3. Record & Play
Record and Play automates the manual task of testing
interactive processes for business analysts, developers,
testing departments and users.
You can build test cases incrementally by stacking scripts
that include commands, and playing them back, as a set,
any time you need to test your application. You can even
call Data Environment and Data Builder commands from Record
and Play, so you can reliably reconstruct the correct
starting point in the database and test the impact on
the database while testing the user interface. |
Testing Interactive
Processes
Screen Capture: Captures
screen images, both those sent by the host, and the data
entered by the user, and stores them in a database file
for later replay. The device used for capturing the images
may be any device that can attach to the iSeries.
Screen Replay: Once a test
script sequence has been recorded, it may be replayed
in interactive or batch mode. As screens are replayed,
they are compared to the original to ensure that the test
is proceeding successfully. Record and Play highlights
differences between the before and after screens, and
the tester uses command keys to accept the difference
and continue, or reject the difference and abort the test.
Screen Masking: Areas of
a screen, like date and time, may be masked to exclude
them from the compare, speeding up the testing process.
Field display attributes, such as reverse image and highlights,
may be either included or excluded in the replay screen
comparison.
Volume Testing: Since no
real display devices are required, several replay tests
may be run simultaneously to automate volume replay and
performance testing. Replay any combination of previously
recorded tests to observe the impact and interaction between
different modules or applications in a controlled environment.
Testing Interactive Processes in Batch
Midnight Shift: Another advantage of not requiring
a physical device for test runs is that they may be scheduled
to run after hours, leaving machine resources available
to others during prime time. Also, there is no potential
security risk because no devices need be left switched
on or logged on.
Maintaining Test Cases
Screen Maintenance: Test scripts
can be replayed in maintenance mode. If a difference is
found during the replay, command keys are available to
replace the old screen format stored in the test case
with the new screen format. Test script maintenance allows
new screen formats or new fields with input data to be
added to an existing test script.
Editing Images: Test screen
images and associated responses may be modified. Responses
may also include special values, such as the current date,
or a specified number of days from the current date. The
function key sent with the response may also be modified.
Customising Test Cases
User Variables: User variables
may be defined and used for response data and screen masking.
A user variable may be loaded from any location on a screen,
and then used on subsequent screens, as well as in other
test runs. When the specified screen is displayed during
test replay, the contents of the specified location are
copied into the user variable. The value of the user variable
is kept from one test run to another, so a captured value
may be used in subsequent test runs. User variable values
may also be set manually via a CL command, thus allowing
a value to be calculated by a user-written program and
loaded into the user variable, prior to running a test
case. User variables can also be retrieved via a CL Command,
allowing a user-written program access to the contents
of the variable.
Scripting Command Macros:
The simple scripting command macros are designed to complement
the replay process by allowing user defined jobs and iSeries
commands to be executed during the replay life cycle.
Scripting commands can be established at the following
levels:
- Setup
- Execute the test
- Post test "successful" processing
- Post test "unsuccessful" processing
- Housekeeping and cleanup
- User variables.
The scripting command macros also allow the Data Builder
and Data Environments commands to be interfaced to the
replay process, in order to construct the correct database
starting point and capture all the database transactions
made during the replay of a test case.
To view the full SmartTest400 brochure in PDF format please
click here.
For a live demonstration via the web please contact sales@thenon.com
or phone +44 (0)20 8607 9336
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All rights acknowledged.
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