In top down strategy we start by testing the top of the hierarchy and we incrementally add modules that it calls and then test the new combined system. This approach of testing requires stubs to be written. A stub is a dummy routine that simulates a module.
In the top-down approach, a module cannot be tested in isolation because they invoke some other modules. To allow the modules to be tested before their subordinates have been coded, stubs simulate the behavior of the subordinates.
The bottom-up approach starts from the bottom of the hierarchy. First the modules at the very bottom, which have no subordinates, are tested. Then these modules are combined with higher-level modules for testing. At any stage of testing all the subordinate modules exist and have been tested earlier.
To perform bottom-up testing, drivers are needed to set up the appropriate environment and invoke the module. It is the job of the driver to invoke the module under testing with the different set of test cases.
Dinesh Thakur holds an B.C.A, MCDBA, MCSD certifications. Dinesh authors the hugely popular