What best describes the difference between testing and debugging?

• A. Testing checks that software meets requirements; debugging identifies, locates, and fixes defects.
• B. Debugging checks requirements; testing fixes defects.
• C. Testing and debugging are the same process.
• D. Debugging ensures performance.

Answer: (A)

Testing verifies that software meets its requirements by exercising the program and checking that the results match expected behavior. It’s about finding defects and ensuring the product works as intended under various inputs and conditions.

Debugging, on the other hand, is the process of identifying the root cause of a defect and fixing the code. Once a test reveals something is wrong, debugging traces the problem to its source, makes a change, and then you re-run tests to confirm the fix and catch any new issues.

So the best description is that testing checks that software meets requirements, while debugging identifies, locates, and fixes defects. The other ideas mix up responsibilities or confuse goals—for example, debugging isn’t about checking requirements, testing and debugging aren’t the same process, and debugging isn’t specifically about improving performance (that would be performance tuning or separate performance testing).