JCGs (Java Code Geeks) have released an article on common mistakes of Software Testing.

Seven mistakes of software testing lists a number of common mistakes that are made in each of the test phases.

Though most developers know the importance of testing, it seems that a lot of them still aren’t testing enough. And if they write tests, they test just test wrong.

UNIT TESTS

If some tests are written in applications, most of them will be unit tests. It’s easy to test a utility class by just calling all utility methods, passing some values and checking if the expected result is returned.

A first mistake arises here. Most people don’t think out of the box, or not enough. You can test that 1 + 1 =2 , that 2 + 1 = 3 and that 3 + 1 = 4. But what’s the benefit of doing almost the same test 3 times? It’s better to test the boundary cases. Are the arguments of the sum( ) method primitive types or Objects? If they are Objects, what happens if you pass null values? If an exception is thrown, is that the expected one? Does it clearly tell what the problem is?

JCG is an independent online community focused on creating the ultimate Java-to-Java developers resource center; targeted at the technical architect, technical team lead (senior developer), project manager and junior developers alike. JCGs serve the Java, Scala, Android, SOA, Agile and Telecom communities with daily news written by domain experts, articles, tutorials, reviews, announcements, code snippets and open source projects.

To read the full article visit Seven mistakes of software testing

Byteman is a tool which simplifies tracing and testing of Java programs. Byteman allows you to insert extra Java code into your application, either as it is loaded during JVM startup or even after it has already started running. The injected code is allowed to access any of your data and call any application methods, including where they are private. You can inject code almost anywhere you want and there is no need to prepare the original source code in advance nor do you have to recompile, repackage or redeploy your application. In fact you can remove injected code and reinstall different code while the application continues to execute.

The simplest use of Byteman is to install code which traces what your application is doing. This can be used for monitoring or debugging live deployments as well as for instrumenting code under test so that you can be sure it has operated correctly. By injecting code at very specific locations you can avoid the overheads which often arise when you switch on debug or product trace. Also, you decide what to trace when you run your application rather than when you write it so you don’t need 100% hindsight to be able to obtain the information you need.

When testing your application you can use Byteman to inject faults or synchronization code, causing your application to perform unusual or unexpected operations required to exercise a test scenario. Byteman provides a library of built-in functions which allow you to do anything from generating simple error conditions to propagating complex error flows which require coordinated actions in different parts of your application. However, you are not limited to these operations. You can inject almost any Java code into your application so long as the classes you refer to are in scope at the injection point. You can also replace or extend the available built-in functions by supplying a POJO (plain old java object) as a plugin. So, Byteman makes it easy for you to program even the most complex test scenarios.

Byteman works by modifying the bytecode of your application classes at runtime. Since it only needs access to bytecode this means it can modify library code whose source is either unavailable or unable to be recompiled. This even includes the Java code which forms part of the Java virtual machine, classes such as String, Thread etc. So, with Byteman you can trace what the JVM is doing on behalf of your application code or cause JVM classes like FileInputStream or Map to throw exceptions when your application calls them.

Byteman uses a clear, simple scripting language, based on a formalism called Event Condition Action (ECA) rules to specify where, when and how the original Java code should be transformed. An event specifies a trigger point, a location where you want code to be injected. When execution reaches the trigger point the rule’s condition, a Java boolean expression, is evaluated. The Java expression (or sequence of expressions) in the rule action is executed only when the condition evaluates to true. Normally execution continues from the trigger point once the inejcted code has been executed. However, rule actions may also throw an exception or force an early return from the triggering method.

Byteman 2.0.0 is now available for download under the GNU LGPL. It requires a JDK 6 or higher JVM. The release includes a user guide which documents the scripting language and explains how to use byteman to inject faults or tracing and monitoring code. There is also a tutorial showing you how to get started with Byteman and a follow-up tutorial explaining how to use Byteman to perform fault injection testing. See the documentation page for more information.

froglogic GmbH today announced support for the automated testing of Java Rich Client Platform (RCP) applications based on the new “Indigo” Eclipse 3.7 release.

Squish for Java is the leading functional, cross-platform GUI and regression testing tool for creating and executing automated GUI tests for Java SWT/RCP and AWT/Swing applications.

Squish itself, and all the tests created with it, are completely cross-platform, and work on Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X, and embedded Linux.

Support for testing Eclipse 3.7 RCP applications with Squish is now available with the upcoming Squish version 4.1 (currently in beta).

“Squish is one of the most mature and popular GUI Test Automation Tools for Eclipse RCP/SWT GUIs. Supporting the test automation of applications built on the latest Eclipse release 3.7 – as well continuing to support those those built on older versions – is always a priority for us, as part of our ongoing commitment to the Eclipse platform.”, - Harri Porten, froglogic’s CTO.

