SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED TESTING OF SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS WITH DYNAMIC USER INTERFACES SPANNING MULTIPLE TECHNOLOGIES

• US 20110173590A1
• Filed: 01/14/2011
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Worksoft, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Worksoft, Inc.
• Inventors: Yanes, Andres Matias
• Granted Patent: US 8,997,053 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/125
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3664 Environments for testing or debugging software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/35 model driven
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a system, method and computer program product that uses abstraction to enable the definition, development and maintenance of testing libraries for both simple and complex user interface controls. The system and method hide the granular details from the test designer while still promoting reuse. Using the system and method, designers can define a library of functionality for common controls that map 1-to-1 with visual controls, which may be re-implemented across many APIs or programming languages.

Claims

1. An automated software testing system, comprising:

an abstraction layer executed by a programmed processor, the abstraction layer generating control hierarchies, each of the control hierarchies providing a technology-independent representation of running application graphical elements and parent-child relationships between the running application graphical elements;

a meta, layer executed by the programmed processor, the meta, layer including user definable test libraries and generating implementation objects, each of the implementation objects providing a technology-independent representation of member graphical elements and their associated functionality; and

an application layer executed by the programmed processor, the application layer using the control hierarchies from the abstraction layer and the implementation objects from the meta layer to create a technology-independent hierarchical representation of the running application graphical elements.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a connectivity layer, the connectivity layer creating connectivity interfaces for the system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a logging service, the logging serving permitting one or more of the abstraction layer, the meta layer, and the application layer to report to the system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further comprises a persistence service, the persistence service defining and providing a persistence application programming interface to one or more of the abstraction layer, the meta layer, and the application layer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the application layer further comprises a transformation engine, the transformation engine transforming references created for a specific application and specific technology into equivalent references for the specific application and a different technology.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the technology-independent representation of running application graphical elements and parent-child relationships between the running application graphical elements comprise a view.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the member graphical elements are comprised of an identity and at least one of an action and a property.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the abstraction layer, the meta layer, and the application layer of the system are distributed between two or more computers within a multi-machine configuration.

9. A method of software testing, comprising:

generating, using a programmed processor, control hierarchies within an abstraction layer, each of the control hierarchies providing a technology-independent representation of running application graphical elements and parent-child relationships between the running application graphical elements;

storing user definable test libraries and generating, using the programmed processor, implementation objects within a meta layer, each of the implementation objects providing a technology-independent representation of member graphical elements and their associated functionality; and

creating, using the programmed processor, a technology-independent hierarchical representation of the running application graphical elements within an application layer, the technology-independent hierarchical representation of the running application graphical elements based upon the control hierarchies from the abstraction layer and the implementation objects from the meta layer.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising creating connectivity interfaces for the system through a connectivity layer.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising permitting one or more of the abstraction layer, the meta layer, and the application layer to report to the system through a logging service.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising defining and providing a persistence application programming interface to one or more of the abstraction layer, the meta layer, and the application layer.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising transforming references created for a specific application and specific technology into equivalent references for the specific application and a different technology.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising further comprising utilizing a multi-machine configuration to perform the steps of generating the control hierarchies, generating the implementation objects, and creating the technology-independent hierarchical representation of the running application graphical elements.

15. A computer readable medium tangibly embodying instructions which, when executed by a programmed processor, implement an automated software testing process comprising:

generating, using the programmed processor, control hierarchies using an abstraction layer, each of the control hierarchies providing a technology-independent representation of running application graphical elements and parent-child relationships between the running application graphical elements;

holding user definable test libraries and generating, using the programmed processor, implementation objects using a meta layer, each of the implementation objects providing a technology-independent representation of member graphical elements and their associated functionality; and

creating, using the programmed processor, a technology-independent hierarchical representation of the running application graphical elements using the control hierarchies from the abstraction layer and the implementation objects from the meta layer.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising creating connectivity interfiices for the system through a connectivity layer.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising permitting one or more of the abstraction layer, the meta layer, and the application layer to report to the system through a logging service.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising defining and providing a persistence application programming interface to one or more of the abstraction layer, the meta layer, and the application layer through a persistence service.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising transforming references created for a specific application and specific technology into equivalent references for the specific application and a different technology through a transformation engine.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 15, further comprising utilizing a multi-machine configuration to perform the steps of generating the control hierarchies, generating the implementation objects, and creating the technology-independent hierarchical representation of the running application graphical elements.