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Value Comparison
This document specifies the rules to follow when comparing values returned by the System Under Test and the values expected by the field expert.
Comparing character strings
Rule 1 : String comparison is case sensitive
| rule for | string comparison | |
|---|---|---|
| expected value | system value | equal? |
| A string | A string | yes |
| a mixed Case String | A Mixed case string | no |
| a string | another string | no |
| "a string in quotes" | a string in quotes | yes |
Comparing numbers
Rule 2 : When comparing numeric values, leading zeros are ignored. When comparing decimal values, trailing zeros are ignored.
| rule for | number comparison | |
|---|---|---|
| expected value | system value | equal? |
| 7 | 7 | yes |
| 1 | 1.0 | yes |
| .15 | 0.15 | yes |
| 0.1 | 1.0 | no |
| 0042 | 42 | yes |
| -0.1 | -.1 | yes |
Comparing boolean values
Rule 3 : true and yes both represent the true value. no and false both represent the false value. Comparison is case insensitive.
| rule for | boolean comparison | |
|---|---|---|
| expected value | system value | equal? |
| true | true | yes |
| TRUE | true | yes |
| yes | true | yes |
| true | false | no |
| no | false | yes |
Comparing to a null value
Rule 4 : We can specify that we expect a nil value using the keywords null and nothing.
| rule for | null comparison | |
|---|---|---|
| expected value | system value | equal? |
| null | null | yes |
| null | any value | no |
| nothing | null | yes |
| any value | null | no |
Note : blank cell ...
Comparing to a type
Rule 5 : We can compare to a specific type (i.e. an instance of a class, an interface or a subclass of a class) using the name of the type.
...
| java.awt.Component | java.awt.Button | yes |
| java.awt.Button | java.awt.Container | no |
| java.awt.image.ImageObserver | java.awt.Button | yes |
Comparing to errors
Rule 6 : We can use the keyword error when we expect an exception to occur within the system.
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