User interface for testing and asserting UI elements with natural language instructions

• US 9,715,483 B2
• Filed: 09/16/2010
• Issued: 07/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Lau, Tessa A., Mahmud, Jalal U.
• Primary Examiner(s): Paula, Cesar
• Assistant Examiner(s): Faber, David
• Application Number:
  US12/883,352
• Publication Number:
  US 20120072823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,504 Days
• Field of Search: 715200, 715234, 715237, 715255, 715273, 715760, 715762, 715788
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3684 for test design, e.g. generating new test cases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/106 Display of layout of documents; Previewing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/143 Markup, e.g. Standard Generalized Markup Language [SGML] or Document Type Definition [DTD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/166 Editing, e.g. inserting or deleting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/311 Functional or applicative languages; Rewrite languages
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/38 for implementing user interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/45512 Command shells

Abstract

A method, a system, and a computer medium for testing may be provided. An instruction including a natural language assertion statement may be received. The instruction may be parsed. The natural language assertion statement may be evaluated to true or false.

Claims

1. A method for testing comprising the following machine-implemented steps:

receiving a plurality of natural language instructions, each of the plurality of natural language instructions including a natural language statement, such that each of the plurality of natural language instructions identifies, via natural language, a user interface element and particular text in the user interface element within a user interface,

parsing the plurality of natural language instructions, wherein the parsing of the natural language instructions includes;

identifying a target element specified by the natural language instructions;

identifying properties identifying the target element;

evaluating the natural language instructions to true or false based on accessing a document object model of a web page with information that includes a state and condition of the target element;

modifying a plurality of user interface elements by executing a plurality of natural language modification statements;

wherein the plurality of natural language instructions make an assertion as to existence of one of the plurality of modified user interface elements in the user interface and to existence of a property of the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements,

wherein at least one property of the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements includes an assertion of being greater than a value of a variable during execution of an application, and

wherein the user interface is included in a web browser and includes a first section that displays a scripting system including the natural language instructions and a second section that displays the web page including the user interface elements,

wherein the first section and the second section are completely displayed simultaneously side by side, and wherein the scripting system refers to elements on the web page, and

wherein both the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements and the natural language instructions are highlighted with a specified color based upon an existence of the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements;

wherein the plurality of natural language instructions are displayed as a list,

wherein the scripting system is configured to include buttons to record the plurality of natural language instructions, step to a listed one of the plurality of natural language instructions, and save one of the plurality of natural language instructions, and

wherein the first section is divided into three separately bordered parts, with a first part including the buttons to record, step to, and save the natural language instructions, a second part includes a natural language description of the second section, and a third part includes a list of previously entered natural language instructions.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each of said plurality of natural language instructions specifies a test for one of the user interface elements within the user interface.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the user interface comprises a rendering of a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) document.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the evaluating further comprises analyzing a Document Object Model (DOM) of the HTML document.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising modifying the DOM of the HTML document based on a result of the evaluating.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the test for one of the user interface elements tests whether the user interface contains a widget having a specified property.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the widget is a button and the specified property is a text label.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of natural language instructions evaluates to true if the user interface does not contain the widget having the specified property.

9. The method of claim 1, including indicating whether each of the plurality of natural language instructions evaluates to true or false.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the indicating includes highlighting the user interface element.

11. A natural language scripting computer-implemented system comprising:

a hardware computer processor configured to parse a first script that includes a plurality of natural language statements that specify a particular text within a graphical user interface for testing;

the computer processor configured to analyze a model describing a plurality of user interface elements in the graphical user interface, wherein the model is a document object model of a web page;

the computer processor configured to modify the plurality of user interface elements in the graphical user interface by executing one of the plurality of natural language statements; and

the computer processor configured to evaluate one of the plurality of natural language statements to true or false based on analysis of the model,

wherein the plurality of natural language statements make an assertion as to existence of one of the plurality of modified user interface elements in the graphical user interface and to existence of a property of the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements,

wherein the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements is highlighted or not highlighted based on the existence of the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements, and the plurality of natural language statements are highlighted with a specified color based upon the existence of the one of the plurality of user interface elements,

wherein the plurality of natural language statements are displayed as a scrollable list, and

wherein the system is configured to include buttons to record the plurality of natural language statements, step to a listed assert statement in the list, and save one of the plurality of natural language statements, and cancel a current operation to record or step into the one of the plurality of natural language statements,

wherein the graphical user interface is included in a web browser and includes a first section that displays a scripting system including the plurality of natural language statements and a second section that displays the web page including the plurality of user interface elements,

wherein the first section and the second section are completely displayed simultaneously side by side, and wherein the scripting system refers to elements on the web page,

wherein both the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements and the plurality of natural language statements are highlighted with a specified color based upon an existence of the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements, and

wherein the first section is divided into three separately bordered parts, with a first part including the buttons to record, step to, and save the plurality of natural language statements, a second part includes a natural language description of the second section, and a third part includes a list of previously entered natural language statements.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the graphical user interface is described by a HTML document and the model is a Document Object Model for the HTML document.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein one of the plurality of natural language statements specifies whether the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements contains the property.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements is a HTML tag.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the one of the plurality of modified user interface elements is a user interface widget.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the user interface widget is a button and the property is a label.

17. The system of claim 12, wherein the one of the plurality of user interface elements is an area of the graphical user interface and the property is a textual description.

18. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable code embodied therewith, the computer readable code being configured to:

receive a first natural language instruction including a condition and an identification of particular text within a first user interface element within a user interface of a computer application;

receive a second natural language instruction including identification of a lack of a second element within the user interface of the computer application;

receive a third natural language instruction including identification of a particular view;

parse the first natural language instruction to determine the first user interface element;

parse the second natural language instruction to determine the second user interface element;

parse the third natural language instruction to determine the particular view;

determine whether the particular view is displayed on the user interface of the computer application;

determine whether the first user interface element meets the condition; and

determine whether the second user interface element is absent from the user interface of the computer application, and highlighting the second natural language instruction in response to the second user interface element being absent from the user interface of the computer application;

wherein the user interface is part of a web browser and includes a first section that displays a scripting system including the first, second, and third natural language instructions and a second section that displays a web page including the first and second user interface elements,

wherein the first section and the second section are completely displayed simultaneously side by side, and wherein the scripting system refers to elements on the web page,

wherein the first, second, and third natural language instructions are displayed as a list, and

wherein the scripting system is configured to include buttons to record the first, second and third natural language instructions, step to a listed one of the first, second, and third natural language instructions, and save one of the first, second, or third natural language instructions,

wherein the first section is divided into three separately bordered parts, with a first part including the buttons to record, step to, and save the natural language instructions, a second part includes a natural language description of the second section, and a third part includes a list of previously entered natural language instructions.

19. The storage medium of claim 18, wherein the user interface element meets the condition if the first user interface element is displayed on the user interface of the computer application.