While translating our plugins, you’ll commonly come across words like “test” and “production” for environments (especially related to payment gateways), which can be a bit difficult to understand. Here’s an overview of what these mean.
Environment
Environment is a software term that refers to the conditions in which a plugin or integration acts. If a WordPress site runs PHP version 5.3 and WordPress 4.2, these are part of the site environment, just as trees or desert would be part of a physical environment.
With respect to payment gateways or integrations, the environment can be a testing or production environment. This changes to let the software know if “real” data or “fake” / test data is being passed back and forth so the software can act accordingly.
Test Environments
Test environments are like practice environments. They tell the software, “This isn’t real, we just want to make sure everything is working the way it should.” Test environments are a dress rehearsal for the integration.
This lets payment gateways run test transactions to make sure the plugin is connected to the payment gateway correctly without transferring any money. This also lets the user simulate certain responses, such as successful transactions or failed transactions.
Production Environments
Production environments are sometimes called “live” environments. If a test environment is a dress rehearsal, the production environment is the real show.
Production environments are no longer a simulation. Instead, these function in the exact way that you imagine they should. In the case of a payment gateway, a production environment goes through real checks to check that a payment method is valid, then charges the payment method. Actual transactions take place and money is transferred.