Exploring openSUSE's automated testing tool for ISO images
Bakers and burners

© Lead Image © Markus Feilner, CC-BY-SA 4.0
Quality Assurance is "like a baker testing his recipe for a cake by trying it once it is out of the oven," says Bernhard Wiedemann, inventor of openQA. OpenSUSE's openQA project is a powerful tool for testing Linux distributions – and even Android images.
Life's too short for manual testing, says the website for openQA [1] (Figure 1), and most software developers will agree. Many developers feel like Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times, working in a factory, repeating the very same steps over and over again.
Most available server software, especially when it is offering APIs, can be tested by specially written clients that perform the very same tasks over and over again, counting success or failure. But what about desktop software, and what about distributions?
Some years ago, the openSUSE project suffered from a severe lack of testing and human testers. Nobody wanted to do the tedious clicking-watching-comparing job. But somebody had to do it, and they did it fairly well, it seems, at least if you look at the success that SUSE and openSUSE have had in recent years. However, the developers saw much room and need for improvement, and, as QA experts often warn, "human QA does not scale."
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 Drops bcachefs
After a clash over some late fixes and disagreements between bcachefs's lead developer and Linus Torvalds, bachefs is out.
-
ONLYOFFICE v9 Embraces AI
Like nearly all office suites on the market (except LibreOffice), ONLYOFFICE has decided to go the AI route.
-
Two Local Privilege Escalation Flaws Discovered in Linux
Qualys researchers have discovered two local privilege escalation vulnerabilities that allow hackers to gain root privileges on major Linux distributions.
-
New TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro Powered by AMD Ryzen AI 300
The TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen10 offers serious power that is ready for your business, development, or entertainment needs.
-
Danish Ministry of Digital Affairs Transitions to Linux
Another major organization has decided to kick Microsoft Windows and Office to the curb in favor of Linux.
-
Linux Mint 20 Reaches EOL
With Linux Mint 20 at its end of life, the time has arrived to upgrade to Linux Mint 22.
-
TuxCare Announces Support for AlmaLinux 9.2
Thanks to TuxCare, AlmaLinux 9.2 (and soon version 9.6) now enjoys years of ongoing patching and compliance.
-
Go-Based Botnet Attacking IoT Devices
Using an SSH credential brute-force attack, the Go-based PumaBot is exploiting IoT devices everywhere.
-
Plasma 6.5 Promises Better Memory Optimization
With the stable Plasma 6.4 on the horizon, KDE has a few new tricks up its sleeve for Plasma 6.5.
-
KaOS 2025.05 Officially Qt5 Free
If you're a fan of independent Linux distributions, the team behind KaOS is proud to announce the latest iteration that includes kernel 6.14 and KDE's Plasma 6.3.5.