Software system and methods for testing transactional servers

A testing tool, comprising:

• a recording module that records user interactions with a server system to generate a test for testing the server system;
• and
• a user interface that graphically represents the test as a hierarchical node structure in which steps of the test are represented as respective nodes;
• wherein the user interface provides a user option to parameterize one or more steps of the test such that different data values may be used in different iterations of the test, and further provides access to a spreadsheet for allowing the user to specify said data values;
• and wherein the user interface provides a user option to add verification steps to the test to check for expected server responses, and represents such verification steps as respective nodes in the hierarchical node structure.

A testing tool, comprising:

• a recording module that records user interactions with a server system to generate a test for testing the server system, and captures screens returned by the server system during said user interactions;
• and
• a user interface that graphically represents the test as a hierarchical node structure in which steps of the test are represented as respective nodes, and which provides functionality for a user to edit the node structure to modify the test;
• wherein the user interface is responsive to user selection of a node within the hierarchical node structure by displaying the captured screen associated with the corresponding step of the test, such that a user may identify screens that correspond to specific steps of the test during editing of the test.

A method facilitating user generation of a test that may be run to test a transactional server, the method comprising:

• recording an interactive user session with the transactional server during which a user performs steps of at least one transaction to be tested;
• capturing screens returned by the transactional server during the interactive user session;
• generating a graphical representation of the test in which steps of the test are represented as corresponding nodes of a hierarchical node structure, said hierarchical node structure being editable by a user to modify the test;
• and
• in response to user selection of a node of the hierarchical node structure, displaying a captured screen that corresponds to the node.

A computer-implemented method for facilitating the generation of tests for testing the functionality of a transactional server, the method comprising:

• recording an interactive user session with the transactional server during which a user performs steps of at least one transaction to be tested;
• generating at least one verification step that specifies an expected server response to be tested during execution of the test;
• graphically representing the test as a hierarchical node structure in which the transaction steps and the at least one verification step are represented as corresponding nodes;
• providing a user interface through which a user may edit the hierarchical node structure to modify the test;
• and
• responding to user selection of a node of the hierarchical node structure by displaying a captured transactional server screen that corresponds to the node.

A testing tool for testing transactional servers, the testing tool comprising:

• a recording module that records user interactions with a transactional server to generate a test for testing the transactional server;
• and
• a user interface that graphically represents the test as a hierarchical node structure in which steps of the test are represented as respective nodes;
• wherein the user interface provides an option for a user to select a node of the hierarchical node structure to select a corresponding step, and to access a spreadsheet to specify a plurality of data values to be used for a parameter of that step during test execution, such that the user may specify different data values to be used for the parameter during different iterations of the test;
• and wherein the recording module captures screens returned by the transactional server, and the user interface is responsive to user selection of a node within the node structure by displaying a captured screen associated with that node.

A testing tool for testing transactional servers, the testing tool comprising:

• a recording module that records user interactions with a transactional server to generate a test for testing the transactional server;
• and
• a user interface that graphically represents the test as a hierarchical node structure in which steps of the test are represented as respective nodes;
• wherein the user interface provides an option for a user to select a node of the hierarchical node structure to select a corresponding step, and to access a spreadsheet to specify a plurality of data values to be used for a parameter of that step during test execution, such that the user may specify different data values to be used for the parameter during different iterations of the test;
• and wherein the user interface provides a user option to add verification steps to the test to test for expected server responses, and represents such verification steps as respective nodes in the hierarchical node structure.

A testing tool, comprising:

• a recording module that records user interactions with a server system to generate a test for testing the server system;
• and
• a user interface that graphically represents the test as a hierarchical node structure in which steps of the test are represented as respective nodes;
• wherein the user interface provides a user option to parameterize one or more steps of the test such that different data values may be used in different iterations of the test, and further provides access to a spreadsheet for allowing the user to specify said data values, and wherein the user interface includes a server screen display area that displays a captured server screen associated with a currently selected node of the node structure.

A testing tool, comprising:

• a recording module that records user interactions with a server system to generate a test for testing the server system;
• and
• a user interface that graphically represents the test as a hierarchical node structure in which steps of the test are represented as respective nodes;
• wherein the user interface provides a user option to parameterize one or more steps of the test such that different data values may be used in different iterations of the test, and further provides access to a spreadsheet for allowing the user to specify said data values;
• and wherein the recording module captures screens returned by the server system, and the user interface is responsive to user selection of a node within the node structure by displaying a captured screen associated with that node.