Database Testing: Structured Query Language for Test Professionals (CSTAS #4) or (CSTP Elective) or (CTM Elective)

This tutorial covers the Elective area of the Test Management Body of Knowledge (TMBOK) required for the Certified Test Manager (CTM) certification. This tutorial also covers the Elective area of the Certified Software Test Professional requirements.

For cost and cities where this course might be offered, check our Public Training Schedule.To bring this course to your test team at your location, contact our Education and Professionals Services Group.

Concepts

Who is this for? Test Engineers required to test an application’s interface with a relational database.

Today's heterogeneous data environments place an increasingly heavy burden on test engineers. Applications, whether web-based or client-server, must be tested for seamless interface with the backend databases. Testers are required to know how to create and use SQL, stored procedures, and other database objects to effectively test today's data driven environments. They also need to know how to successfully test objects such as stored procedures and views in an application's databases. This course will teach the tester the basics of Structured Query Language for use in testing relational databases. Attendees will learn the SQL constructs and features necessary to formulate and implement test cases uncovering bugs in database systems causing data corruption. Common hacks for leaving databases vulnerable to attack will be covered including test cases for protecting against SQL Injection attacks.

Outline

• Module 1: Database concepts primer
  • The Database Component : What is a Database Application?
  • Testing the Application vs. Testing the DBMS
  • Understanding Data Storage
  • Knowledge Requirements for Database Test Engineers
  • Back-end vs. Front End Testing
  • Data must pass Quality Assurance too!
  • General database basics
  • Relational Database Concepts
  • Exploratory Testing: Reading an ERD (Entity Relationship Diagram)
  • Ensuring data integrity: field, table and referential data integrity
  • How lack of data integrity causes bugs
  • Test Issues for High Performance database systems
• Module 2: Basic SQL (Structured Query Language)
  • SQL Coding Standards -- what you need to know
  • Data Quality Issues: Assess data for timeliness, consistency, accuracy
  • SQL Basics: Select, Insert, Update and Delete
  • Using the Select Statement to Test data
  • Using the Insert Statement to generate Test data
  • Testing for application accuracy using the Update and Delete statements
  • Lab: Basic SQL Practice : Testing for basic data integrity
• Module 3: Testing with SQL
  • Joining tables
  • Generating high volumes of Test Data
  • Useful SQL Queries for Data Verification
  • How Concurrency Issues affect data accuracy
  • Database objects: Constraints, Views, Stored procedures
  • Testing Stored procedures using SQL
  • Creating a stored procedure test harness
  • Performance Testing using SQL
  • Additional Areas to Test
  • Lab: Uncovering corrupt data bugs with SQL
  • Lab: Testing using stored procedures
• Module 4: Using SQL in Scripting Languages
  • Bypassing the application to verify data
  • Creating a test harness for database testing Using Perl
  • Creating a test harness for database testing Using VBScript
  • Catching common Database application hacks:
    • Test cases protecting against SQL Injection and other common hacks
  • Session Wrap-Up
  • Summary
  • Final Questions