In order to enable QF-Test to communicate with the SUT, the SUT's process must be started by QF-Test. For details about how the application is started by QF-Test and which kind of node is most applicable in your case, see chapter 4.

The following nodes are used to start or stop processes, to wait for a connection with the SUT or to wait for the termination of a process and check its exit value. The number of concurrent processes managed by QF-Test is limited only by the underlying system, but you have to assign a unique name to each process by which other nodes will identify it.

We will refer to processes run by QF-Test as clients. QF-Test distinguishes between two types of clients: arbitrary processes that are simply started and stopped and SUT clients, the actual Java applications that QF-Test interacts with.

Standard input and output of a client is redirected to a terminal that you can open from the »Clients« menu. The client's output is also stored in the log of a test run.

This node provides the standard and most flexible way of starting an SUT client. To use it, you must know the Java command that starts your application. If the SUT is run through a script, use a 'Start SUT client' node instead (see chapter 4).

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: The command line for the program is built from the attributes and the process is started. Its input and output are redirected to QF-Test.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.39:  'Start Java SUT client' attributes

'Client'

This is the identifier for the SUT client. It must remain unique as long as the process is alive. Other nodes will refer to the client by this name.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Executable'

The Java program to run, typically java or javaw on Windows. If you want to run a specific Java virtual machine you should give the full path name of the executable.

The file button brings up a dialog in which you can select the program file interactively. You can also get to this dialog by pressing [Shift-Return] or [Alt-Return], when the focus is in the text field.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Directory'

Here you can set the working directory for the program. If you leave this value empty, the program will inherit QF-Test's working directory.

The directory button brings up a dialog in which you can select the directory interactively. You can also get to this dialog by pressing [Shift-Return] or [Alt-Return], when the focus is in the text field.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must be empty or an existing directory

'Class name'

The fully qualified name of the Java class of the SUT whose main(String[]) method will be called. If your application is run from an executable jar archive with the -jar parameter, you must leave this attribute empty.

Note QF-Test can only run the main method of the class if both the class itself and the main method are declared public. Please verify this if you get an IllegalAccessException when you try to start your application.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid class name

'Parameters'

There is one tab for each of the following parameter lists:

Executable

The command line arguments for the Java executable. Put each parameter on a line of its own. Special quoting of whitespace or symbols is not required.

For example to set the classpath, set one line to -classpath and the following line to the desired value of the classpath. You don't need to concern yourself with QF-Test's jar files.

Class

These are the arguments that are passed to the main(String[]) method of the class to be started. Again, each argument requires a row of its own and special quoting is not required.

Extra

Extra parameters for the class de.qfs.apps.qftest.start.StartClient which is the wrapper class started by QF-Test in order to gain access to the EventQueue, establish an RMI connection between the SUT and QF-Test and then start the main class of the SUT. These parameters are intended for future extensions, scripting and internal logging.

See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the tables.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

If your application is normally started through a shell script or a special executable starter, the most convenient way to run it from QF-Test is through this kind of node. Depending on how the application is actually started by this script, some modifications may be required. A typical symptom is that the SUT starts up fine, but the connection to QF-Test is not established. In that case, read chapter 4.

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: The command line for the program is built from the attributes and the process is started. Its input and output are redirected to QF-Test.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.40:  'Start SUT client' attributes

'Client'

This is the identifier for the SUT client. It must remain unique as long as the process is alive. Other nodes will refer to the client by this name.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Executable'

The program to run. If the executable file is not located in a directory on the PATH you must give the full path name.

The file button brings up a dialog in which you can select the program file interactively. You can also get to this dialog by pressing [Shift-Return] or [Alt-Return], when the focus is in the text field.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Directory'

Here you can set the working directory for the program. If you leave this value empty, the program will inherit QF-Test's working directory.

The directory button brings up a dialog in which you can select the directory interactively. You can also get to this dialog by pressing [Shift-Return] or [Alt-Return], when the focus is in the text field.

