Talk:Edge case

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Is the Whole Definition Wrong?[edit]

This article contradicts every use & definition of the phrase I have ever used or read about. It focuses only on a single variable as being extreme, such as volume in the mechanical world, or a number in software being extremely high or low. Yet, my understanding of an "edge condition" is that it's not just a matter of one variable being extreme, but the unpredictable results of having multiple variables being extreme simultaneously. It is the unforeseeable addition of any extra variables that differentiates an "edge condition" from a more simple situation where a single variable is extreme. For example, when the volume is extremely high, and input voltage is extremely low, a particular resistor might not be rated high enough and it burns out, breaking the the sound equipment. An engineer building this might test for high volume, and low input voltage, but it is much less likely that they would set the two variables at extremes at the same time in order to determine if the equipment will continue to work.

Or a software might work if "X" is an extremely high number, and "Y" is an extremely low number, but a situation where "Z" is zero while X is high and Y is low might make the software crash. Again, it's the addition of additional variables that is the heart of the definition, as I understand it. Am I wrong? Or is the article wrong?Jonny Quick (talk) 16:55, 18 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Probably not. The concept you describe seems to be more closely matched by the article corner case. Yoyo (talk) 03:43, 30 May 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Edge case v. Corner case[edit]

It is very difficult to find any sources on this topic; I'm still looking. From my personal experience (and some in-context hints), I think the difference is largely as follows: edge cases are "known unknowns" - situations at the edge of a range of values are more likely to have problematic behavior. Corner cases are "unknown unknowns" - they appear as a result of a combination of factors and are generally unexpected. This follows from the room analogy; an edge case is at one boundary, a corner case involves multiple boundaries interacting. power~enwiki (π, ν) 04:27, 22 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Start with kaner.com and his http://www.testingeducation.org/BBST/ . There is material in both of his books on this as well. Walter Görlitz (talk) 04:35, 22 January 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Wiki Education assignment: Technical Writing[edit]

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 30 August 2023 and 7 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): BCMisc (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Kuuleirich, RR5786.

— Assignment last updated by Kuuleirich (talk) 01:32, 14 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]