"They're Made Out of Meat" is a short story by American writer Terry Bisson. It was originally published in OMNI. It consists entirely of dialogue between two characters. Bisson's website hosts a theatrical adaptation. A film adaptation won the Grand Prize at the Seattle Science Fiction Museum's 2006 film festival. The story was collected in the 1993 anthology Bears Discover Fire and Other Stories, and has circulated widely on the Internet, which Bisson found "flattering". It has been quoted in cognitive, cosmological, and philosophical scholarship. == Plot == The two characters are intelligent beings capable of traveling faster than light, on a mission to "contact, welcome and log in any and all sentient races or multibeings in this quadrant of the Universe." Bisson's stage directions represent them as "two lights moving like fireflies among the stars" on a projection screen. One of them tells the incredulous other about the recent discovery of carbon-based lifeforms "made up entirely of meat". After conversing briefly about it, they both deem such beings and communication with them too bizarre and agree to "erase the records and forget the whole thing", marking the Solar System "unoccupied". == Film adaptations == === They're Made out of Meat (2005) === In 2005, Stephen O'Regan wrote and directed a live film adaptation starring Tom Noonan and Ben Bailey. The film was made as a final project for the New York Film Academy. The main action takes place inside a diner full of teenagers in Staten Island, New York. The music for the film was scored by Bob Reynolds. === They're Made out of Meat (2010) === Jeff Frumess and Trevor Scott produced a version in 2010. They added the character of a homeless conspiracy theorist with an original score by musician Sam Belkin. The film was shot at Hartsdale station in Westchester County, New York. === Meat (2021) === Masha Maksimova developed a version in Cinemiracle format, a triple split-screen process, as a student project at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences in the communication design course. The dialogue is conducted by two telepathic humanoid aliens and the thoughts are visualised by found-footage collages.
Multi-exposure HDR capture
In photography and videography, multi-exposure HDR capture is a technique that creates high dynamic range (HDR) images (or extended dynamic range images) by taking and combining multiple exposures of the same subject matter at different exposures. Combining multiple images in this way results in an image with a greater dynamic range than what would be possible by taking one single image. The technique can also be used to capture video by taking and combining multiple exposures for each frame of the video. The term "HDR" is used frequently to refer to the process of creating HDR images from multiple exposures. Many smartphones have an automated HDR feature that relies on computational imaging techniques to capture and combine multiple exposures. A single image captured by a camera provides a finite range of luminosity inherent to the medium, whether it is a digital sensor or film. Outside this range, tonal information is lost and no features are visible; tones that exceed the range are "burned out" and appear pure white in the brighter areas, while tones that fall below the range are "crushed" and appear pure black in the darker areas. The ratio between the maximum and the minimum tonal values that can be captured in a single image is known as the dynamic range. In photography, dynamic range is measured in exposure value (EV) differences, also known as stops. The human eye's response to light is non-linear: halving the light level does not halve the perceived brightness of a space, it makes it look only slightly dimmer. For most illumination levels, the response is approximately logarithmic. Human eyes adapt fairly rapidly to changes in light levels. HDR can thus produce images that look more like what a human sees when looking at the subject. This technique can be applied to produce images that preserve local contrast for a natural rendering, or exaggerate local contrast for artistic effect. HDR is useful for recording many real-world scenes containing a wider range of brightness than can be captured directly, typically both bright, direct sunlight and deep shadows. Due to the limitations of printing and display contrast, the extended dynamic range of HDR images must be compressed to the range that can be displayed. The method of rendering a high dynamic range image to a standard monitor or printing device is called tone mapping; it reduces the overall contrast of an HDR image to permit display on devices or prints with lower dynamic range. == Benefits == One aim of HDR is to present a similar range of luminance to that experienced through the human visual system. The human eye, through non-linear response, adaptation of the iris, and other methods, adjusts constantly to a broad range of luminance present in the environment. The brain continuously interprets this information so that a viewer can see in a wide range of light conditions. Most cameras are limited to a much narrower range of exposure values within a single image, due to the dynamic range of the capturing medium. With a limited dynamic range, tonal differences can be captured only within a certain range of brightness. Outside of this range, no details can be distinguished: when the tone being captured exceeds the range in bright areas, these tones appear as pure white, and when the tone being captured does not meet the minimum threshold, these tones