LoadRunner – The parameter file is stored in the script directory as .dat file extension.  It can be opened with a simple text editor like Notepad as it is stored in pure text format.  Therefore, you can manipulate the files via the Notepad.  You can also use office applications such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.org Calc to work on the file.  This greatly the amount of work required for maintaining a long list of data.

Quick Test Professional – The parameter file is also stored in the script directory as an excel file, which will be an .xls file extension.  Being an excel file, it can be opened by office applications like Microsoft Excel.  Again, if you do not have money to purchase a licensed Microsoft product, you can always use open source products like OpenOffice.org Calc as an alternative tool as it is still able to work with .xls files.

We hope that by providing you such tips, you will be able to work efficiently with large list of data (that is especially prevalent in LoadRunner)!

Now, if you are proficient in LoadRunner, you may miss out on the details of how to go creating the start-stop transaction for the GUI Vuser script as the details are actually found in the QTP User Manual under the section, “Measuring Transaction” of HP Quick Test Professional User Guide – Volume 2 instead of LoadRunner manual.  In anyway, this is possible and only achievable via amending the scripts in QTP because Vugen will not be able open (read) QTP scripts.

Two ways you can insert a transaction.

• Via Keyword View – You can use Start Transaction icon > Insert Transaction at the step that you want the transaction to start measuring.   Subsequently, you will use Stop Transaction icon to stop the measurement.
• Via Expert View – You can use Services.StartTransaction “Transaction Name” and Services.EndTransaction “Transaction Name” to encapsulate where the start and end measurement.  “Transaction Name” is the name you give to defined for the transaction and this will appear when you run the GUI Vuser script in LoadRunner.

With the above information, you should be slightly more familiar with Quick Test Professional (QTP) integrating with LoadRunner.  However, again there may be more things that need to be considered and I may have left out.  Do feel free to feedback and experiences and anything that I missed out when using QTP in load testing!

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.

• QTP scripts are developed in QTP not in LoadRunner Vugen – You won’t be able to record and replay a QTP script in Vugen.  All the recording and modification has to be done on QTP.  Once the modification of the QTP script is completed, it will be ported into LoadRunner Controller as GUI Vuser for load testing.
• QTP is required to install in the Load Generators (LG) – The load generators will be required to install QTP as they are used to run the scripts.
• Load Generators will be required to set the same resolution to the machine that developed the QTP script – As QTP is object sensitive, the resolution of the LG is required to be the same with the machine that was initially used to develop the QTP script to avoid any problems arising from missing objects (due to a different resolution)
• [1] GUI Vuser license is required for LoadRunner and QTP concurrent license is required for QTP – This is the 1^st setup approach and budgeting for your licenses.  The total amount of Vuser that you wanted to generate will be the same for both LoadRunner and QTP.  Meaning, if you want to run 50 concurrent users using GUI Vuser protocol, you will need 50 GUI Vuser license and 50 QTP Concurrent license.  In this setup, the LG will create 50 instances of QTP to run the GUI Vuser.  This is described in “What licenses are required to run a scenario with GUI Vusers” from HP Software Support.
• [2] GUI Vuser license is required for LoadRunner, QTP seat/concurrent license is required for QTP and Windows Terminal License is required for Windows – This is the 2^nd setup approach and budgeting for your licenses.   For a 50 concurrent user load test, you will need 50 GUI Vuser protocol, 50 Windows Terminal License and 1 QTP license.  In this setup, the QTP license is merely used to develop the script.  The LG will create 50 remote desktop connections and each of these connections will run 1 GUI Vuser.  This setup utilizes remote desktop functionality to emulate the virtual users.  I believed that HP Support does not really state about the licenses required from Windows Terminal and this is additional cost for you to factor if you are going though this mode.  Personally, I experimented using Windows Server 2003 (that is capable of 3 remote connections by default) with this approach and it works for me.  On the server, the remote connections are established and the QTP script launches the browser for testing.  (I wonder if this is permissible in the first place and like to know if anyone else is doing it.  If you got some input on this, please feel free to shout it here!)

With the above information, you should be slightly more familiar with Quick Test Professional (QTP) integrating with LoadRunner.  However, there may be more things that need to be considered and I may have left out.  Do feel free to feedback and experiences and anything that I missed out when using QTP in load testing!