When people talk about the ‘testing tool’, it is mostly a test execution tool that they think of, basically a tool that can run tests. This type of tool is also known as a ‘test running tool’. Most tools of this type get started by capturing or recording manual tests; hence they are also known as ‘capture/playback’ tools, ‘capture/replay’ tools or ‘record/playback’ tools. It is similar as recording a television program, and playing it back. Show The Test execution tools need a scripting language in order to run the tool. The scripting language is basically a programming language. So any software tester who wants to run a test execution tool directly will need to use programming skills to create and modify the scripts. The basic advantage of programmable scripting is that tests can repeat actions (in loops) for different data values (i.e. test inputs), they can take different routes depending on the outcome of a test (e.g. if a test fails, go to a different set of tests) and they can be called from other scripts giving some structure to the set of tests. However, during testing, the tests are not something which is just played back for someone to watch the tests interact with the system, which may react slightly differently when the tests are repeated. Hence captured tests are not suitable if you want to achieve long-term success with a test execution tool because:
There are many better ways to use test execution tools so that they can work well and actually deliver the benefits of running unattended automated tests. There are at least five levels of scripting which are described below and also different comparison techniques which are as follows:
Data driven scripting is an advance over captured scripts but keyword-driven scripts give significantly more benefits. They have also been described as ‘control synchronized data-driven testing’. Although they are commonly referred to as testing tools, they are actually best used for regression testing, so they could be referred to as ‘regression testing tools’ rather than ‘testing tools’. A test execution tool mostly runs tests that have already been run before. One of the most significant benefits of using this type of tool is that whenever an existing system is changed (e.g. for a defect fix or an enhancement), all of the tests that were run earlier can be run again, to make sure that the changes have not disturbed the existing system by introducing or revealing a defect. Features or characteristics of test execution tools are:
Other popular articles:Which of the following is most likely to be a benefit of test execution tools?Which one of the following is MOST likely to be a benefit of test execution tools? It is easy to create regression tests.
What is the primary purpose of a test execution tool?The primary purpose of Test execution tools is to run the test scripts or the test suites. It can also record or capture manual tests, therefore known as capture or playback tools.
What are test execution tools?Test execution tools do exactly what you program them to do – no more, no less. Tools don't usually perform environment and application builds and configuration, test data loading. Tools don't do test case or script design, test data and expected results preparation.
Which of the following tools is most useful for reporting test metrics?Which of the following tools is most useful for reporting test metrics? Answer : Test management tool.
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