appear as pure black. Images captured with non-HDR cameras that have a limited exposure range (low dynamic range, LDR), may lose detail in highlights or shadows. Modern CMOS image sensors have improved dynamic range and can often capture a wider range of tones in a single exposure reducing the need to perform multi-exposure HDR. Color film negatives and slides consist of multiple film layers that respond to light differently. Original film (especially negatives versus transparencies or slides) feature a very high dynamic range (in the order of 8 for negatives and 4 to 4.5 for positive transparencies). Multi-exposure HDR is used in photography and also in extreme dynamic range applications such as welding or automotive work. In security cameras the term "wide dynamic range" is used instead of HDR. === Limitations === A fast-moving subject, or camera movement between the multiple exposures, will generate a "ghost" effect or a staggered-blur strobe effect due to the merged images not being identical. Unless the subject is static and the camera mounted on a tripod there may be a tradeoff between extended dynamic range and sharpness. Sudden changes in the lighting conditions (strobed LED light) can also interfere with the desired results, by producing one or more HDR layers that do have the luminosity expected by an automated HDR system, though one might still be able to produce a reasonable HDR image manually in software by rearranging the image layers to merge in order of their actual luminosity. Because of the nonlinearity of some sensors image artifacts can be common. Camera characteristics such as gamma curves, sensor resolution, noise, photometric calibration and color calibration affect resulting high-dynamic-range images. == Process == High-dynamic-range photographs are generally composites of multiple standard dynamic range images, often captured using exposure bracketing. Afterwards, photo manipulation software merges the input files into a single HDR image, which is then also tone mapped in accordance with the limitations of the planned output or display. === Capturing multiple images (exposure bracketing) === Any camera that allows manual exposure control can perform multi-exposure HDR image capture, although one equipped with automatic exposure bracketing (AEB) facilitates the process. Some cameras have an AEB feature that spans a far greater dynamic range than others, from ±0.6 in simpler cameras to ±18 EV in top professional cameras, as of 2020. The exposure value (EV) refers to the amount of light applied to the light-sensitive detector, whether film or digital sensor such as a CCD. An increase or decrease of one stop is defined as a doubling or halving of the amount of light captured. Revealing detail in the darkest of shadows requires an increased EV, while preserving detail in very bright situations requires very low EVs. EV is controlled using one of two photographic controls: varying either the size of the aperture or the exposure time. A set of images with multiple EVs intended for HDR processing should be captured only by altering the exposure time; altering the aperture size also would affect the depth of field and so the resultant multiple images would be quite different, preventing their final combination into a single HDR image. Multi-exposure HDR photography generally is limited to still scenes because any movement between successive images will impede or prevent success in combining them afterward. Also, because the photographer must capture three or more images to obtain the desired luminance range, taking such a full set of images takes extra time. Photographers have developed calculation methods and techniques to partially overcome these problems, but the use of a sturdy tripod is advised to minimize framing differences between exposures. === Merging the images into an HDR image === Tonal information and details from shadow areas can be recovered from images that are deliberately overexposed (i.e., with positive EV compared to the correct scene exposure), while similar tonal information from highlight areas can be recovered from images that are deliberately underexposed (negative EV). The process of selecting and extracting shadow and highlight information from these over/underexposed images and then combining them with image(s) that are exposed correctly for the overall scene is known as exposure fusion. Exposure fusion can be performed manually, relying on the HDR operator's judgment, experience, and training, but usually, fusion is performed automatically by software. === Storing === Information stored in high-dynamic-range images typically corresponds to the physical values of luminance or radiance that can be observed in the real world. This is different from traditional digital images, which represent colors as they should appear on a monitor or a paper print. Therefore, HDR image formats are often called scene-referred, in contrast to traditional digital images, which are device-referred or output-referred. Furthermore, traditional images are usually encoded for the human visual system (maximizing the visual information stored in the fixed number of bits), which is usually called gamma encoding or gamma correction. The values stored for HDR images are often gamma compressed using mathematical functions such as power laws logarithms, or floating point linear values, since fixed-point linear encodings are increasingly inefficient over higher dynamic ranges. HDR images often do not use fixed ranges per color channel, other than traditional images, to represent many more colors over a much wi
