What is Coverage?

In software development, coverage refers to the extent to which a software artifact (e.g., source code, requirements, specifications) has been exercised by tests. Coverage analysis is used to identify areas of a program that are not exercised by a set of test cases. Common types of coverage include statement coverage (ensuring each line of code is executed), branch coverage (ensuring each branch of a decision is executed), and condition coverage (ensuring each boolean sub-expression is evaluated to both true and false). Higher coverage generally indicates a more thorough testing process, leading to higher confidence in the software's reliability.