Note This directory will become the current working directory after executing the program. As a result, a script named, say, ./copy_data will be looked up relative to QF-Test's working directory and not the directory given. Only the path names referred to in the script itself will be resolved relative to the new directory.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must be empty or an existing directory

'Parameters'

There is one tab for each of the following parameter lists:

Executable

The command line arguments for the executable. Put each parameter on a line of its own. Special quoting of whitespace or symbols is not required.

Extra

Extra parameters for the class de.qfs.apps.qftest.start.StartClient which is used to gain access to the EventQueue, establish an RMI connection between the SUT and QF-Test and then start the main class of the SUT. These parameters are intended for future extensions, scripting and internal logging.

See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the tables.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

This node is used to start a web browser specifically for web testing. To test a Java applet in a browser, use a 'Start SUT client' node instead. If the process for the SUT is already running, this node can also be used to open an additional browser window in the same process.

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: The command line for the browser program is built from the attributes and the process is started. Its input and output are redirected to QF-Test.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.41:  'Start browser' attributes

'Client'

This is the identifier for the SUT client. It must remain unique as long as the process is alive. Other nodes will refer to the client by this name.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'URL'

The URL of the web page to be shown in the browser. As a special case the URL "about:nowindow" can be used to start the SUT process without opening an initial browser window. In that state, cache or preference settings for the browser can be modified which may be a prerequisite for opening a given URL. The browser window with the actual target URL can then be opened via another 'Start browser' node.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Open new browser window in existing client'

If this attribute is set, QF-Test will try to open another browser window in an existing SUT client instead of starting a new process. Of course in that case the SUT client must already be running.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Browser type'

The kind of browser to open a window for. Currently supported values are "ie" for Internet Explorer and "mozilla" for Mozilla derivatives like Firefox, SeaMonkey or Mozilla itself. It is possible to open browser windows for different browser types in the same SUT client.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Currently only "ie" or "mozilla" are supported.

'Name of the browser window'

This attribute can be ignored unless you need to test a web application with multiple open browser windows holding similar documents. In that case the 'Name of the browser window' attribute can be used to identify the browser window. Here you can specify the name for the browser window to be opened.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Directory of Mozilla installation'

For Mozilla and Mozilla-based browsers the installation directory of the browser must be set here.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must be empty (for ie) or an existing directory

Geometry of browser window

These optional attributes for the X/Y coordinate, width and height can be used to specify the geometry of the browser window to open.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Width and height must not be negative.

'Parameters'

There is one tab for each of the following parameter lists:

Java VM

Special command line arguments for the java executable in which the browser is embedded. Can be used to specify the available memory (default is 200MB), define system properties, enable debugging, etc. Put each parameter on a line of its own. Special quoting of whitespace or symbols is not required.

Extra

Extra parameters for the QF-Test wrapper that embeds the browser and establishes an RMI connection between the SUT and QF-Test. These parameters are intended for future extensions, scripting and internal logging.

See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the tables.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

To run an arbitrary program during a test, you can either use this node or an 'Execute shell command' node. This node is preferable if you need to pass possibly complex arguments to the executable.

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: The command line for the program is built from the attributes and the process is started. Its input and output are redirected to QF-Test.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.42:  'Start process' attributes

'Client'

This is the identifier for the SUT client. It must remain unique as long as the process is alive. Other nodes will refer to the client by this name.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Executable'

The program to run. If the executable file is not located in a directory on the PATH you must give the full path name.

The file button brings up a dialog in which you can select the program file interactively. You can also get to this dialog by pressing [Shift-Return] or [Alt-Return], when the focus is in the text field.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Directory'

Here you can set the working directory for the program here. If you leave this value empty, the program will inherit QF-Test's working directory.

The directory button brings up a dialog in which you can select the directory interactively. You can also get to this dialog by pressing [Shift-Return] or [Alt-Return], when the focus is in the text field.