Alt TikTok
Alt TikTok (or 2020 Alt) was an online youth subculture and internet community that emerged on TikTok in 2020. Alt TikTok users (also known as alt girls, alt boys, or alt kids) emerged as primarily LGBTQ+ individuals who were in contrast to "Straight TikTok" which was seen as the mainstream and heteronormative side of the platform. The subculture became closely associated with music surrounding the hyperpop scene, particularly 100 gecs and also led to a short-lived fashion style and Internet aesthetic adopted by Generation Z during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Notable artists associated with the movement included Girl in Red, Freddie Dredd, David Shawty, WHOKILLEDXIX, and 645AR. While "alt kid" might imply a general association with traditional alternative fashion, the subculture was more an offshoot of e-girls and e-boys. In 2023, the hashtag #altfashion on TikTok amassed over 1.8 billion views. == History == Around mid-2020, users on TikTok began to group different content on the site into labels like "elite TikTok", "deep TikTok", and "floptok". These categories acted as different "sides of TikTok", deviating from mainstream lip syncing, online trends, and dance videos. Alt TikTok became one of the many subcultural communities to emerge during this period, initially referred to interchangeably with "elite TikTok". The movement quickly identified itself with alternative and queer users, in contrast to "Straight TikTok", also known as the "straight side of TikTok", which was seen as the mainstream and heteronormative side of the platform. Alt TikTok was accompanied by memes with surrealist or supernatural themes (sometimes being described as cursed), such as videos with heavy saturation and humanoid animals. One of the popular videos from Alt TikTok, gaining 18 million likes, shows a llama dancing to a cover of a song from a Russian commercial by the cereal brand Miel Pops, later becoming a viral audio. Some Alt TikTok users personified brands and products in what was referred to as Retail TikTok. In 2020, Rolling Stone described Alt TikTok as "one of the primary countercultures on the app." In 2020, American journalist Taylor Lorenz stated in an article of The New York Times, "Every pop sensation needs its ironic counterpoints. Alt Tiktok gets it done. [...] alt TikTok stars like Mooptopia are mainstays on the more indie side of the app. They aren't the popular crowd, but their cool, quirky content still attracts millions." === Trump rally trolling === In June 2020, alt TikTok and K-pop twitter users coordinated a strategy to ruin a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. American politician and activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez later saluted the individuals for their "Trump troll". == Alt subculture == In 2020, Alt TikTok was one of many subcultural communities to emerge on TikTok, alongside Deep TikTok (aka DeepTok) and Flop TikTok (aka Floptok). The alt kid subculture emerged from Alt TikTok primarily among young Gen Z women, influenced by online fashion and aesthetics shaped by e-girls and e-boys. The movement was accelerated by the COVID-19 lockdowns, while the subculture itself stood in opposition to mainstream "Straight TikTok" and the VSCO girl movement, primarily adopting aspects of queer and alternative culture. While the phrase might imply a general association with alternative fashion or alternative culture, it is more accurately understood as a specific internet-driven outgrowth of online aesthetic youth subcultures like e-girls and e-boys. The alt subculture's visual style blended influences from goth, punk, emo, and grunge, often expressed through fashion, music taste, and online presence. === Style and music === The style of alt-girls is reminiscent of a myriad of previous alternative fashion trends, often blending these influences with online aesthetics. In 2020, TikTok alt-girls were teens ranging from ages 13 to 16, who tended to wear friendship bracelets, goth boots, Dr. Martens, bunny and frog hats, piercings, and split-dyed hair, as well as iconography lifted from Monster Energy and Hello Kitty. Some alt-girls displayed a love of cosplay, while drawing from Japanese anime and manga, particularly Danganronpa and Haikyu!!, which originally gained traction on the app through Anime TikTok (aka Anitok). Alt TikTok has been noted for being primarily influenced by queer and alternative culture, positioning itself in contrast to "Straight TikTok", which focused on mainstream dances and music. Alt kids frequently intersected with the e-girls and e-boys subculture, in terms of music, style, visual media, and aesthetics. Several musicians and artists were closely associated with the alt subculture, particularly those in the hyperpop scene, while alt tiktok users became important in the wider popularization of artists like 100 gecs. Notable prominent artists associated with Alt Tiktok included Girl in Red, Freddie Dredd, David Shawty, WHOKILLEDXIX, and 645AR, alongside music by YouTubers turned musicians such as Wilbur Soot's "I'm in Love With an E‐Girl" and Corpse Husband's "E-Girls Are Ruining My Life!". == Legacy == In 2020, Pitchfork claimed Alt TikTok as having an influence on wider music trends, stating: "Alt TikTok's music is now a hot zone for major record labels, pushing it even further into the mainstream". After the COVID-19 lockdowns, Alt TikTok, alongside its subculture, fell out of prominence and was taken over by other Gen Z-related internet aesthetics, developments, and online trends.
