Quick Test Professional (QTP)

During replay, the script will then be replayed like a Windows VB Script, launching the windows and activating the buttons as what is being recorded.  A sound knowledge of VB script is actually helpful in maintaining the scripts however not necessarily needed as QTP is relatively easy to use.  A tip here is you can actually use VB script in Windows to run automation without even using QTP.  It works the same way but a little low-level work is required and you need to understand the various ways the windows and objects are called in the Windows environment.

In QTP, you can add check points to determine if your application response as intended.  You can also use output values similar to the concept of correlation in QTP to handle dynamic data.  The output values are also used to be input values for the next step depending on how the test case is designed.

As for the licenses, they worked in two ways.  Either you use a Seat license or a Concurrent license.  The seat license is tied to the machine that installed the license while the concurrent license requires a license server to be available for it to retrieve the license information.  The license will decide the type of application you can record; generally called an Add-In.  QTP has various Add-In to suit the needs of the customer.  The common one is Web, Java script and ActiveX.  Other supported technologies that require an Add-In are Java, Oracle, SAP, etc.

Of all the virtues of using QTP, you will still need to be careful on the following and use it correctly:

• Resolution of the recording machine and replay machine MUST be the same – QTP rely on the resolution of the machines to recognize the coordinates and size of the objects.  Problem will arise when the resolution of the recording machine and replay machine is different.  Example, the script was recorded in 1024 x 768 resolution while it was replayed in a 1280 x 800 resolution may result in the script generating error as the objects have changed their coordinates.
• Iteration of the script requires the start and end point to be the same – For a script to iterate successfully, the script should be recorded in a way that the start and end point are the same.  Example, the script starts off with the login page and proceeds with login and some activities then logout to return to the login page.  In this manner, the script will be able to iterate with the next set of value such as a new login account.
• Context-sensitive – Context sensitive menus may require the use of Object Spy feature in QTP.  Context sensitive menu such as mouse-over menu that will show the sub-menu.  This will require pressing “Crtl-Key” when using the Object Spy and inserting the action (and object) into the script.  However, we recommend recording in a lower granularity (in analog) to capture as much objects as you can before proceeding to use the Object Spy.
• Preparation of initial test data – Most often people ignored the need for a baseline set of data for testing.  After each functional (regression) test, the data needs to be refreshed to a clean set before the script can work again.
• Still dependent on a well-designed test case – To make the tool really useful, the tool still highly depends on a well-designed test case.  Without a well designed test case, the downstream activities such as recording and modifying may not serve its purpose well.

The information should give you an overview of how QTP works and what you should take note after purchase (or even before purchase).  We hope that it will be useful to you and do share with us on anything related to QTP.

SilkPerformer licensing mechanism is based on three mainly groups. Namely Web, Standard and Premium. The differences in each group is the type of technologies being used in the group. For example, Web encompasses the commonly used protocols while Standard focuses on additional components. This is somewhat similar to LoadRunner in terms of grouping the protocols in bundles. The following table is the full list of what the group covers in SilkPerformer 2008 (which is also available in the Release Notes).

As briefly mentioned in “What’s SilkPerformer?”, SilkPerfomer allows the capabilities of checking out the license with the license server, SilkMeter. This is great in a way that there are no limitation on the “Controller” and you can install it anytime. Furthermore, you can fully maximise the “controller” resource when it is not needed for an existing project.

Take note that there are still some limitations on the use of SilkPerformer on the group licenses. The groups does not cover SOA applications. If you like to test the Web Services via WSDL files, you will require the SilkPerformer SOA Edition. Similarly with LoadRunner that requires the SOA Bundle license to work for Web Service protocol.

Also, for unit-level testing tools available from SilkPerformer, namely .NET Explorer and Java Explorer, will require additional development licenses for them (the explorer tools) on top of the vuser type license. This can be thought as the same as using Quick Test Professional (QTP) scripts for LoadRunner in a load test where it requires both licenses on the QTP and LoadRunner to be functional.

LoadRunner

It seemed that all is good with LR8.1 FP3. However, with the grouping feature of the protocols, and all monitors being available, there are no free meals, the costing have also increased.

Once you’ve upgraded to LR8.1 FP3 from a previous version, and you would like to uninstall FP3, there are no methods to rollback the upgrade other than uninstalling LR again and upgrade to the Feature Pack that you desired (e.g. FP2).

The license effectively constraints the Controller in the type of Vusers to run, the number of Vusers to run and the type of monitors entitled. As such, you can still install Vugen and Analysis to perform recording/replaying and analysis of the graphs without worrying about the license restrictions.

The license is usually bounded by a Host-ID (with exception on dongle based license) which generates the License Key for the machine. Take note that if you change system values like System Date, this will create a security violation to the license causing it to fail when you startup Controller. If such things arises, don’t do anything else, it’s not going to work; just contact Mercury/HP for an unlocking license to save you the troubleshooting time.

The Host-ID changes every time, however be assure that the license generated remains the same. This as described in Document ID 30252 is because the Host-ID is based on an algorithm to calculate the value out based on system values. That is the reason, changes such as the System Date may cause the Host-ID to be inconsistent with the License Key.

There are a couple of KBs in the support website that provides useful information on licenses. I’ve listed them down for your reference. Take note that you have to be a valid user of the support website in order to access the articles:

Document ID 3422 – How to determine the number of Vuser licenses
Document ID 9120 – Error: “You do not have a license for this Vuser type”
Document ID 10260 – How to get a LoadRunner license key
Document ID 10749 – How to generate a hostID without installing first
Document ID 11369 – How to enter a new license key for LoadRunner
Document ID 36169 – Error: “Loadrunner security Violation. Please reset the System Date”
Document ID 39992 – Where is the license key saved after it has been applied during LoadRunner installation