Abstract: A test services provider is an object that is arranged to provide a standardized interface for calling test harness provided functionality. The test services provider is not tied to a specific test harness, and provides a standard interface such that both test harness functionality and test cases can be written without beforehand knowledge of the other. In operation, the test harness registers the test services that provides with the test service provider, and the test cases retrieve the registered test services from the test harness as needed. Accordingly, the test case does not have to query the test harness itself for the object that provides the desired test harness functionality, but rather uses a standardized interface provided by the test services provider to retrieve the desired test services.

Abstract: The present invention is directed towards a test case inheritance behavior that can be controlled via attributes. A base test class from which test objects are derived are useful for reducing test case code and management. For example, base test classes and their derived objects can be used to implement steps that are common between the entire set of classes (e.g., launching a piece of software to be tested and getting it to a certain stage). The principle of inheritance simplifies management of the test software when, for example, the base class is modified, all of the tests which derive from that test case automatically are modified. Accordingly, only one item needs to be modified (instead of every tests) when a change is necessary to modify the way the software launches.

Abstract: The integrated test framework of the present invention includes a test framework runtime that executes test scripts and that also allows a script to identify a variation tool called a “data provider” that is responsible for providing data to the test framework runtime and controlling the iteration of the runtime through the variations. The script also identifies the type of data set from which the data provider should obtain the data from which the variations are derived and the location of the data set. Multiple variation data providers may be used in conjunction with an adapter layer that coordinates the iteration of each variation data provider and creates an aggregated variation over multiple varying parameters of different scope.

Abstract: A test services provider is an object that is arranged to provide a standardized interface for calling test harness provided functionality. The test services provider is not tied to a specific test harness, and provides a standard interface such that both test harness functionality and test cases can be written without beforehand knowledge of the other. In operation, the test harness registers the test services that provides with the test service provider, and the test cases retrieve the registered test services from the test harness as needed. Accordingly, the test case does not have to query the test harness itself for the object that provides the desired test harness functionality, but rather uses a standardized interface provided by the test services provider to retrieve the desired test services.

Abstract: A computer operable method for integrating and automating test procedures within a computer application program. Instantiated test operation objects of an object class defined by the present invention correspond to functions to be tested within the computer application program. The test operation objects are instantiated by calls to functions in a test operation runtime library (DLL). The test operation objects include interface method functions which execute the intended test operation and simulate any required data, file, or memory I/O. Other aspects of the methods of the present invention provide rules which permit decisions as to the applicability of each test operation given the state of the application program or the context of the test operation sequence. The various test operation objects are selected to perform a sequence of test steps. In one mode of operation, the methods of the present invention randomly select among all the instantiated test operation objects.

Abstract: A computer operable method for integrating and automating test procedures within a computer application program. Instantiated test operation objects of an object class defined by the present invention correspond to functions to be tested within the computer application program. The test operation objects are instantiated by calls to functions in a test operation runtime library (DLL). The test operation objects include interface method functions which execute the intended test operation and simulate any required data, file, or memory I/O. Other aspects of the methods of the present invention provide rules which permit decisions as to the applicability of each test operation given the state of the application program or the context of the test operation sequence. The various test operation objects are selected to perform a sequence of test steps. In one mode of operation, the methods of the present invention randomly select among all the instantiated test operation objects.