Tool Mentor: Using Rational RobotTM
to Record or Program Test Scripts
Purpose
This tool mentor describes how to use Rational RobotTM to record
test scripts and how to extend them by editing the scripts after they have been recorded.
Related Rational Unified Process activities:
Overview
This Tool Mentor is applicable when running Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT 4.0.
To record and extend a script using Robot:
- Record the script in Robot.
- Insert a verification point.
- Edit the script if necessary.
- Play the script back.
- View the results in the LogViewer.
- Analyze verification point results with the comparators.
When you record a script, Robot records:
- Your actions as you interact with the application-under-test. These user actions include
keystrokes and mouse clicks that help you navigate around the application.
- Verification points that you create to capture and save information about specific
objects. A verification point is a point in a script that you create to confirm the state
or behavior of an object across builds. During recording, the verification point captures
object information and stores it as the baseline. During playback, the verification point
recaptures the object information and compares it to the baseline.
The recorded script establishes the baseline of expected behavior for the
application-under-test. When revised builds of the application become available, you can
play back the script to test new builds of the application against the established
baseline in a fraction of the time it would take to perform the testing manually.
The Robot Object-Oriented Recording technology examines objects in the
application-under-test at the Windows layer during recording and playback. As a result,
script playback does not usually depend on absolute screen coordinates. Object-Oriented
Recording insulates the script from minor user interface changes and simplifies script
maintenance.
To record a new script:
1. |
Prepare to record test scripts by entering test script properties in
TestManager. See Tool Mentor: Using Rational
TestManager to capture the results of Identify and Structure Test Procedures.
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2. |
Prepare the test environment by setting the record options. See Tool Mentor: Setting up the Test Environment. |
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Start your application-under-test. (Optionally, you can start the
application-under-test after you start recording by clicking Insert > Start
Application in Robot.) |
3. |
Click the Record GUI Script button on the Robot toolbar. |
4. |
Type a name (40 characters maximum) or select it from the list. |
5. |
The scripts that are listed have already been defined in TestManager or
recorded in Robot. |
6. |
To change the recording options, click Options. When finished,
click OK. |
7. |
If you selected a previously defined or recorded script, you can change
the properties by clicking Properties. When finished, click OK. |
8. |
Click OK to start recording. The following events occur: |
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- If you selected a script that has already been recorded, Robot asks if you want to
overwrite it. Click Yes. (If you record over an existing GUI script, you overwrite the
script file but any existing properties are applied to the new script.)
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- Robot is minimized (default behavior).
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- The floating GUI Record toolbar appears. You can use this toolbar to pause or stop
recording, redisplay Robot, and insert features into a script.
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9. |
Execute the test procedure by performing the actions identified in the
procedure and insert the necessary features (such as verification points, comments, and
timers). For details, see the Robot online Help. |
10. |
If necessary, switch from Object-Oriented Recording to low-level
recording. |
11. |
Object-Oriented Recording examines Windows GUI objects and other objects
in the application-under-test without depending on precise timing or screen coordinates.
Low-level recording tracks detailed mouse movements and keyboard actions by screen
coordinates and exact timing. |
12. |
When finished, click the Stop Recording button on the GUI
Record toolbar. The following events occur: |
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- The script you recorded appears in a Script window within the Robot main window.
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- The verification points in the script (if any) appear in the Asset pane on the left.
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- The text of the script appears in the Script pane on the right.
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- When you compile or play back the script, the compilation results appear in the Build
tab of the Output window.
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13. |
Optionally, set the properties for the script by clicking File
> Properties. |
To insert a verification point while recording or editing a script:
- Do one of the following:
- If recording, click the Display GUI Insert Toolbar button on the GUI
Record toolbar.
- If editing, position the pointer in the script and click the Display GUI Insert
Toolbar button on the Standard toolbar.
- Click a verification point button on the GUI Insert toolbar.
The verification point is named with the verification point type (and a number if there
is more than one of the same type in the script).
- Edit the name as appropriate.
- Optionally, set the wait state options.
- Optionally, set the expected results option.
- Click OK.
- If prompted to select an object, drag the object finder tool over the desired object and
release the left mouse button to select the object. Optionally, the object may be
selected from a list of objects by clicking on the Browse button. When
the desired object is selected, click OK.
For further details, see the Robot online Help and the chapter Creating Verification
Points in GUI Scripts in the Using Rational Robot manual.
You can edit existing scripts by manually changing the text of a script or by adding
new features. For example, you can:
- Edit the text of a script (delete a line, move text, etc.)
- Add a new user action to an existing script (select a menu command, click a button,
etc.)
- Add a new feature to an existing script (add verification points, comments, etc.)
- Go to a line with a compiler error (go to a specific line number, find the next error,
etc.)
