For me the Back-end is testing a system that runs behind the front-end (GUI Applications).

It can be Database testing, Server Side testing. Talking about Database testing, it can involve: -> Data validity testing -> Data integrity testing -> Performance related to Databse specially when working with Views and Indexes. -> Testing of procedures,functions and triggers. Server Side testing can involve the servers running on Unix (Solaris, AIX)/Linux, mainframes systems. The parameter to be monitered can be: -> Server logs -> jvm logs (Is its a Java based application) -> Checking the Garbage Collector (GC) values and see if its happening properly or not by tuning its parameters properly. -> Server downtime -> Sever response time -> Checking batch processes in Unix etc..etc.. Front hand testing is basically GUI testing or GUI functional testing. Backend testing involves databases or any backend storage.It's basically testing data while travelling from front to back end or in back end to back end only. For ex. If you enter soem data in front end application and it is getting stored on some database then you have to test it whether it is storing correctly-you c an do it by writting sql queries/scripts. Also if application is not front end (GUI) for ex. developer is creating soem ta ble using /joining 40 different input/source tables then tester has to test it.. in this case also tester has to write queries to validate source and target data between those table using sql scripts. I hope this will help to clear your confusion between front and back end testing . How you can enhance your test? February 22, 2011 Answer : There are variety of options to enhance your test: (1) You can add checkpoints t o your test. A checkpoint is a step in your test that compares the values of the specified property during a test run with the values stored for the same test o bject property within the test. This enables you to identify whether or not your Web site or application is functioning correctly. (2) You can parameterize your test to replace fixed values with values from an external source during your te st run. The values can come from a Data Table, environment variables you define, or values that QuickTest generates during the test run. (3)You can retrieve val ues from your test and store them in the Data Table as output values. You can su bsequently use these values as an input parameter in your test. This enables you to use data retrieved during a test in other parts of the test. (4) You can div ide your test into actions to streamline the testing process of your Web site or application. (5)You can use special QuickTest options to enhance your test with programming statements. The Step Generator guides you step-by-step through the process of adding recordable and non-recordable methods to your test. You can al so synchronize your test to ensure that your application is ready for QuickTest to perform the next step in your test, and you can measure the amount of time it

takes for your application to perform steps in a test by defining and measuring transactions. (6)You can also manually enter standard VBScript statements, as w ell as statements using QuickTest test objects and methods, in the Expert View.