Vintage computer
A vintage computer is an older computer system that is largely regarded as obsolete. The personal computer has been around since around 1971, and in that time technological advancement means existing models get replaced every few years. Nevertheless, these otherwise useless computers have spawned a sub-culture of vintage computer collectors who often spend large sums for the rarest examples, not only to display but functionally restore. This involves active software development and adaptation to modern uses. This often includes homebrew developers and hackers who add on, update and create hybrid composites from new and old computers for uses they were otherwise never intended. Ethernet interfaces have been designed for many vintage 8-bit machines to allow limited connectivity to the Internet, where users can access discussion groups, bulletin boards, and software databases. Most of this hobby centers on computers made after 1960, though some collectors also specialize in older computers. The Vintage Computer Festival, an event held by the Vintage Computer Federation for the exhibition and celebration of vintage computers, has been held annually since 1997 and has expanded internationally. == By platform == === MITS Inc. === Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS) produced the Altair 8800 in 1975. According to Harry Garland, the Altair 8800 was the product that catalyzed the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s. === IMSAI === The IMSAI 8080 is a clone of the Altair 8800. It was introduced in 1975, first as a kit, and later as an assembled system. The list price was $591 (equivalent to $3,584 in 2025) for a kit, and $931 (equivalent to $5,570 in 2025) assembled. === Processor Technology === Processor Technology produced the Sol-20. This was one of the first machines to have a case that included a keyboard; a design feature copied by many of later "home computers". === SWTPC === Southwest Technical Products Corporation (SWTPC) produced the 8-bit SWTPC 6800 and later the 16-bit SWTPC 6809 kits that employed the Motorola 68xx series microprocessors. === Apple Inc. === The earliest Apple Inc. personal computers, using the MOS Technology 6502 processors, are among some of the most collectible. They are relatively easy to maintain in an operational state thanks to Apple's use of readily available off-the-shelf parts. Apple I (1976): The Apple-1 was Apple's first product and has brought some of the highest prices ever paid for a microcomputer at auction. Apple II (1977): The Apple II series of computers are some of the easiest to adapt, thanks to the original expansion architecture designed for them. New peripheral cards are still being designed by an avid thriving community, thanks to the longevity of this platform, manufactured from 1977 through 1993. Numerous websites exist to support not only legacy users but new adopters who weren't even born when the Apple II was discontinued by Apple. Macintosh (1984): The original Macintosh used a 32-bit Motorola 68000 processor running at 7.8336 MHz and came with 128 KB of RAM. The list price was $2495 (equivalent to $7,732 in 2025).Perhaps because of its friendly design and first commercially successful graphical user interface as well as its enduring Finder application that persists on the most current Macs, the Macintosh is one of the most collected and used vintage computers. With dozens of websites around the world, old Macintosh hardware and software are input into daily use. The Macintosh had a strong presence in many early computer labs, creating a nostalgia factor for former students who recall their first computing experiences. === RCA === The COSMAC Elf in 1976 was an inexpensive (about $100) single-board computer that was easily built by hobbyists. Many people who could not afford an Altair could afford an ELF, which was based on the RCA 1802 chip. Because the chips are still available from other sources, modern recreations of the ELF are fairly common and there are several fan websites. === IBM === The IBM 1130 (1965) was a desk-sized small computer. It was the often the first computer used by many college students, still has a following of interested users. Most of the remaining 1130 systems in 2023 are in museums, but an emulator is available for users who don't have access to a physical 1130. The 5100 also has an avid collector and fan base. The PC series (5150 PC, 5155 Portable PC, 5160 PC/XT, 5170 PC/AT) has become very popular in recent years, with the earliest models (PC) being considered the most collectible. === Acorn BBC & Archimedes === The Acorn BBC Micro was a very popular British computer in the 1980s with home and educational users and enjoyed near-universal usage in British schools into the mid-1990s. It was possible to use 100K 5+1⁄4-inch disks, and it had many expansion ports. The Archimedes series – the de facto successor to the BBC Micro – has also enjoyed a following in recent years, thanks to its status as the first computer to be based around ARM's RISC microprocessor. === Tandy/Radio Shack === The Tandy/RadioShack Model 100 is still widely collected and used as one of the earliest examples of a truly portable computer. Other Tandy offerings, such as the TRS-80 line, are also very popular, and early systems, like the Model I, in good condition can command premium prices on the vintage computer market. === Sinclair === The Sinclair ZX81 and ZX Spectrum