Spirent Communications, Inc.

Saif Ahmed

Andrea Holt

Alireza Akbari McQuee

Disclosed is a method of efficient testing by selective UI interaction, through test script sections including setup, execution and verification, applied to an AUT that operates in both API mode and UI)mode, including providing a test environment that, when testing the UI mode of the AUT, defaults to ignoring the UI mode during setup and supplying setup values stored in a file directly to an API without rendering or interacting with UI elements in the setup section of the script. The method includes encountering an override directive in the setup section of the test script, which mandates interaction with a specified UI element in the setup section, and responsive to the directive, overriding of the default of ignoring the specified UI element in the setup section, rendering the specified UI element, and applying a bot to interact with and supply setup values from the file to the specified UI element.

Controlling heterogeneous component-based testing in a portable automation framework with test scripts in both API mode and UI mode

The disclosed technology provides resource locators keyed to resource names with failover alternate resource locators keyed to resource positions on user interfaces in a test environment: providing a central repository for resource locators and storing a set of alternative locator expressions for a resource in the central repository. The set includes first resource locators keyed to resource names on UIs and respective second resource locators keyed to resource positions on UIs that can be evaluated when the resource name in the respective first resource locator is invalid. The method invokes a resource location navigator to locate a particular resource using a first resource locator keyed to a resource name on the user interface, automatically invoking the resource location navigator using the second resource locator keyed to the resource position after failure of locating the particular resource using the resource name, and accessing the particular resource using the second resource locator.

Automatically locating resources using alternative locator expressions during heterogeneous component-based testing in a portable automation framework

The disclosed technology teaches testing with a test parameter data structure, applied to an AUT that operates in both API and UI mode, processing a configurable script to test in both modes. UI mode renders and interacts with UI elements utilizing values stored in the structure, used by the script in both modes, providing display mark-up in the script that is rendered in UI mode and formats fields to receive data that map to specific elements, leaving to be completed a mapping connection between the fields in the display and specific elements in the structure. The method includes providing a mapping of fields to elements, based on names, and while processing the script in UI mode, rendering the mark-up from the script, using a bot to interact with and complete the mark-up, applying the mapping to identify elements to complete fields, and causing processing of the fields in the mark-up.

Mapping test parameter data elements during heterogeneous component-based testing in a portable automation framework in both API mode and UI mode

The disclosed technology for utilizing already-provisioned components in a test scenario without need to purge and re-provision the already provisioned components includes interpreting first and second sections of a test script. In the first section, the method includes encountering a reusable-resource-tag and a first instance of requesting provisioning of an associated resource, and provisioning the associated resource and designating the associated resource as reusable. In the second section, the disclosed method includes encountering a second instance of requesting provisioning of the associated resource, determining that the associated resource was designated as being reusable, and reusing an already provisioned instance of the associated resource instead of provisioning a new instance and instead of destroying the already provisioned instance and re-provisioning the associated resource. Further, extending test scripting to determining whether an associated resource has already been provisioned, and the interpreter determining that the resource was designated as being reusable.

Reusing provisioned resources during heterogeneous component-based testing in a portable automation framework

The disclosed technology teaches enhancing error messages from tests, providing an error annotation memory in which to store annotations of errors for reference upon recurrence of the errors. Following one or more tests, the technology includes parsing an error log and causing display to a user of one or more errors including error codes, and receiving from the user, for at least some of the errors, a respective error source category and/or problem resolution hint. The method also includes storing an error code and the respective error source category and/or problem resolution hint, received from the user, as an annotation in the error annotation memory. Further taught is receiving and correlating a subsequent error including a subsequent error code, with the error source category and/or problem resolution hint available from the error annotation memory, and enhancing a message accompanying the subsequent error and causing display of the enhanced message.

Growing community of inventors

Fairfax Station, VA, United States of America

Saif Ahmed