Whenever you subject your
software system or application to testing, it is obvious for you to think of
checking how your software system or application performs with some other
multiple sets of data.
For this what do you do?
You create some data driven
tests with some loops that runs a certain number of times or we can say which
runs for how many different sets of data you want the application to be tested
with. Each time the iteration of loop takes place, it leads to the testing of
the software system or application with a different set of data.
But the winrunner will
not simply execute such loops!
- To make the winrunner use that data for driving
the tests it is necessary that you link the data with the particular test
script which you want it to drive.
- This process of linking the data with the
test script that it’s going to drive is called parameterizing of the tests.
- The
data sets are recorded in the form of a data table.
- The process of
parameterizing the tests can be either carried out manually or you can take the
aid of the data driver wizard.
- The data driver wizard will not only help you in
parameterization of your tests but will also help you in storing the data in
the data table.
- The conversion of a test
in to a data driven test is composed of four major steps and out of which the
first important step is the parameterization of the test itself.
- The process
involves the replacement of the fixed values in the following statements:
- check point statements
- in recorded statements with parameters
- In the next step in this process you
have to deal with the setting up of a data table which is suppose to store the
values that are to be fed as the arguments to the test.
- This marks the
completion of the parameterization process.
- Later, the statements and functions are added to the test so that they
can be read from the data table and can execute in a loop during each iteration
of the loop.
- Statements are added to that script which is responsible for the
opening and closing of the data table.
- This whole process becomes less head
ache when carried out with the help of the data driver wizard.
- With its aid you can either convert just a part of your script or whole
of your script in to a data driven test.
- In some cases, it happens that even
though your test scripts consists of check points, recorded operations,
statements etc there is no need to parameterize them, you just want to
parameterize the rest of the part of the test script that will be run with
multiple sets of data in a loop.
- In data driver wizard the fixed values in
recorded statements and selected check points are replaced by the function
“ddt_val”.
- This function also adds the columns containing variable values to be
assigned as parameters.
- A test script may consist of several statements
containing the fixed values entered by the user.
- There is a dialog box named as
“parameterize data dialog box” that can be used for the effective and quick
parameterization of the statements and replacement of the data with parameters.
- For doing this, you need to select the particular instance which consists
of the data that is to be parameterized.
- Then, go for the parameterize data
option in table menu and the box opens.
- Select the data table and enter the
name for the table.
- Then hit the “add the data to the table box” option.
- Later, the data in this table can be modified.
