Summary

• Our examples use the WebART test tool, but you can apply these same principles to any tool you choose if it supports this approach.

• Scripts written for the WebART test-tool interface use the executable tests written in Java and drive the XTrack system through the user interface.

• WebART is an HTTP-based tool, so the scripts interact with XTrack through pages, links, forms, and request primitives like get and submit.

• WebART scripts are interfaced to the executable tests by a set of utilities from the jWebART package implemented in the WebART scripting language.

• The jWebART utilities also integrate with the MDS framework, a set of utilities for writing Modular, Data-driven, Self-verifying scripts using WebART.

• The XTRACKIF script consists of a main script and a separate subscript for each module: login, createUserId, and deleteUserId.

• The subscript modules all share a similar basic structure, with a fixed set of parameters and the same sequence of calls to MDS utilities at the beginning and end.

• Unlike a direct-call interface, where the bulk of the validation takes place mostly within the system code, validation is much more of a task for the test when testing through the user interface.

• Validation criteria are specified in a separate file because of the high degree of volatility in the user interface.

• It's best to use the simplest possible validation that can distinguish success from failure. If it weren't the minimum, it wouldn't be enough!

Here's a chance to try these ideas out. If this chapter felt like it zoomed right over your head, work the exercise. It's not as bad as you think.