series were the most popular British home computers of the early 1980s, with a wide choice of emulators available for both platforms. The Spectrum in particular enjoys a cult following due to its popularity as a games platform, with new games titles still being developed even today. Original "rubber key" Spectrums fetch the highest prices on the second-hand market, with the later Amstrad-built models attracting less of a following. The earlier ZX81 is not as popular in original hardware form due to its monochrome display and limited abilities next to the Spectrum, but still unassembled ZX81 kits still appear on eBay occasionally. === MSX === Although nearly nonexistent in the United States, the MSX architecture has strong communities of fans and hobbyists worldwide, particularly in Japan (where the standard was conceived and developed), South Korea (the only country that had an MSX-based game console, Zemmix), Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Russia, Chile, the Middle East, and others. New hardware and software are being actively developed to this day as well. One of the latest fundamental (from hardware and software perspectives) revivals of the MSX is the GR8BIT. === Robotron === The Robotron Z1013 was an East German home computer produced by VEB Robotron. It had a U880 processor, 16 KB RAM, and a membrane keyboard. The KC 85 series of computers was a modular 8-bit computer system used in East German schools. === Commodore === VIC-20 Commodore 64 Commodore PET Amiga === Xerox === The Xerox Alto, designed and manufactured by Xerox PARC and released in 1973, was the first personal computer equipped with a graphic user interface. In 1979, Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. arranged for his engineers to visit Xerox in order to see the Alto. The design concepts of the Alto soon appeared in the Apple Lisa and Macintosh systems. The Xerox Star, also known as the 8010/40, was made available in 1981. It followed on the Alto. Like the Alto, this machine was expensive and was only intended for corporate office usage. Therefore, being out of the price range of the average user, this product had little market penetration. === Silicon Graphics === The SGI Indy, built in 1993 for Silicon Graphics has a history of usage in the development of the Nintendo 64 as well as various CGI projects throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. The Indy and other machines in the SGI lineup have remained cult classics.
Web worker
A web worker, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), is a JavaScript script executed from an HTML page that runs in the background, independently of scripts that may also have been executed from the same HTML page. Web workers are often able to utilize multi-core CPUs more effectively. The W3C and WHATWG envision web workers as long-running scripts that are not interrupted by scripts that respond to clicks or other user interactions. Keeping such workers from being interrupted by user activities should allow Web pages to remain responsive at the same time as they are running long tasks in the background. The web worker specification is part of the HTML Living Standard. == Overview == As envisioned by WHATWG, web workers are relatively heavy-weight and are not intended to be used in large numbers. They are expected to be long-lived, with a high start-up performance cost, and a high per-instance memory cost. Web workers run outside the context of an HTML document's scripts. Consequently, while they do not have access to the DOM, they can facilitate concurrent execution of JavaScript programs. == Features == Web workers interact with the main document via message passing. The following code creates a Worker that will execute the JavaScript in the given file. To send a message to the worker, the postMessage method of the worker object is used as shown below. The onmessage property uses an event handler to retrieve information from a worker. Once a worker is terminated, it goes out of scope and the variable referencing it becomes undefined; at this point a new worker has to be created if needed. == Example == The simplest use of web workers is for performing a computationally expensive task without interrupting the user interface. In this example, the main document spawns a web worker to compute prime numbers, and progressively displays the most recently found prime number. The main page is as follows: The Worker() constructor call creates a web worker and returns a worker object representing that web worker, which is used to communicate with the web worker. That object's onmessage event handler allows the code to receive messages from the web worker. The Web Worker itself is as follows: To send a message back to the page, the postMessage() method is used to post a message when a prime is found. == Support == If the browser supports web workers, a Worker property will be available on the global window object. The Worker property will be undefined if the browser does not support it. The following example code checks for web worker support on a browser Web workers are currently supported by Chrome, Opera, Edge, Internet Explorer (version 10), Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. Mobile Safari for iOS has supported web workers since iOS 5. The Android browser first supported web workers in Android 2.1, but support was removed in Android versions 2.2–4.3 before being restored in Android 4.4.
