# Testbed

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{{Short description|Platform for conducting testing}}
A '''testbed''' (also spelled '''test bed''') is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computing tools, and new technologies.

The term is used across many disciplines to describe experimental [research](/source/research) and [new product development](/source/new_product_development) platforms and environments.  They may vary from hands-on [prototype](/source/prototype) development in manufacturing industries such as automobiles (known as "[mules](/source/Development_mule)"), aircraft engines or systems and to [intellectual property](/source/intellectual_property) refinement in such fields as [computer software development](/source/development_environment_(software_development_process)) shielded from the hazards of testing live.

==Software development==
{{See also|Sandbox (software development)|Test stub}}
In software development, testbedding is a method of testing a particular module (function, class, or library) in an isolated fashion. It may be used as a proof of concept or when a new module is tested apart from the program or system it will later be added to. A skeleton framework is implemented around the module so that the module behaves as if already part of the larger program.{{cn|date=June 2023}}

A typical testbed could include software, hardware, and networking components. In software development, the specified hardware and software environment can be set up as a testbed for the application under test{{Dubious|date=March 2009}}. In this context, a testbed is also known as the test environment made of: 
* Testing hardware equipment (test bench, optical table, custom testing rig, dummy equipment as simulates an actual product or its counterpart, external environment means, like showers, heaters, fans, vacuum chamber, anechoic chamber).
* Computing equipment (processing units, data centers, in-line FPGA, environment simulation equipment).
* Testing software ([DAQ](/source/Data_acquisition) / oscilloscopes, visualisation and testing software, environment software to feed dummy equipment with data).

Testbeds are also pages on the [Internet](/source/Internet) where the public are given the opportunity to test [CSS](/source/CSS) or [HTML](/source/HTML) they have created and want to preview the results, for example:{{Better source needed|date=June 2023|reason=A non-primary source is needed to support this statement and relevance of the examples.}}
* The [Arena](/source/Arena_(web_browser)) [web browser](/source/web_browser) was created by the [World Wide Web Consortium](/source/World_Wide_Web_Consortium) (W3C) and [CERN](/source/CERN) for testing [HTML3](/source/HTML3), [Cascading Style Sheets](/source/Cascading_Style_Sheets) (CSS), [Portable Network Graphics](/source/Portable_Network_Graphics) (PNG) and the [libwww](/source/libwww).<ref>{{cite web|last=QingLong|first=Lu|title=The Arena Web Browser|url=http://www.yggdrasil.com/Products/Arena/|publisher=[Yggdrasil Computing](/source/Yggdrasil_Computing)|access-date=6 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030205061330/http://www.yggdrasil.com/Products/Arena/ |archive-date=February 5, 2003}}</ref>
* The [Line Mode browser](/source/Line_Mode_browser) got a new function to interact with the [libwww](/source/libwww) [library](/source/Library_(computing)) as a sample and test application.
* The libwww was also created to test network [communication protocols](/source/communication_protocols) which are under development or to experiment with new protocols.

==Aircraft development==
{{Main|Testbed aircraft}}
In aircraft development there are also examples of testbed use like in development of new [aircraft engine](/source/aircraft_engine)s when these are fitted to a [testbed aircraft](/source/testbed_aircraft) for flight testing.<ref>{{cite news|last=Norris|first=Guy|date=7 June 2013|url=http://aviationweek.com/blog/ges-new-747-flying-testbed-colors|title=GE's new 747 flying testbed colors|publisher=[Aviation Week](/source/Aviation_Week)|access-date=26 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lancaster-archive.com/lanc_photos_testbed.htm|title=Lancaster Test Bed Images|publisher=[Avro Lancaster](/source/Avro_Lancaster)|access-date=26 April 2016}}</ref> Such usage of testbeds was originally pioneered by Rolls Royce in their development of jet engines. 

==See also==
* [Iron bird (aviation)](/source/Iron_bird_(aviation))

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat|Testbeds}}
* [http://www.planet-lab.eu/ PlanetLab Europe, the European portion of the publicly available PlanetLab testbed]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060919210932/http://erulemaking.cs.cmu.edu/Data.html CMU's eRulemaking Testbed]
* US [National Science Foundation](/source/National_Science_Foundation) [GENI - Global Environment for Network Innovations](/source/GENI_-_Global_Environment_for_Network_Innovations) Initiative
* [http://testbed.fmi.fi/ Helsinki Testbed (meteorology)]
* [http://www.casa.umass.edu/main/research/technicalintegration/integrated_project_1/ Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) IP1 test bed]

Category:Hardware testing
Category:Software testing

{{Engineering-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Testbed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testbed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testbed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.