Note This directory will become the working directory of the newly started process. It does not affect the working directory of QF-Test. As a result, a program named, say, ./startserver will be looked up relative to QF-Test's working directory and not the directory given. Only the path names referred to in the program itself will be resolved relative to the given directory.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must be empty or an existing directory

'Parameters'

The command line arguments for the executable. Put each parameter on a line of its own. Special quoting of whitespace or symbols is not required.

See subsection 2.2.5 about how to work with the tables.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

This node is a convenient way to execute shell commands during a test. The shell that will execute the command can be specified with the command line arguments -shell <executable> and -shellarg <argument> for QF-Test. The default for Unix is /bin/sh, on Windows either command.com or cmd.exe is used, the value of the COMSPEC environment variable. When the shell is started it is treated like every other process started by QF-Test, so you can kill it or wait for it to terminate and check its exit code.

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: A shell is started to execute the command. Its input and output are redirected to QF-Test.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.43:  'Execute shell command' attributes

'Client'

This is the identifier for the SUT client. It must remain unique as long as the process is alive. Other nodes will refer to the client by this name.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Shell command'

The command to execute in the shell. Enter this just as you would at the command prompt.

WindowsOn Windows systems, quoting of arguments with blanks can be a little tricky. If you're using the standard Windows shell, simply use double quotes as always, for example dir "C:\Program Files". If you're using a Unix shell on Windows by specifying the -shell <executable> command line argument, use single quotes instead, i.e. ls 'C:/Program Files'.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Directory'

Here you can set the working directory for the shell. If you leave this value empty, the shell will inherit QF-Test's working directory.

The directory button brings up a dialog in which you can select the directory interactively. You can also get to this dialog by pressing [Shift-Return] or [Alt-Return], when the focus is in the text field.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must be empty or an existing directory

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

This node is used to make sure that the connection to a client is established. If after a configurable timeout the client is still not connected, a ClientNotConnectedException is thrown. You can also use the 'Variable for result' attribute to store the result into a variable and the 'Throw exception on failure' attribute to suppress the exception.

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: QF-Test waits until either the connection to the Java client is established or the timeout is up.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.44:  'Wait for client to connect' attributes

'Client'

The name of the Java client to wait for.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Timeout'

Time limit in milliseconds.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: >= 0

'GUI engine'

The GUI engine to wait for. Only relevant for SUTs with more than one GUI engine as described in chapter 34.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: See chapter 34

'Variable for result'

This optional attribute determines the name for the result variable of the action. If set, the respective variable will be set to 'true' for a successful check or wait and to 'false' in case of failure.

Note If this attribute is set, the attribute 'Error level of message' is ignored and no error is reported. The attribute 'Throw exception on failure' always remains effective, so it is possible to set a result variable and still throw an exception.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Local variable'

This flag determines whether to create a local or global variable binding. If unset, the variable is bound in the global variables. If set, the topmost current binding for the variable is replaced with the new value, provided this binding is within the context of the currently executing 'Procedure', 'Dependency' or 'Test-case' node. If no such binding exists, a new binding is created in the currently executing 'Procedure', 'Dependency' or 'Test-case' node or, if there is no such node, in the global bindings. See chapter 8 for a detailed explanation of variable binding and lookup.

Variable: No

Restrictions: None

'Error level of message'

This attribute determines the error level of the message that is logged in case of failure. Possible choices are message, warning and error.

Note If the attribute 'Throw exception on failure' is set, this attribute is irrelevant and if 'Variable for result' is set this attribute is ignored.

Variable: No

Restrictions: None

'Throw exception on failure'

Throw an exception in case of failure. For 'Check...' nodes a CheckFailedException is thrown, for 'Wait for...' nodes the respective specific exception.