Squish offers a versatile testing framework for GUI applications with a choice of popular test scripting languages (Python, JavaScript, Perl, and Tcl) that are extended by Squish’s own library of test-specific functions. Squish also provides open interfaces, several add-ons, integration with a variety of test management tools, a powerful Eclipse-based IDE that supports the creation and debugging of tests, and a complete set of command line tools that support fully automated test runs.

Squish is also ideal for use in organizations where a variety of GUI technologies are used, since in addition to the support for Java SWT/Eclipse RCP and AWT/Swing, Squish also supports the automated testing of applications based on other GUI technologies such as Nokia’s Qt, QML/Qt Quick, Web/DOM/HTML/AJAX, native Windows (MFC and .NET Forms), Mac OS X Carbon/Cocoa, iOS CocoaTouch and others.

If you are interested in evaluating or purchasing Squish for Java or any other Squish edition, please contact sales@froglogic.com or visit www.froglogic.com/squish.

froglogic GmbH today announced support for automated testing of Qt GUI applications based on the new Qt 4.7 release.

Squish is the leading test automation tool for cross-platform functional GUI regression tests that can test applications based on a variety of GUI technologies, including Nokia’s Qt Software Development Frameworks, Java SWT/Eclipse RCP, Java AWT/Swing, native Windows MFC and .NET, Mac OS X Carbon/Cocoa, and Web/HTML/AJAX. Squish stands out from other GUI testing tools by giving test engineers the freedom to record and write tests using familiar scripting languages such as JavaScript, Perl, Python, and Tcl. Furthermore, Squish provides extremely tight integration with the specific GUI technologies it supports. This gives testers unprecedented access to the internals of the applications they are testing (to data items, controls, and widgets, etc.), and also leads to the production of very robust and stable GUI tests.

Squish itself, and all the tests created with it, are completely cross-platform, and work on Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X, and embedded Linux.

Support for testing Qt 4.7-based applications with Squish is now available.

“We are delighted to announce support for Nokia’s latest Qt release—including support for brand new technologies such as Qt Quick and QML. Our customers can upgrade whenever they are ready, safe in the knowledge that their Squish tests will continue to reliably verify their applications’ behaviors as well as any new Qt 4.7 features they start to utilize.” —Harri Porten, froglogic’s CTO.

If you are interested in evaluating or purchasing Squish for Qt or any other Squish edition, please contact squish@froglogic.com or visit www.froglogic.com/squish.

XPect is a Java based test messaging framework designed to use schema and validating editors in order to define tests to be performed against message oriented services.

The tool uses Java code to make regression testing of message oriented systems via JUnit faster to produce and more respondent to schema changes.

Although supporting a small set HTTP services at present, the authors have previously implemented a similar system for JMS systems and intends for JMS to be supported by XPect.

Go to Testertools.com to view more information on XPect.

froglogic GmbH today announced support for automated testing of Java Rich Client Platform (RCP) applications based on the new Eclipse 3.6 release code named Helios.

Squish for Java is the leading, cross-platform functional GUI and regression testing tool enabling the creation and execution of automated GUI tests for Java SWT/RCP and AWT/Swing applications.

Squish itself, and all the tests created with it, are completely cross-platform, and work on Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X, and embedded Linux.

Support for testing Eclipse 3.6 RCP applications with Squish is now available with Squish version 4.0.1.

“As Solution Member of the Eclipse Foundation we are fully commited to the future of the Eclipse platform. Supporting the test automation of applications built on the latest Eclipse release 3.6, as well as older versions, is therefor of high importance to us and our customers.”,  said Harri Porten, froglogic’s platform chief.

Here are some possible use cases for Cargo:

* To start containers for integration and functional tests

* To start containers for applications that require a container to be started (Plugins for IDEs, etc)

* As a framework to manipulate J2EE Module file including container-specific descriptors. For example it can be useful if you wish to implement the JSR88 client side

* To generate container configurations for deployment. For example you may have an application running on Tomcat 5.x and you may want to package a fully working configuration (server.xml, webapps/ dir with your WAR files in there, etc).

x.Link is a Java J2EE performance profiler. Using byte code modification it has a minimal impact on running systems and can even be used in production systems.x.Link offers an alternative to commercial J2EE profilers.

For furture information on this product click here

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JCR (which stands for Java Code Reviewer) is another Python-based tool. Unlike the others, it does not integrate directly with source code management systems; it’s designed to have whole files available for review. JCR emphasizes a more formal process, with tracking of who did what and a review meeting to take action on code comments.

For a large-scale, formal development organization, I’d look at JCR first. Web-based and open-source projects may find Review Board or Codestriker to be a better fit. While Rietveld is worth watching, and has certainly helped make many more developers think seriously about code reviews simply due to Google’s reach, it’s going to have to work hard to catch up in features to the pre-existing projects.

jcr

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Jalopy is a source code formatter for the Sun Java programming language. It layouts any valid Java source code according to some widely configurable rules; to meet a certain coding style without putting a formatting burden on individual developers.

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