Comparison of C# and Java for testers

was talking with few test professionals for C# automation. Team is reluctant to change from Java background to C# technologies. I have used many scripting and programming languages. There is not much variation between Java & C# at core langulage level.

Differences and similarities

Description	Java	C#
Program Entry Point	main(String ...args)	Main() or Main(string [] args)
Smallest Deployment Unit	Jar	EXE/DLL, Private Assembly, Shared Assembly
Signing	Jar Signing	Assembly Signing
Namespace	package	namespace
Including Classes	import	using
Inheritance	class (extends), interface (implements)	class and interface (:)
Visibility	private, package,protected, public	private, protected, internal,internal protected, public
Abstract Class	abstract class X { ... }	abstract class X { ... }
Non-Extensible Class	final class X { ... }	sealed class X { ... }
Non-Writable Field	final	readonly
Non-Extensible Method	final	sealed
Constant	static final	const
Checking Instance Type	instanceof	is
Enums	enum, can have fields, methods and implement interfaces and are typesafe	enum, cannot have methods,fields or implement interfaces, not typesafe
for-each construct	for (item : collection) { ... }	foreach(item in collection) { ... }
Switch-Case	numeric types (int,float...) enums, and now strings (in Java 7)	numeric types, enums and strings
Method Parameters	Object References are passed by Value only	Object reference are passedby Value(default), ref & out
Variable Arguments	method(type... args)	Method(params type[] args)
Catching Exceptions	try { ... } catch (Exception ex) {...}	try { ... } catch (Exception ex) {...}
Meta Type	Class klass = X.class;	Type type = typeof(X);
Meta Information	@Annotation	[Attribute]
Static class	Simulated by private Ctor and static methods	Static class and ctor with static methods
Properties	getProperty(),setProperty()	Property { get; set; } compiler generated get_Property() and set_Property() methods

Selenium script on Java & C#
Developed a sample selenium scripting using Java and ported to C#.




Reference Links

Moving to C# for Java Developers
Java Vs C#

Cloud Comparison

Today Cloud techniques are growing more and more. Comparing the vendors is much complex for different aspects of cloud. You need to look at pricing, technology, efficiency etc. Thoran Rodrigues did a comparison with many parameters and it goes like below:

• Cost reductions / optimizations
• Variety of Pricing Plans –The more variety offered (hourly, monthly, etc.) the better a provider is considered.
• Average Monthly Price - Estimated cost in US$ for an instance as described above. When available, hourly pricing was used, based on 730-hour months. Otherwise, monthly pricing was used.
• Cost of Outbound Data Transfer – The cost, in US$, for each GB of outbound data sent from the server. Companies that offer a per second (Mbps) connection for free have costs listed as zero.
• Cost of Inbound Data Transfer – Same as above, but for inbound data.
• Scalability and Automation
• Scale Up – If it’s possible to scale up your servers automatically, by adding more disk space, RAM or processing units.
• Scale Out – If it’s possible to quickly and easily deploy new images based on existing VMs.
• APIs – If the company offers APIs to interact with the servers or not.
• Monitoring – A 3-level subjective scale measuring the easy availability of monitoring tools:
• Poor – Companies that have no monitoring/alert solutions integrated, requiring the deployment of third-party tools or that extra services be purchased
• Average – Companies with very simple integrated monitoring tools (few indicators or no alerting)
• Extensive – Companies with very complete integrated monitoring tools offered for no additional cost
• Choice and Flexibility
• Number of Data Center Locations – The number of different data center locations where cloud servers can be hosted.
• Number of Instance Types – The number of different available instance types, in terms of RAM, CPU, disks and so on.
• Supported Operating Systems – The number of different supported operating systems (regardless of version) available as pre-configured images.

User Concerns

• Security Features
• Certifications – If the vendor has compliance- and security-related certifications, such as PCI or SAS 70.
• Protection – If the vendor offers the possibility of protecting servers with firewalls and other security functionality. A 3-level subjective scale:
• Poor – Companies that only offer the most basic security features (such as a basic firewall), or no features at all
• Average – Companies that offer a more advanced mix of security features.
• Extensive – Companies that offer not only several security features, but also some security automation.
• Ease of Migration
• Open Standards – If the vendor employs or supports open standards in cloud infrastructure.
• VM Upload – If the vendor supports uploading your own machine images (made locally) to the cloud

... To Read More - Top cloud IaaS providers compared - By Thoran Rodrigues

Comparison between 4Test and C language Keywords

Few months back, I was going through 4Test Language Reference (Silktest 5.01) PDF document. There I have seen the comparison of C Language and 4Test. Then I searched the same table in Silktest8.5 Help documentation. It is available under 4Test Reference -> About the 4Test Language -> Comparison of 4Test and C.

Comparison Table: 4Test and C language Keywords

Data type / Feature	C Language	4Test Script
Any type: Stores data of any type	No datatype available.	ANYTYPE aName
Array	int ai[10];	array [10] of integer ai integer ai[10] Arrays in 4Test can be dynamically resized.
Boolean: Stores either TRUE or FALSE	int b;	boolean b
Character	char c;	string c. 4Test has no seperate data type for single character.
Enumerated	enum COLOR{red, white, blue};	type COLOR is enum red white blue
Floating-point	float f; double d;	real f real d
Integer	int i; long, short, unsigned	integer i
List	Similar datatype is not available.	list of integer li. 4Test has dynamic lists.
Numeric	Similar datatype is not available.	number n.4Test NUMBER type stores either integers or floating point numbers.
Pointer	char *p;	4Test does not have pointers; however, data can be indirectly referenced using the @ operator.
Pointer to function	int (*func) ();	@(sFunc) ()
String	char s[5];	STRING s. 4Test strings are dynamically allocated; you do not need to declare their lengths.
Structure	struct Person { char name[8]; int age; }	type Person is record { string name integer age}
User-defined type	typedef struct Person PERSON_INFO;	type PERSON_INFO is Person
Type cast operator	(typename) expression	[typename] expression
Equality (==) operator differences	if ((i=5) == TRUE) --> This code compiles in C	if ((i=5) == TRUE) --> Ths code does not compile in 4Test:This difference is intentional. Because this construct can lead to unreadable code, 4Test does not allow it.

