Selected User Forum Posts

Beginning in mid-2010 we have directed all technical support questions to the eValid User Forum. We have learned that when one user has an issue, all users can profit from the answer.

Here is an additional selection of some of the posts that we think would be of general interest.

• Testing uses data storage in the JavaScript working area -- No problem, eValid never touches the JavaScript sandbox 
• Can eValid do a scan of a mobile web application? -- Sure can. Here's how to do it the easy way 
• Can eValid test tablet applications? -- No problem, using eValid's UserAgentString to imitate the tablet. 
• How do you cause a specific DOM element to be highlighted? -- In the PageMap this feedback loop is automatic. 
• Can eValid test multiple mobile devices in the same test? -- Yes it can, by running separate sub-windows with different UserAgentString Settings. 

Is eValid done with JavaScript? Why not?

In our User Forum, Amirr wrote:

Is eValid done with JavaScript? Why not?

No, eValid is NOT implemented with JavaScript, and there are several very good reasons why we chose the eValid implementation the way we did. Here are some of them:

• JavaScript runs in a single thread inside the browser, and the eValid view is that when the JavaScript engine is running the test engine should NEVER interfer with what the browser is doing naturally. To do so would be to violate a fundamential principle: Don't interfere with the process under test -- in this case, with the normal operation of the browser.
• If you are running an AJAX application, then the most common problem in testing is to assure synchronization of playback. Even though eValid records realistic "wait times" during the recording process, we NEVER suggest that relying on wait times for synchronization of AJAX is a reliable approach.
• It's usually the opposite, as we have found out many times. Think of it this way: no matter how well designed your "user wait times" are, there will always be an instance when the wait times you have put into your script are not long enough. The consequences for failure to sync in a test process are very severe: most of the time the test is ruined.
• eValid actually uses a separate, not-in-the-browser process (which actually runs in a thread of the browser process that does not interfere with normal browsing activity) to run commands that "validate and synchronize on DOM property values." There is a family of these commands -- with both positive and negative synchronization modes.
• The key feature of eValid's architecture -- to avoid anything more than the minimum interference with the browser as it does its work, under control of the eValid recording or playback engine -- assures that the results you obtain with eValid are as realistic as possible. We very firmly believe that unnecessary interference with the behavior of the web application you are testing is a very serious "no-no" -- and eValid does not cross that line.
• We understand there are several other web testing solutions that are based on the use of JavaScript and the APIs that obtain within the browser, but we specifically chose NOT to use that available interface for the reasons outlined above. We wanted eValid based web application tests to be accurate, reliable, credible and efficient.

How does eValid licensing work?

From time to time we are asked this question, "How does eValid licensing work?"  Here is a short summary of some the available licensing options.

• Regular single-machine, multi-user floating license:  You install eValid on one machine, and eValid is available to any number of users (user accounts) on the console or via Remote Desktop Connect (RDC), but at most one at a time.

  This is our most-commonly-used license. With it you can share the eValid copy among all members of a small teams of testers.

• Enterprise license: This is the same structure as above, but the EPRISE license manager allows multiple users on the console or by RDC.  For example, an EPRISE06 license allows up to six simultaneous users.

• Commercial License:  This license requires web access, and eValid authenticates itself at launch time on a per use basis by interrogating a special web page.  A commercial license can be organized as a subscription, or you can use the the "pay per play" mode that is employed by firms that use eValid in monitoring mode.

• Autoplay License: After special processing by eValid staff, this license allows any script you want to run on any machine, anywhere, for a fixed length of time.  The special AUTOPLAY script unlock key is generated by eValid on a 1-day response time.  There is a fixed fee and discount structure for multiple Autoplay licenses.

• Corporate License.  In this case, you have complete freedom to use eValid anywhere in your firm, depending on how the agreement is negotiated.  Typical corporate licenses are for 100's of users.

eValid has a number of different sets of features -- we call them bundles -- that can be tailored for specific purposes and applications.  Examples include the functional testing, regression testing, monitoring, AJAX monitoring, monitoring-agent, single-user server loading, multiple-user server loading, and site analysis bundles. Any bundle of features can be implemented with any of the above types of licenses.

Please contact us for details and we can work out the licensing scheme that meets your needs.

Webinar: Load Testing Mobile Apps

Run 1,000's of Mobile Browser Users Full AJAX Realism Any Mobile Device Identify Performance Bottlenecks

Wednesday, 23 May 2012 2:00 PM Eastern Time / 11:00 AM Pacific Time

QA/Testing/Tuning/Performance projects need to qualify performance of complex AJAX web applications -- within strict budget and time constraints -- to make sure their server-stack setups can meet the load. The traditional methods of ramping up load, based on using HTTP/S simulations or "VUs", don't always work when asynchronous AJAX applications are involved. VU's don't do AJAX. You need a browser. eValid server loading methods offer both quick-to-create, realistic, and fully synchronized AJAX functional tests. Plus you can lift those tests into performance/loading scenarios that can involve 100's or 1,000's or 10,000's of Browser Users ("BUs") per machine. In this webinar you'll learn: how special eValid commands overcome problems with variable-time playback dependency; how to create full-reality AJAX tests quickly; how to adjust tests to be totally self-synchronizing under stressed AJAX conditions; how to incorporate tests in an eValid LoadTest scenario; how to launch 100's or 1,000's or 10,000's of Browser User (BU) instances; and, how to analyze consolidated performance summary data to identify server-stack bottlenecks. This unique approach demonstrates how eValid becomes a genuine force multiplier in your web application performance testing efforts.

Webinar Topic Summary

eValid Architecture and Structure: How eValid functional and performance testing works. Functional Testing: How to make reliable recordings of AJAX applications. Making AJAX Tests "LoadTest Safe": How to augment tests for complete AJAX synchronization. Creating LoadTest Scenarios: How to use the LoadTest scenario editor to organize realistic LoadTest control scripts. Running LoadTests: How to launch single and multiple-instance runs using "cloud computing" resources. Finding Bottlenecks: How to read the LoadTest and other raw data to help spot server-stack issues.

You are cordially invited to attend this free Webinar.

Selected User Forum Posts

Beginning in mid-2010 we have directed all technical support questions to the eValid User Forum. We have learned that when one user has an issue, all users can profit from the answer.

Here is an additional selection of some of the posts that we think would be of general interest.

•  Can you manipulate ANY feature of a page with eValid? -- Simple limits and constraints on structural testing. 
• The maximum number of BUs -- comments about the upper bound on the simultaneous BU count. 
• What are the typical data rates into a mobile device? -- How rates actually depend on the device and the network. 
• What is an elastic test? -- Details about how to achieve test elasticity. 
• The "instrumentation overhead" -- eValid's aim is 0.1% maximum "system overhead."