How does an IBM Rational Functional Tester work?

Rational functional tester is an IBM product developed exclusively for carrying out automated functional testing as well as regression testing. Thus, it can also be very well considered to be a regression testing and automated functional testing tool. It provides the testers with the extended abilities for carrying out the following tests:

1.   Automated functional testing

2.   Regression testing

3.   GUI testing and

4.   DDT or data driven testing

- It sounds like a wonderful tool which provides facilities to carry out four types of distinct tests. 

- Also, it would not be wrong if you call it a ‘automated functional regression testing tool’. 

- Using this IBM tool, capturing and creating automated tests becomes so easy since it ensures that the basic purpose of the tests.

- IBM’s rational functional tester becomes a more useful tool if it used by an individual of a software delivery team which continually updates the application or the software system and requires a mean using which it can keep executing a batch of core tests.

- With other tools you have to go through all the actions before you perform them which makes the testing even more difficult. 

- On the other hand if you are IBM rational functional tester, only once you need to capture the tester and then you can have the tool does the play back for you any number of times. 

- In other words, you can say that a whole series of tests can be grouped to form a test suite which can be run whole day and all night long to make sure that the software system or application is free of any regressions. 

- Before you start using the rational functional tester, it is advisable that you first go through the demo of the product and read the data sheet and then go for using it. 

- This tool developed by IBM is fully object oriented and can tester the following applications:

1. Windows applications
2. .NET
3. Java
4. HTML
5. Siebel
6. SAP
7. AJAX
8. Power builder
9. Flex
10. Dojo
11. Visual basic
12. GEF etc.

- In addition to all these things mentioned below can also be tested:

1. Adobe PDF documents
2. Zseries applications
3. Iseries applications
4. Pseries applications

- With rational functional tester, you get a reliability and robustness in the scripts that are recorded using it. 

- These scripts later can be used for play back in order to carry out the validation of the test applications. 

- However, one thing to know about rational functional tester is that it supports only two platforms namely windows and Linux.

- Two integrated development environments are supported by the rational functional tester. 

- Firstly, user actions can be recorded for the creation of the scripts in the simplest form that can be understood easily on the platform of rational software delivery. 

- In order to provide an extra helping hand to the advanced users it comes with the support for two scripting languages as mentioned below:

1. Java language: for functional tester java scripting
2. VB.NET language: for the functional tester VB.NET 2003 as well as 2005.

- The development environment is of the Microsoft visual studio .NET. 

- It comes with an extension for the terminal based applications as mentioned above so as to provide support for the functional testing of the following:

1. zSeries applications such as TN3270E, TN3270 and so on.
2. iSeries applications such as TN5250.
3. pSeries applications such as VT default, VT 420 – 7, VT 100, VT UTF – 8, VT 420 – 8 etc which are all virtual terminals.

- With this extension you can create test scripts for the automation of the test cases of the host applications. 

- It becomes easy for you to test the following:

1. host attributes
2. host field attributes and
3. screen flow

- For testing all these, it makes use of the terminal verification properties and points and synchronization code for the identification of the readiness of the terminal to take input from the user.