Author: AutomatedQA
Last Updated: June 19, 2009
Applies to: TestComplete 7
The market for mobile applications increases every day and is just going to get
more demanding as the technology grows. Mobile software testing, as the development,
has some peculiarities. It requires special testing tools and techniques. The existing
variety of mobile technologies, platforms and devices causes additional difficulties
in developing and testing mobile software. You can use the same style of programming
for mobile devices as well as for personal computers. However, you may need additional
software testing tools to perform a testing process. You may choose an automated
testing tool that helps to release a good competitive software product. At the same
time, the tool must support testing under mobile platforms, so it’s important that
you know how to select the appropriate automated testing tool for your tasks.
TestComplete, an automated testing tool, provides a lot of features designed specifically
for testing mobile applications. By using these features you can save time and money
spent on project development. With TestComplete you can organize an effective QA
testing process for your mobile applications.
Supported Mobile Platforms
There are a lot of different mobile platforms and operating systems (OS) created
for various mobile devices, such as pocket personal computers, smartphones and others.
These devices are frequently named Personal Digital Assistants, or PDAs. We use
a combination of all of these names in this article, but we are generally referring
to the same thing and for the most part, these devices all work under Microsoft
Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm OS.
The Windows Mobile operating system based on Microsoft’s WinCE core is continuously
improved. There are different versions of this operating system: Windows Mobile
5, Windows Mobile 6 and later. There are also earlier mobile OS versions based on
the WinCE core, for instance, PocketPC 2003. So, the WinCE based operating systems
become more useful and powerful from day-to-day and quickly gains market space for
operating systems in mobile devices.
TestComplete can test mobile applications running on devices that have the WinCE
platform installed. This means that you can test any application running under the
PocketPC, Windows Mobile 5 or 6 operating systems.
Testing Mobile Applications – TestComplete Features
TestComplete makes testing
mobile applications easy and provides various features for creating mobile
application tests:
- The PDA node in the Object Browser – View PDA objects in a tree-like structure
and use them in your mobile application tests.
- WinCETestedApps – A project item for automating actions over tested mobile
applications easily.
- Select object with cursor – An easy way to select objects during test creation.
In addition, TestComplete provides a collection of special PDA objects that have
methods and properties for simplifying the testing performed with mobile applications.
Besides testing mobile applications and automating the QA testing process, TestComplete
provides special tools for directly working with mobile devices:
- PDA Controller – Controls the mobile device directly from the PC.
- PDA File Manager – Works with mobile devices’ file systems.
- PDA Registry Editor – Edits the registry on the mobile device.
TestComplete is a complete environment for testing mobile applications. It also
includes all necessary service tools for working with mobile devices, so you don’t
need any other additional software for managing your mobile device (for modifying
the registry, copying files to the device and other actions).
PDA Node in TestComplete Object Browser
The mobile system objects are represented in TestComplete Object Browser as a tree named PDA.
You can easily find the needed objects within the tree, for instance, a process,
a window or any other control. You can also obtain a list of properties and methods
which you can use for testing mobile application objects. The following picture
demonstrates how two applications (Calculator and Orders) are represented in the
Object Browser.
Image 1 – Viewing the object hierarchy in the Object Browser
Managing Tested Mobile Applications
By adding your mobile application to the WinCETestedApps project item, you
can easily automate different actions over it, such as launching, stopping, minimizing
and many others.
Image 2 – Working With Tested Mobile Applications
You can also launch your tested application from TestComplete’s UI rather than having
to switch to another application or device to launch it:
Image 3 – Running the Tested Mobile Application
Selecting Mobile Application Objects to Test
GUI tests check the user interface functionality of your application. When creating
GUI tests, you should know how to refer to an object (a button, a menu control and
so on) from tests. It is easy to refer to application objects by their names. You
can find object names in the Object Browser panel, or you can use the Select Object window
to quickly determine the name of needed object. Just move the mouse cursor to the
desired object and TestComplete will display its name:
Image 4 – Determining the PDA Object
PDA Controller
One of the most useful TestComplete panels when working with mobile devices is the
PDA Controller. It provides full control over the mobile device – you can
easily tap the screen by clicking over a specific point displayed in the PDA Controller’s
screen. You can also "press" any functional buttons on the device by clicking the
appropriate buttons in the panel. It is easy to record mobile application tests
using the PDA Controller. It provides full functionality for working with the device
as if you were holding it in your hand – all without leaving TestComplete.
Image 5 – PDA Controller
PDA File Manager
The PDA File Manager allows you to work with the mobile devices’ file systems
with ease. For instance, you can copy and move files to the mobile device directly
from the testing environment:
Image 6 – PDA File Manager
PDA Registry Editor
TestComplete provides easy access to the mobile device’s registry, so you do not
need any other registry editors for working with the device’s system. You can access
the registry using the PDA Registry Editor panel in TestComplete. It is a
full-fledged registry editor, so you can add, delete and modify registry entries
directly from TestComplete without leaving your testing environment. You can also
add registry entries to the Favorites list in the editor for quick navigation.
Image 7 – PDA Registry Editor
Conclusion
TestComplete has a lot of useful features that help to make testing mobile applications
easier, faster and less costly. Recording mobile application tests and test execution
is simple with TestComplete. It is easy to work with the connected device: copy
and move files to it, modify registry entries and so on. With TestComplete you can
concentrate on your testing tasks, not on how to create them. You do not need any
other service tools to work with the device – TestComplete has a full set of instruments
that allow working with the device with ease. If you haven’t tried TestComplete
7, or if you are interested in testing mobile applications with TestComplete, download and try it today.