What is gray box testing?

Gray box testing takes elements of both black box and white box testing and combines them. Here, testers have some knowledge of the internal structure and design of the software. This knowledge allows them to create tests that consider both the system’s functionality and its internal workings, making software testing both practical and effective. 

In gray box testing, testers do not need to design their own test cases from scratch. Instead, they use algorithms that assess internal states, program behavior and application architecture. Testers then execute these tests and interpret the results. 

This method is particularly useful for evaluating web applications, integration testing, distributed environments, business domain testing and security assessments. While testers may not know all the source code they have access to enough information, such as design documents, to perform thorough evaluations. 

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