What is the difference between performance testing and load testing?

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What is the difference between performance testing and load testing?

Performance testing and load testing are both types of testing that focus on evaluating the performance and behavior of a system or application. However, there are some key differences between the two:

Performance testing:
- Performance testing is a type of testing that measures the responsiveness, speed, scalability, stability, and resource usage of a system or application under a specific workload.
- It aims to identify and eliminate performance bottlenecks, such as slow response times, high resource consumption, or poor scalability.
- Performance testing can be conducted using various techniques, such as load testing, stress testing, endurance testing, and spike testing.
- It helps to ensure that the system or application meets the performance requirements and can handle the expected user load efficiently.

Load testing:
- Load testing is a subset of performance testing that specifically focuses on evaluating the system or application's behavior under normal and anticipated peak load conditions.
- It simulates real-world user loads and measures the system's response time, throughput, and resource utilization under different load levels.
- Load testing helps to determine the system's capacity, scalability, and stability by identifying performance issues, such as slow response times, crashes, or resource exhaustion, under heavy loads.
- It helps to ensure that the system or application can handle the expected user load without any performance degradation or failures.

In summary, performance testing is a broader term that encompasses various types of testing, including load testing. Load testing, on the other hand, is a specific type of performance testing that focuses on evaluating the system's behavior under different load levels.