The following question is asked on the ISTQB Foundation Exam Paper for Certified Tester
Question: Which of the following statements correctly describes the difference between testing and debugging?
a) Testing identifies the source of defects; debugging analyzes the defects and proposes prevention activities
b) Dynamic testing shows failures caused by defects; debugging eliminates the defects, which are the source of failures
c) Testing does not remove faults; but debugging removes defects that cause the faults
d) Dynamic testing prevents the causes of failures; debugging removes the failures
The correct answer is given as b) which is true however,
how is c) not also correct?
The ISTQB Glossary defines a fault to be a defect.
The answers provided on the sample paper are:
b) Is correct. Dynamic testing can show failures that are caused by defects in the software. Debugging eliminates the defects, which are the source of failures, not the root cause of the defects
c) Is not correct. Testing does not remove faults, but debugging remove defects that cause the faults