×)) is displayed inside the checkbox. A sign is displayed next to the flag, usually it is a signature, sometimes an icon.

(Flag button, multiple selections, multiple selection button, checkmark)

Footer – a site element that is usually placed at the bottom of a web page. It often contains links to the main sections of a page, a copyright mark, a link to a license agreement file, etc. Also in the footer can be placed other objects, for example, widgets.

(Footer of the site)

Form – a specially designated area that contains a set of fields for entering data on a web page. It also contains drop-down lists, checkboxes, and radio buttons.

(Web form, form to fill in)

Favicon – the icon of a website or web page. It is displayed next to the site name in the browser window and in the search engine results, as well as an icon for the bookmark. (In the IE browser it is displayed in the address bar before the page URL).

(Web site icon, web page icon, browser bookmark icon)

Hyperlink – a link leading from a specific place on a page to another page, hypertext document, or file.

(Link, path to the page)

Header – a block at the top of the site’s page, where usually the logo and slogan of the site , brief contact information, the main horizontal menu and other elements that are considered the most important depending on the specifics of the resource are placed. The header is always at the top of the page.

(Site header, top menu of the site, header)

Logo – a graphic sign, emblem, or symbol used to increase recognition in the society. Logos are widely used as trademarks.

(Brand name, trademark, emblem, symbol, graphic sign, logo)

Placeholder – a text that can be placed in an input field to inform users about the purpose of this field. As soon as the user begins to enter text in the field, the placeholder disappears.

(Hint, placeholder)

Placeholder text (Lorem Ipsum, fish-text) – a pseudo-Latin text used to temporarily fill out the layout in publications or production of websites, while the final text has not yet been created. It helps highlight visual elements in a document or presentation, such as text, font, or markup.

(Placeholder, fish text, Lorem Ipsum)

Radio button – an interface element that allows the user to select one option (item) from the predefined set (list). Radio buttons are arranged in groups of two or more items and are displayed on the screen as a circle with a dot inside (selected option) or an empty circle (not selected option).

(Switch)

Slider – a web design element, which is a block of a certain width, in which it is possible to scroll content (text, graphics, and media) automatically by timer or by clicking on the switch buttons.

(Image switcher, carousel, advertising slider, news slider, image slider, block with dynamic content)

Tooltip – a graphical interface element that serves as an additional user training tool or additional information about the object near which the tooltip is located.

Alpha testing – is carried out within the development organization with the possible partial involvement of the end-users.

Beta Testing – is performed outside the development organization with the active involvement of end-users/customers.

Cross-browser testing – a type of testing during which different browsers are used. This is due to the fact that browsers are based on different engines, written in different programming languages, and have their own characteristics and functions.

Functional testing – one of the types of testing aimed at checking the conformity of the functional requirements of the software to its real characteristics. The main task of functional testing is to confirm that the software product being developed has all the functionality required by the customer.

Functional testing considers predefined behavior and it is based on an analysis of the specifications of the functionality of a component or a system as a whole. Functional tests are based on the functions performed by the system and can be carried out on the all levels of testing (component, integration, system, acceptance). Usually, these functions are described in requirements, functional specifications, or use cases.

Performance Testing – a study of the response rate of an application to the external influences at different load and nature.

Security Testing – assessing the vulnerability of the software to various attacks.

Usability Testing – a testing method aimed at establishing the degree of usability, learning ability, comprehensibility and attractiveness for users of a developed product in the context of specified conditions.