Web Testing Workshop (July 2008)

This workshop may be of interest to our readers because it focuses now (in a change from the past) on EVERY aspect of web application testing and validation: Workshop on Testing, Analysis and Verification of Web Software. This highly specialized workshop is being held in conjunction with ISSTA 2008, also a well known and highly reputed conference of many years running.

PerformanceTest Success Story

Here's a summary of a PerformanceTest Project that we recently completed.

The main feature of this project was use of the eValid test engine to analyze the capacity of an industry leader's server complex, to provide confidence just prior to a big promotional effort.

To do this we created a set of eValid scripts that closely approximated "from the field" data about how the web application was used. Then we ran a series of tests to help pinpoint performance shortcomings, so that the web hosting team could make critical changes before the release date. This prevented a PR nightmare and serious loss of income for the client.

This writeup is one of a series of eValid Success Stories.

Desktop Safe, Dynamic Page Adaptive, Playback Method

If you have a website where the pages are dynamic -- so that the indexes of where things are on the page change around from day to day -- you may have a situation that is beyond the ability of the eValid Adaptive Playback feature to compensate. For example, if you had the following command in your script:

FollowLink 0 503 "" http://www.website.com/servlet/copy_asset?id=3D33221875
""

this could be replaced with the the 2-command sequence:

IndexElementFind 0 DOWN "nameProp" "uniqueName" "" IndexFollowLink 0
""

Alternatively, you could also use this 2-command sequence:

IndexElementFind 0 DOWN "nameProp" "uniqueName" ""
IndexElementClick 0 ""

You can use the eValid PageMap feature to identify the appropriate values for nameProp and uniqueName.

eValid V8 Released

There's a brand new version of eValid out: eValid V8. Some of the main features of the new release are:

• Addition of over a dozen new features (including the EPI, described below).
  
• Advanced support for AJAX application playback synchronization.
  
• Revised and updated site analysis report look and feel.
  
• Special support for "spoofing" any kind of browser, and special commands to support server load balancing experiments.
  
• Options to help customize playback event logs for monitoring, and new interfaces to popular monitoring environments.
  
• New product bundles and new pricing structures. Here's a quick summary of the New Features you'll find in eValid V8.

Here's a quick summary of the New Features you'll find in eValid V8.

Large Site Analysis Scans Offered

eValid evaluations have limits, and when you are doing a site analysis on an EVAL license you are limited to 100 pages or 500 links. While this may be enough so you can get a feel for how eValid works, it may not give you a feel for how it performs on a truly LARGE site.

An example of what we mean by "large" is this December 2007 Swiss Army WebSite Scan. It's a bit over 15,000 pages, and over 300,000 links!

If you'd like to see how eValid works on your own site, we can run a similar "large scan" for you and publish the results. Let us know the website you'd like us to scan using the eValid Question Form. We'll let you know as soon as the scan is live.

JAVA, PERL, Visual Basic (VB) Programmer Offer

Very soon you'll be reading about the new eValid Programmatic Interface (EPI), being released as part of the newest eValid system V8 update. The EPI exposes the entire eValid product as a resource for programs that can drive the eValid browser directly. Here ia a Technical Specification of this capability.

Our implementations are all in C++/CPP, and we know that environment very well. We slso know we don't have enough skill in some other programming languages. So, we are looking for a few skilled JAVA, PERL, and Visual Basic (VB) programming gurus who can help us convert a few pre-worked C++/CPP programs into the equivalent behavior in JAVA, PERL, and VB programming contexts. In exchange for your conversion work we will provide you with a complimentary license for the new eValid V8 "Programmers Bundle."

For full details on how to get in on this offer, please throw your hat in the ring using our eValid Question Form. Be sure to mention the eValid "EPI Programming Offer", and don't forget to say whether you are a JAVA, PERL, or a VB guru!

EPI Description Released

A major part of the new eValid V8 release is the addition of a fully accessible eValid Programmatic Interface (EPI). This new interface brings eValid as a test engine within the scope of popular programming languages, via a COM-based DLL that exposes key features of the eValid test engine. Here's a summary of the main EPI Features.