What Does Equivalence Partitioning Mean?
Equivalence partitioning (EP) is a method for testing software programs. In this technique, the data fed into the software to
be tested is divided into partitions of equal sizes. From each partition of data,
one test case is needed. The different test cases must test the classes of the
software continuously. This helps in the discovery of errors and bugs which may
plague the software. Each test case is defined specifically to check a specific
type of error. This speeds up the error hunting process as fewer test cases
are required.
Equivalence partitioning is also known as equivalence class partitioning (ECP).
Techopedia Explains Equivalence Partitioning
Equivalence partitioning is a testing technique based on specifications known as test cases. It is extremely
efficient, fast and easy to use, and also does not require much input data. Its
flexibility makes it suitable for testing in any stage of development of the
application.
In this technique, the data or test cases are partitioned or divided
first to form data sets called equivalence classes or partitions. These sets
are considered as equal by the software, hence the term
“equivalence partitioning.” Because all the equivalence classes of a group are to
be considered as equal by the software, only one test case is
required from each group in order to test that specific condition for the group that
it is representing. If it works properly, then it can be concluded that others
in the group would also work properly with the software. However, if it does not
work, then the whole group can be ignored, as it can be concluded that other
cases would not work as well.
