Application Testing

Application Testing

Application testing deals with tests for the entire application. This is driven by the scenarios from the analysis team. Application limits and features are tested here.

The application must successfully execute all scenarios before it is ready for general customer availability. After all, the scenarios are a part of the requirement document and measure success. Application testing represents the bulk of the testing done by industry.

Unlike the internal and unit testing, which are programmed, these test are usually driven by scripts that run the system with a collection of parameters and collect results. In the past, these scripts may have been written by hand but in many modern systems this process can be automated.

Most current applications have graphical user interfaces (GUI). Testing a GUI to assure quality becomes a bit of a problem. Most, if not all, GUI systems have event loops. The GUI event loop contains signals for mouse, keyboard, window, and other related events. Associated with each event are the coordinates on the screen of the event. The screen coordinates can be related back to the GUI object and then the event can be serviced. Unfortunately, if some GUI object is positioned at a different location on the screen, then the coordinates change in the event loop. Logically the events at the new coordinates should be associated with the same GUI object. This logical association can be accomplished by giving unique names to all of the GUI objects and providing the unique names as additional information in the events in the event loop. The GUI application reads the next event off of the event loop, locates the GUI object, and services the event.

The events on the event loop are usually generated by human actions such as typing characters, clicking mouse buttons, and moving the cursor. A simple modification to the event loop can journal the events into a file. At a later time, this file could be used to regenerate the events, as if the human was present, and place them on the event loop. The GUI application will respond accordingly. A tester, using the GUI, now executes a scenario. A journal of the GUI event loop from the scenario is captured. At a later time the scenario can be repeated again and again in an automated fashion. The ability to repeat a test is key to automation and stress testing.