Variable: No

Restrictions: None

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

This node forcibly terminates a client process started by QF-Test. If the process has already terminated, nothing is changed. Otherwise, if the client is an SUT client, QF-Test first tries to call the Java method System.exit(-1) in the SUT to achieve a clean shutdown. If the client is not an SUT client or the process is still alive after the exit call, the process is killed and its exit code is set to -1. WindowsNote: On Windows child processes started by a process are not terminated when the parent process is killed. As explained in chapter 4, the java program for the SUT is not started directly by QF-Test, but through an intermediate program. This means that when the System.exit(-1) call fails to terminate the SUT for some reason, the process for the SUT's Java VM will be left hanging around.

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: Terminates the last process that was started under the given name.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.45:  'Stop client' attributes

'Client'

The client name of the process that is to be killed.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

This node waits until a process that was started by QF-Test terminates. If a given time limit is exceeded and the process is still alive. Per default a ClientNotTerminatedException is thrown. Otherwise the client's exit code is read and tested against a given value. You can also use the 'Variable for result' attribute to store the result into a variable and the 'Throw exception on failure' attribute to suppress the exception.

Contained in: All kinds of sequences.

Children: None

Execution: Waits for the end of a process and checks its exit value unless the timeout is exceeded.

Attributes:

		Figure 30.46:  'Wait for process to terminate' attributes

'Client'

The client name of the process to wait for.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Must not be empty

'Timeout'

Time limit in milliseconds.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: >= 0

'Expected exit code'

If this attribute is set it is used to validate the exit code of the process. The type of the comparison is defined by prepending one of the four operators ==, !=, < and >. Just a number without preceding operation test for equality. If the test fails, an UnexpectedExitCodeException is thrown. The exception won't be thrown, if the attribute 'Throw exception on failure' is not set.

Examples: If this attribute is set to 0, every exit code that is not 0 causes an exception. This is the same as for ==0. A value of >0 causes an exception for every exit code equal to or less than 0. This exception can be suppressed by un-checking the attribute 'Throw exception on failure'.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: See above

'Variable for result'

This optional attribute determines the name for the result variable of the action. If set, the respective variable will be set to 'true' for a successful check or wait and to 'false' in case of failure.

Note If this attribute is set, the attribute 'Error level of message' is ignored and no error is reported. The attribute 'Throw exception on failure' always remains effective, so it is possible to set a result variable and still throw an exception.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

'Local variable'

This flag determines whether to create a local or global variable binding. If unset, the variable is bound in the global variables. If set, the topmost current binding for the variable is replaced with the new value, provided this binding is within the context of the currently executing 'Procedure', 'Dependency' or 'Test-case' node. If no such binding exists, a new binding is created in the currently executing 'Procedure', 'Dependency' or 'Test-case' node or, if there is no such node, in the global bindings. See chapter 8 for a detailed explanation of variable binding and lookup.

Variable: No

Restrictions: None

'Error level of message'

This attribute determines the error level of the message that is logged in case of failure. Possible choices are message, warning and error.

Note If the attribute 'Throw exception on failure' is set, this attribute is irrelevant and if 'Variable for result' is set this attribute is ignored.

Variable: No

Restrictions: None

'Throw exception on failure'

Throw an exception in case of failure. For 'Check...' nodes a CheckFailedException is thrown, for 'Wait for...' nodes the respective specific exception.

Variable: No

Restrictions: None

'Id'

At the moment the 'Id' attribute has no meaning for this type of node.

Variable: No

Restrictions: Must not contain any of the characters '\', '#', '$', '@', '&', or '%' or start with an underscore ('_').

'Delay before/after'

These attributes cause a delay before or after the execution of the node. If a value is empty, the Default delay from the global options is used.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: Valid number >= 0

'Comment'

Here you can enter a comment that explains the purpose of this node. This is the preferred way of documenting the test-suite.

Note For detailed documentation, especially for 'Test-set', 'Test-case' or 'Procedure' nodes, this text area might not be the right place. There are many excellent editors that are much better suited to this task. The option External editor command lets you define an external editor in which comments can be edited conveniently by pressing [Alt-Return] or by clicking the button.

Variable: Yes

Restrictions: None

Last update: 04/23/2012 Copyright © 1999-2012 Quality First Software GmbH