Testing Processes of Web Applications

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Testing Processes of Web Applications

• Susan Cohen

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Agenda

• Brief introduction
• Web Application Testing
• Aspects of Web application testing
• Architectural styles
• Levels of testing
• An approach to integration testing
• Capture/replay
• Implicit/explicit states
• Test case generation

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Introduction

• Web applications could benefit from formalized
  processes, better techniques, and defined
  methodologies
• Process model for development of Web applications
• UML model of Web applications

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Web Application Testing

• Thin Web Client
• Thick Web Client
• Web Delivery

Thin Web Client Web applications, Http protocol
for message exchange
Thick Web Client
Web Delivery Traditional Client/Server, Own
communication protocol
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Non-functional requirements

• Response time
• Load testing
• Computation resources
• Client
• server

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Functional Requirements Application as black
box

• Partition legal inputs into equivalence classes
• Define one or more test cases for each of these
  classes
• Use test cases and inputs to generate output
  pages
• Deviations considered errors

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Functional RequirementsApplication as white-box

• HTML pages and messages exchanged via HTTP are
  known and drive the definition of test cases
• Example Link validation
• Exploit knowledge of systems organization
• Server programs, dynamic pages, forms, links, etc

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Levels of Testing

• Unit Test
• Integration Test
• System Test
• Acceptance Test
• Regression Test
• Integration and regression test dependent on type
  of web application

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Capture/Recapture of graphical events versus HTTP
messages
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Approaching Integration Testing of Web
Applications

• Starting point UML model for the Web application
• Implicit and Explicit state models
• Operations cannot be fully automated and user
  intervention is unavoidable
• White box testing criteria
• Page testing
• Hyperlink testing
• Definition use testing
• All-uses testing
• All paths testing
• Disregard testing static pages with no forms

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Test Case Generation

• Satisfying white box criteria means selecting a
  set of paths in the Web application graph
• Provides input values
• Explicit state model path selection is
  independent from input values
• Can automate path and variable selection
• Lots more info, but no more time
• See article for further details

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Conclusions

• Much of the Web application testing process
  cannot be automated and requires user
  intervention
• Much work is still needed in Web application
  testing tools and techniques

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Questions