Static Testing
Static testing is a form of software testing where the software isn't actually used. This is in contrast to dynamic testing. It is generally not detailed testing, but checks mainly for the sanity of the code, algorithm, or document. It is primarily checking of the code and/or manually reviewing the code or document to find errors. This type of testing can be used by the developer who wrote the code, in isolation. Code reviews, inspections and Software walkthroughs are also used.
From the black box testing point of view, static testing involves reviewing requirements and specifications. This is done with an eye toward completeness or appropriateness for the task at hand. This is the verification portion of Verification and Validation. Even static testing can be automated. A static testing test suite consists of programs to be analyzed by an interpreter or a compiler that asserts the programs syntactic validity. Bugs discovered at this stage of development are less expensive to fix than later in the development cycle. The people involved in static testing are application Business Analysts, System Architects, Developers and Testers.
Dynamic Testing
Dynamic testing (or dynamic analysis) is a term used in software engineering to describe the testing of the dynamic behavior of code. That is, dynamic analysis refers to the examination of the physical response from the system to variables that are not constant and change with time. In dynamic testing the software must actually be compiled and run. It involves working with the software, giving input values and checking if the output is as expected by executing specific test caseswhich can be done manually or with the use of an automated process. This is in contrast to static testing. Unit tests, integration tests, system tests and acceptance tests utilize dynamic testing. The people involved in static testing are application Developers, Testers and End-Users.