On Sat, 22 Jan 2000, Civileme wrote:
> That is the purpose of a beta, to eliminate bugs with user
> discovery.
Yes, but the starting point for a beta is a completed alpha. Alpha testing
is done by the developing orgainisation and includes testing both at the
module level and module integration (system) levels. Testing is
against the written specifications. During this process, all discovered
bugs are corrected and retested. Only when no bugs known to, or
discoverable by, the developer level exist can the alpha test be regarded as
completed and passed. This is a pre-requisite for the beta test.
Beta testing is done by outside users starting against the developing
organisations written specifications, who approach with a different set of
requirements and a different mindset to developers, and therein lies the
purpose and value of a beta test. A product may well fail its beta test, in
which case the developing organisation can be put right back to square one.
People validly complain if any alpha-level (ie developer-discoverable) bugs
are discovered in beta software - and Air 7.0 and its install program are
liberally scattered with them, unfortunately.
I'm talking about well-accepted (for decades) industry conventions, of which
MandrakeSoft does not appear to be cogniscent. I am sure their funding
organisations should be informed of that problem.
--
Regards,
Ron. [AU] - sent by Linux.