For details, see the Robot online Help and the chapter Editing, Compiling, and
Debugging Scripts in the Using Rational Robot manual.
When you play back a script, Robot repeats your recorded actions and automates the
software testing. With automation, you can test each new build of your application faster
and more thoroughly than by testing it manually. This decreases testing time and increases
both coverage and overall consistency.
There are two general phases of script playback:
- Test Implementation Play back the scripts to verify that they work as
intended, using the same build of the application-under-test that you used to record. This
verifies the baseline of expected behavior for the application-under-test.
- Test Execution and Regression Play back the scripts to compare the latest build
of the application-under-test to the baseline established during test implementation.
Ongoing play back of all test scripts during test execution reveals any differences that
may have been introduced into the application since the last build. These differences can
be evaluated to determine if they are actual defects or deliberate changes.
Before playback, Robot automatically compiles a script if it has changed since it last
ran.
For information on preparing the test environment for script playback, see the Tool Mentor: Setting Up the Test Environment.
To play back a script:
- Click the Playback Script button on the toolbar. The Playback dialog box will
appear.
- Type a script name or select it from the list.
The query determines which names and fields appears in the list. To change the list,
select a query from the Query drop-down list. You create new queries in TestManager.
- To change the Playback options, click Options. When finished, click OK.
For information on playback options, see the Tool Mentor: Setting
Up the Test Environment.
- Click OK to continue.
- If the Specify Log Information dialog box appears, do the following:
- Select a build from the list. To create a new build, click the build button on the
right. Builds can also be created in TestManager.
- Select a log folder from the list. To create a new log folder, click the log folder
button on the right. Log folders can also be created in TestManager.
- Accept the default log name, which is the same as the script name, or type a new name.
- Click OK.
- If a prompt appears asking if you want to overwrite the log, click Yes.
Note: To stop playback of a script, press the F11 key. Robot recognizes the F11 key
only when playing back Object-Oriented commands. The F11 key does not stop playback during
low-level actions.
After playback completes, use the Rational LogViewer to view the playback results,
including verification point failures, procedural failures, aborts, and any additional
playback information.
To control the log information and display of the LogViewer, you can set options in the
Log tab in the GUI Playback Options dialog box:
- To update the repository with the playback results, select Output playback results to
log. Click the amount of detail to output to the log.
- To display the LogViewer automatically after playback, select View log after playback.
If this is not selected, you can display the LogViewer after playback by clicking
Tools > Rational Test > LogViewer.
If the playback of the test scripts resulted in any errors, the specific cause of the
error must be identified.
Scripts which contain errors are identified in the LogViewer by the word Fail
(enclosed in a red box) in the Results column, or Warning (in
a yellow box). There are several classes of errors to be addressed: fatal
errors, script errors, and verification point failures. Fatal errors typically
require that the test environment should be investigated and the failure resolved.
Script errors typically require test script maintenance. Verification point failures
(during test implementation) typically require changes to the verification point
parameters or indicate a difference between the desired state of the
application-under-test when the script was recorded versus when it was played back.
See the next section for analyzing verification points.
Additional information regarding the error condition may be viewed in the Log
Event Properties window. Open this window by clicking View > Log Event
Properties. Selecting the Results tab will display a
description of the error and additional information regarding the type of error
encountered.
For each script in which a failure (or warning) occurred, review the information
regarding the failure and if necessary, edit the test script (see Tool
Mentor: Using Rational RobotTM to Record or Program Test
Scripts). The test script (and Robot) may be opened from the LogViewer by clicking
View > Script.
After editing the script, the environment should be re-set to its appropriate initial
state (see Tool Mentor: Setting Up the Test Environment.) and
the tests re-executed (Play the script
back.)
Use the Comparators to analyze verification point results. To open a Comparator from
the LogViewer:
- In the Log Event column, double-click a verification point. The appropriate
Comparator dialog window will appear. The comparators may also be opened from Robot by
double-clicking a verification point in the Asset pane. However, when you open a
Comparator this way, you can view only the baseline file.
- Differences between the baseline and the actual results will be highlighted.
- Review the differences and determine the appropriate course of action, including:
(Note: the available actions will differ based upon the type of verification point)
- Copy Property to baseline - copy the current individual actual property and over-write
the baseline property.
- Copy All Properties to baseline - copy all the actual property values and over-write all
the baseline properties.
- Edit individual property (menu, value, etc.) by double-clicking the property (menu,
value, etc.) and entering a different value.
- Editing the properties list (to identify which properties should be captured by the
verification point).
- Create / modify masks.
- When finished making the appropriate changes, click the Exit button to
close the comparator and save the changes.
After editing the script and / or verification points, the environment should be re-set
to its appropriate initial state (see Tool Mentor: Setting Up the
Test Environment.) and the tests re-executed (Play the script back.)
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