Testbed

A testbed (also "test bed") is a platform for conducting rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies.

The term is used across many disciplines to describe experimental research and new product development platforms and environments. They may vary from hands-on prototype development in manufacturing industries such as automobiles (known as "mules") and aircraft to intellectual property refinement in such fields as computer software development shielded from the hazards of testing live.

In software development

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/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.

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. In this context, a testbed is also known as the test environment.