US 7,444,548 B2 · Methods and systems for automatically testing websites and web applications using knowledge bases of standard inputs and standard errors

Abstract

A method for automatically testing a website or a web application may include steps of examining the code of an opened Web page or Web application and detecting and categorizing user input fields in the examined code. A knowledge base of standard inputs that stores a plurality of categorized standard inputs may then be consulted. A standard input may then be selected from the knowledge base of standard inputs and applied to the detected input field. When the website or web application generates a message in response to the applied standard input, a knowledge base of standard errors that stores a plurality of standard errors may be consulted. The generated message may then be matched to one of the stored standard errors or a likelihood that the generated message is an error message may be assigned when the generated message does not match one of the stored standard errors. A log entry may then be created, the log entry including sufficient information as to allow a post-facto reconstruction of the circumstances leading to the generation of the error message.

Claims36

Dependent claims

A method for a computer to automatically test a website or a web application without the use of a test script, comprising the steps of:

opening a page within the website or web application;
examining a code that generated the page;
detecting a user input field in the examined code and categorizing the detected input field according to a type of the input field;
consulting a knowledge base of standard inputs, the knowledge base of standard inputs storing a plurality of standard inputs that are categorized according to one of a plurality of input field types;
selecting a standard input from the knowledge base of standard inputs, the selected standard input being chosen from among the plurality of standard inputs of the selected input field type according to the categorized input field type of the detected user input field in the examined code and applying the selected standard input to the detected input field;
checking a page generated by the website or the web application for a generated message as a result of applying the selected standard input to the detected input field;
when the website or web application generates a message in response to the applied standard input, consulting a knowledge base of standard errors, the knowledge base of standard errors storing a plurality of standard errors and determining the generated message is an error message when the generated message matches one of the plurality of stored standard errors and assigning a likelihood that the generated message is an error message when the generated message does not match one of the plurality of stored standard errors in the knowledge base of standard errors, and
generating a log entry, the log entry including at least one of an identification and a path of the generated page, the applied standard input and the generated message and a flag indicating that the generated message is an error message or is believed to be a potential error message.

5 more elements

A machine-readable medium having data stored thereon representing sequences of instructions which, when executed by computing device, causes said computing device to automatically test a website or a web application without the use of a test script, by performing the steps of:

opening a page within the website or web application;
examining a code that generated the opened page;
detecting a user input field in the examined code and categorizing the detected input field according to a type of the input field;
consulting a knowledge base of standard inputs, the knowledge base of standard inputs storing a plurality of standard inputs that are categorized according to one of a plurality of input field types;
selecting a standard input from the knowledge base of standard inputs, the selected standard input being chosen from among the plurality of standard inputs of the selected input field type according to the categorized input field type of the detected user input field in the examined code and applying the selected standard input to the detected input field;
checking a page generated by the website or the web application for a generated message as a result of applying the selected standard input to the detected input field;
when the website or web application generates a message in response to the applied standard input, consulting a knowledge base of standard errors, the knowledge base of standard errors storing a plurality of standard errors and determining the generated message is an error message when the generated message matches one of the plurality of stored standard errors and assigning a likelihood that the generated message is an error message when the generated message does not match one of the plurality of stored standard errors in the knowledge base of standard errors, and
generating a log entry, the log entry including at least one of an identification and a path of the generated page, the applied standard input, the generated message and a flag indicating that the generated message is an error message or is believed to be a potential error message.

5 more elements

A computer system suitable for automatically testing a website or a web application, comprising:

a database for storing a plurality of database objects;
at least one processor;
at least one data storage device;
a plurality of processes spawned by said at least one processor, the processes including processing logic for:
opening a page within the website or web application;
examining a code that generated the opened page;
detecting a user input field in the examined code and categorizing the detected input field according to a type of the input field;
consulting a knowledge base of standard inputs, the knowledge base of standard inputs storing a plurality of standard inputs that are categorized according to one of a plurality of input field types;
selecting a standard input from the knowledge base of standard inputs, the selected standard input being chosen from among the plurality of standard inputs of the selected input field type according to the categorized input field type of the detected user input field in the examined code and applying the selected standard input to the detected input field;
checking a page generated by the website or the web application for a generated message as a result of applying the selected standard input to the detected input field;
when the website or web application generates a message in response to the applied standard input, consulting a knowledge base of standard errors, the knowledge base of standard errors storing a plurality of standard errors and determining the generated message is an error message when the generated message matches one of the plurality of stored standard errors and assigning a likelihood that the generated message is an error message when the generated message does not match one of the plurality of stored standard errors in the knowledge base of standard errors, and
generating a log entry, the log entry including at least one of an identification and a path of the generated page, the applied standard input, the generated message and a flag indicating that the generated message is an error message or is believed to be a potential error message.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Methods and systems for automatically testing websites and web applications using knowledge bases of standard inputs and standard errors

Life of this patent

Methods and systems for automatically testing websites and web applications using knowledge bases of standard inputs and standard errors

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims36