Core Insights - Software performance testing and stress testing are distinct yet complementary aspects of software quality assurance, focusing on different objectives and execution methods [1][3]. Performance Testing - Performance testing evaluates software performance under specific load conditions, measuring response time, throughput, and resource consumption [1]. - It simulates normal or peak user access to ensure the system meets predefined requirements, such as testing a website's ability to handle 100 concurrent requests [1]. - This type of testing is conducted throughout the development cycle and can be applied to individual modules or the entire system [1]. Stress Testing - Stress testing assesses system stability and fault recovery under extreme load conditions by incrementally increasing the number of concurrent users or data volume until the system fails [1]. - For example, it may involve increasing simulated users from 50 to 5000 to identify when server response degrades or services are interrupted [1]. - This testing specifically aims to identify system bottlenecks and crash thresholds [1]. Testing Scope and Output - Performance testing covers various load scenarios, including normal operation and fatigue state validation, while stress testing focuses on overload environments [3]. - Performance testing generates response time curves and resource utilization reports, whereas stress testing records failure points and system recovery times [3]. Tool Utilization - Performance testing tools include LoadRunner for monitoring transaction processing rates and JMeter for analyzing concurrent request throughput [3]. - Stress testing tools like Gatling create high-load impacts, and Tsung simulates distributed access pressure [3]. - A specific case involved a financial platform project where customized scripts were used to replicate memory leak issues during peak transaction volumes [3]. Execution Order - Performance testing is prioritized to ensure baseline performance standards are met, followed by stress testing to validate system resilience [3].