HP QuickTest Professional - Qtp Tutorial

HPE Unified Functional Testing (UFT) software, formerly known as HP QuickTest Professional (QTP), provides functional and regression test automation for software applications and environments. HPE Unified Functional Testing can be used for enterprise quality assurance.

HPE Unified Functional Testing supports keyword and scripting interfaces and features a graphical user interface. It uses the Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) scripting language to specify a test procedure, and to manipulate the objects and controls of the application under test.

HPE Unified Functional Testing was originally written by Mercury Interactive and called QuickTest Professional. Mercury Interactive was subsequently acquired by Hewlett Packard(HP) in 2006. HP Unified Functional Testing 11.5 combined HP QuickTest Professional and HP Service Test into a single software package, which is currently available from the HP Software Division. The integrated HPE Unified Functional Testing software allows developers to test from a single console all three layers of a program's operations: the interface, the service layer and the database layer.

Description

HPE Unified Functional Testing is automated testing software designed for testing various software applications and environments. It performs functional and regression testing through a user interface such as a native GUI or web interface. It works by identifying the objects in the application user interface or a web page and performing desired operations (such as mouse clicks or keyboard events); it can also capture object properties like name or handler ID. HPE Unified Functional Testing uses a VBScript scripting language to specify the test procedure and to manipulate the objects and controls of the application under test. To perform more sophisticated actions, users may need to manipulate the underlying VBScript.

Although HPE Unified Functional Testing is usually used for "UI based" Test Case automation, it also can automate some "non-UI" based test cases, such as file system operations, database testing or Web services testing.

Exception handling

HPE Unified Functional Testing manages exception handling using recovery scenarios; the goal is to continue running tests if an unexpected failure occurs. Because HPE Unified Functional Testing hooks into the memory space of the applications being tested, some exceptions may cause HPE Unified Functional Testing to terminate and be unrecoverable.

Data-driven testing

HPE Unified Functional Testing supports data-driven testing. For example, data can be output to a data table for reuse elsewhere. Data-driven testing is implemented as a Microsoft Excel workbook that can be accessed from HPE Unified Functional Testing. HPE Unified Functional Testing has two types of data tables: the Global data sheet and Action (local) data sheets. The test steps can read data from these data tables in order to drive variable data into the application under test, and verify the expected result.

Automating custom and complex UI objects

HPE Unified Functional Testing may not recognize customized user interface objects and other complex objects. Users can define these types of objects as virtual objects. HPE Unified Functional Testing does not support virtual objects for analog recording or recording in low-level mode.

Extensibility

HPE Unified Functional Testing can be extended with separate add-ins for a number of development environments that are not supported out-of-the-box. HPE Unified Functional Testing add-ins include support for Web, .NET, Java, and Delphi. HP QuickTest Professional and the HP QuickTest Professional add-ins are packaged together in HP Functional Testing software.

User interface

HPE Unified Functional Testing provides two viewsâ€"and ways to modifyâ€"a test script: Keyword View and Expert View. These views enable HPE Unified Functional Testing to act as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) for the test, and HPE Unified Functional Testing includes many standard IDE features, such as breakpoints to pause a test at predetermined places.

Keyword view

Keyword View lets users create and view the steps of a test in a modular, table format. Each row in the table represents a step that can be modified. The Keyword View can also contain any of the following columns: Item, Operation, Value, Assignment, Comment, and Documentation. For every step in the Keyword View, HPE Unified Functional Testing displays a corresponding line of script based on the row and column value. Users can add, delete or modify steps at any point.

In Keyword View, users can also view properties for items such as checkpoints, output values, and actions, use conditional and loop statements, and insert breakpoints to assist in debugging a test.

Expert view

In Expert View, HPE Unified Functional Testing lets users display and edit a test's source code using VBScript. Designed for more advanced users, users can edit all test actions except for the root Global action, and changes are synchronized with the Keyword View.

Languages

HPE Unified Functional Testing uses VBScript as its scripting language. VBScript supports classes but not polymorphism and inheritance. Compared with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), VBScript lacks the ability to use some Visual Basic keywords, does not come with an integrated debugger, lacks an event handler, and does not have a forms editor. HP added a debugger, but the functionality is more limited when compared with testing tools that integrate a full-featured IDE, such as those provided with VBA, Java, or VB.NET.

Some Windows script (WScript,WSH,WMI) & VB.Net code can be used in a script in the expert view.

Drawbacks

HPE Unified Functional Testing runs primarily in Windows environments. It relies on largely obsolete Windows-only technologies such as ActiveX and VBScript which is not an object oriented language.

HPE Unified Functional Testing cannot test with all browser types and versions. In particular it does not support Opera.

The Test Execution engine is combined with the GUI Test Code development IDE, so there is no way to run the tests independent of HPE Unified Functional Testing, even though remote execution is still possible with HPE Unified Functional Testing running on a different machine.

High licensing costs often mean that the tool is not widely used in an organization, but instead is limited to a smaller testing team. This encourages a siloed approach to QA/testing where testing is performed as a separate phase rather than a collaborative approach where QA/testers work closely with the business and development teams (as is advocated by newer agile approaches to software development.)

Supported Technologies

The supported technologies, depending on the version, are available for Web, Java (Core and Advanced), .Net, WPF, SAP, Oracle, Siebel, PeopleSoft, Delphi, Power Builder, Stingray 1, Terminal Emulator, Flex, Web Services, Windows Mobile, VisualAge Smalltalk, Silverlight and mainframe terminal emulators.

QTP/UFT browser support matrix

QTP/UFT vs IE support matrix

Versions

• 5.5: First release: Released in 2001
• 6.0: Released in 2002
• 6.5: Released in 2003
• 7.0: Never released
• 8.0: Released in 2004
• 8.2: Released in 2005
• 9.0: Released in 2007
• 9.1: Released in 2007
• 9.2: Released in 2007
• 9.5: Released in 2008
• 10.0: Released in 2009
• 11.0: Released in 2010
• 11.5: Released in 2012 [renamed Unified Functional Testing]
• 11.52: Released in June 2013
• 11.53: Released in November 2013
• 12.0: Released March 2014
• 12.01: Released July 2014
• 12.02: Released March 2015
• 12.50: Released July 2015

License models

HPE Unified Functional Testing is available through single-seat licenses, as well as floating or concurrent licenses. A trial version of the software is also available.

HPE Unified Functional Testing Integration

HPE Unified Functional Testing and HP Quality Center work together for additional testing capabilities. Users can use HP Quality Center with HPE Unified Functional Testing assets, such as tests, shared object repositories, libraries, recovery scenarios and external data tables.

HP Application Lifecycle Management Integration

HP Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) enables IT staff in multiple roles to manage activities associated with their core application lifecycle, from requirements through development, testing, defect management and readiness for delivery. The software was tailored to work with a number of HP testing tools including HPE Unified Functional Testing to test for functional defects in the code.