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TESTAR

On this wiki we will describe how to install and use Testar. If you want/need an account to contribute please send an e-mail to wiki@testar.org (Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.)

Automated testing at the Graphical User Interface Level

GUI Testing is a testing technique where one tests the System Under Test (SUT) solely through its Graphical User Interface (GUI). The only way to find errors is to thoroughly observe the status of the GUI throughout the test. This type of testing is usually still carried out manually, where a tester just follows a previously written test case and verifies whether the application responds to all inputs as expected.

On the one hand GUI testing is a relatively straightforward process, since one does not need to read or test the source code of the SUT. On the other hand it is quite laborious, time consuming and, well... boring...

Approaches for automation of GUI testing are for example Capture & Replay or Visual Testing. These approaches use test scripts to automate the steps of each test case. These type of tests, whether manual or automated through scripts, test the sunny day use cases and mostly follow the happy paths. But what about the less sunny test scenarios? Those scenarios executed by the rogue user?

TESTAR

TESTAR is an open source tool for automated testing through GUI<ref>paper</ref>. It automatically interacts with the SUT by clicking and typing on the controls of the GUI. It is able to recognize abnormal SUT behaviour, such as crashing or freezing. Moreover, you can add application specific test oracles that are able to detect domain specific faults. TESTAR reports test sequences that lead to failure.

Virtual Environment

We have a Virtual environment at the UPV in Valencia.

How to get started (handson manual)

There exists a hands-on manual that will permit you to get started with automation of GUI testing using TESTAR. You can always get the latest version of this manual here:

TESTAR download the hands-on manual

In the manual it is explained how to get started with the latest version and a virtual machine.

FAQ

java.lang.RuntimeException: JDK required (running inside of JRE)

If you get this error this means that your JAVA_HOME path does not point correctly to the installation path for the Java Development Kit.. To set your JAVA_HOME look for example here:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/2619584/how-to-set-java-home-on-windows-7

Which platforms are supported?

The TESTAR binaries that are downloaded currently supports Windows. We have older versions that work with MacOS, Linux and Android.

What is required from the System Under Test (SUT)?

Not much, just that the application respects the accesibility API of the underlying Operating System. For web applications you can use the WebDriver.

How to set TESTAR with different SUT?

TESTAR main version offers three options to connect with the SUT. Depending on the application that acts as SUT and the way we want to interact with it, we must choose one or the other.

TESTAR WebDriver version also includes an additional option to connect to the desired SUT using the Selenium webdrivers.
How to set TESTAR with different SUT

ISSUE: Windows screen settings affects to Screenshots and Actions coordinates

If TESTAR doesn't correctly take the coordinates of your environment to execute mouse actions or take screenshots, please go to https://github.com/TESTARtool/TESTAR_dev/issues/222

The feedback about the Windows screen setting of your environment will be welcome to improve TESTAR tool.

How is TESTAR licensed?

TESTAR is distributed FREE of charge as an open source project under the BSD3 license, some components are licence under the Eclipse Public License 2.0.

Publications

From other people using TESTAR

• Mauro Pezzè, Paolo Rondena, and Daniele Zuddas. 2018. Automatic GUI testing of desktop applications: an empirical assessment of the state of the art. In Companion Proceedings for the ISSTA/ECOOP 2018 Workshops (ISSTA '18). ACM, New York, NY, USA, 54-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3236454.3236489 (https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3236489)

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