Video browsing
Video browsing, also known as exploratory video search, is the interactive process of skimming through video content in order to satisfy some information need or to interactively check if the video content is relevant. While originally proposed to help users inspecting a single video through visual thumbnails, modern video browsing tools enable users to quickly find desired information in a video archive by iterative human–computer interaction through an exploratory search approach. Many of these tools presume a smart user that wants features to interactively inspect video content, as well as automatic content filtering features. For that purpose, several video interaction features are usually provided, such as sophisticated navigation in video or search by a content-based query. Video browsing tools often build on lower-level video content analysis, such as shot transition detection, keyframe extraction, semantic concept detection, and create a structured content overview of the video file or video archive. Furthermore, they usually provide sophisticated navigation features, such as advanced timelines, visual seeker bars or a list of selected thumbnails, as well as means for content querying. Examples of content queries are shot filtering through visual concepts (e.g., only shots showing cars), through some specific characteristics (e.g., color or motion filtering), through user-provided sketches (e.g., a visually drawn sketch), or through content-based similarity search. == History == Video browsing was originally proposed by Iranian engineer Farshid Arman, Taiwanese computer scientist Arding Hsu, and computer scientist Ming-Yee Chiu, while working at Siemens, and it was presented at the ACM International Conference in August 1993. They described a shot detection algorithm for compressed video that was originally encoded with discrete cosine transform (DCT) video coding standards such as JPEG, MPEG and H.26x. The basic idea was that, since the DCT coefficients are mathematically related to the spatial domain and represent the content of each frame, they can be used to detect the differences between video frames. In the algorithm, a subset of blocks in a frame and a subset of DCT coefficients for each block are used as motion vector representation for the frame. By operating on compressed DCT representations, the algorithm significantly reduces the computational requirements for decompression and enables effective video browsing. The algorithm represents separate shots of a video sequence by an r-frame, a thumbnail of the shot framed by a motion tracking region. A variation of this concept was later adopted for QBIC video content mosaics, where each r-frame is a salient still from the shot it represents. === Video Notebook === Modern video browsing solutions include Video Notebook, a Menlo Park startup founded in 2021 by Mike Lanza, which uses computer vision to extract slides and optical character recognition and speech recognition to facilitate video search. The software can be either used on the client side (using a browser extension), where the slides and text are extracted while the video is watched (e.g. on a video platform like YouTube or Udemy), or on the server side. Processed videos, which can be viewed in the Video Notebook web app, feature a video browsing user interface with extracted timestamped slides, a search bar for querying the video (or a collection of videos), and text chapters. Video Notebook customers include organisations like Ernst & Young. === Video Browser Showdown === The Video Browser Showdown (VBS) is an annual live evaluation competition for exploratory video search tools, where international researchers use video browsing tools to solve ad-hoc video search tasks on a moderately large data set as fast as possible. The main goal of the VBS, which started in 2012 at the International Conference on MultiMedia Modeling (MMM), is to advance the performance of video browsing tools. Since 2016, the VBS also collaborates with TRECVID. The aim of the VBS is to evaluate video browsing tools for efficiency at known-item search (KIS) tasks with a well-defined data set in direct comparison to other tools.
Web testing
Web testing is software testing that focuses on web applications. Complete testing of a web-based system before going live can help address issues before the system is revealed to the public. Issues may include the security of the web application, the basic functionality of the site, its accessibility to disabled and fully able users, its ability to adapt to the multitude of desktops, devices, and operating systems, as well as readiness for expected traffic and number of users and the ability to survive a massive spike in user traffic, both of which are related to load testing. == Web application performance tool == A web application performance tool (WAPT) is used to test web applications and web related interfaces. These tools are used for performance, load and stress testing of web applications, web sites, web API, web servers and other web interfaces. WAPT tends to simulate virtual users which will repeat either recorded URLs or specified URL and allows the users to specify number of times or iterations that the virtual users will have to repeat the recorded URLs. By doing so, the tool is useful to check for bottleneck and performance leakage in the website or web application being tested. A WAPT faces various challenges during testing and should be able to conduct tests for: Browser compatibility Operating System compatibility Windows application compatibility where required WAPT allows a user to specify how virtual users are involved in the testing environment.ie either increasing users or constant users or periodic users load. Increasing user load, step by step is called RAMP where virtual users are increased from 0 to hundreds. Constant user load maintains specified user load at all time. Periodic user load tends to increase and decrease the user load from time to time. == Web security testing == Web security testing tells us whether Web-based applications requirements are met when they are subjected to malicious input data. There is a web application security testing plug-in collection for Fire Fox == Web API testing == An application programming interface API exposes services to other software components, which can query the API. The API implementation is in charge of computing the service and returning the result to the component that send the query. A part of web testing focuses on testing these web API implementations. GraphQL is a specific query and API language. It is the focus of tailored testing techniques. Search-based test generation yields good results to generate test cases for GraphQL APIs.