Comparison of SilkTest and Winrunner

Last month, I have posted Comparison of SilkTest and QuickTest Professional . Then I thought to put one more comparison with Winrunner. This time I have compared in low level. It means comparing functions and file structure level. Hope it will be useful for automation newbies.

Wiki pages
Silktest on Wiki
Winrunner on Wiki

Code samples for both tools
Sample 4test code snippets for SilkTest
Sample TSL code snippets for Winrunner

References:

1. SILKTEST AND WINRUNNER FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS - By Horwath/Green/Lawler


2. Comparison of SilkTest and QuickTest Professional

Comparison Table: SilkTest Vs Winrunner

Features	SilkTest	WinRunner
Project file	Silktest has two types of extensions to represent projects. One is vtp file, which is usual one. Another one is stp file, which is zipped version of silktest project. <ProjectName>.ini or partner.ini has silktest settings.	No project file.
Tool Configuration	<ProjectName>.ini or partner.ini has silktest settings for particular project. Silktest has options set (*.opt) to configure the project level settings.	Initial startup configurations are stored in wrun.ini file.
Test Environment vaiables	SetOption and GetOption methods are used to set various silktest settings. GetTestCaseName, GetTestCaseErrorCount, GetTestCaseState and GetTestCaseWarningCount functions are used to get information about testcases.	setvar and getvar functions available to set or get test variables. Few options are : cs_run_delay, cs_fail, delay_msec, rec_item_name, rec_owner_drawn, searchpath, silent_mode, single_prop_check_fail, synchronization_timeout, tempdir and speed
Script Recorder	Only one mode for different activities.Record Testcase, Application State, Actions.	Two modes. 1. Context sensitive mode 2. Analog mode.
Code View	Classic 4Test, Visual 4Test	Only one view
Test Script	Script is a single file. Extension is *.t. One script can contain many testcases.	Actually Script is a folder and have set of supporting files.There will a file 'script'. That contains actual script. a db folder for asc data an exp folder for expected results. a debug folder for using during debug runs.
Tests	Termed as Testcase. Each Testcase has block of coding statements.	No separate terms.
Objects Repository	Official term is frame file. They can be edited directly from the Editor. File extension is (*.inc). Objects are called as Window declarations. User can declare variables and functions inside frame file.	Termed as GUI Map. Maintained as separate file. With the help of utility, objects can be modified. Two types as per Winrunner setting. They are 'GuiMap file per Test' and 'Global GUI Map'. File extension is same for both types as (*.gui). User can not declare variables and functions inside GUI Map file.
Physical desc	Based on Caption, Prior text, Index, Window ID, Location and Attribute.Wildcards can be used.	Wildcards can be used.Identifying based on obligatory properties. An optional property is used only if the obligatory properties do not provideunique identification of an object. In cases where the obligatory and optional properties do not uniquely identify an object, WinRunner uses a selector. For example, if there are twoOK buttons with the same MSW_id in a single window, WinRunner would use a selector to differentiate between them. Two types of selectors are available: A location selector uses the spatial position of objects. An index selector uses a unique number to identify the object in a window.
Logical name - used to identify the object	Called as Test Identifier. It is similar to variable. It should not have space or any other special characters.	It is not similar to variable. It can have space and few special characters.
Object Representation	Based on true object hierarchy. Dynamic representation sample is given below: Syntax: class("tag").class("tag").class("tag") Example: MainWin("Text Editor - *").DialogBox("Find").TextField("Find What")	Based on Flat list. There will be only two levels. Top level will be window and leaf level will be child objects. Dynamic representation sample Syntax: "{class: <class>, MSW_class: <WR class>,<property>:<propertyvalue>}" Example: set_window("{class: window, MSW_class: html_frame,active:1}",20);
Function library	Termed as Include (*.inc) file. Compile modules. Again it is similar to Test Script. Test Library/API calls use "frame.inc". You have to use in the beginning of script.	Termed as Compiled module. GUI_load and GUI_open functions are used to load GUI Maps. You can call above functions anywhere from the script. You can call comipiled modules like below: reload( "C:\\MyAppFolder\\" & "flt_lib" ); load( "C:\\MyAppFolder\\" & "flt_lib" );
CheckPoint	Provided Verify and Verify Properties functions.	Provided various check points for different purposes.
Results Reporting	Results are stored into *.res binary files. It can be converted into differnt formats. Multiple versions can be stored into single file.	Winrunner results are stored in separate folder for each run. Result folder contain two files: _t_rep.hdr -> Header file, which contains test run info _t_rep.eve -> results file, which contains info about each execution.
Library Browser	Library Browser	Function Generator
User Message	Print(), Printf() functions	report_msg() function.
Result Function	Verify (), raise () and Reraise () functions	tl_step () function
Exception Handling	<do-except> block is available and few supporting functions.	Winrunner does not have explicitly similar to do-except or try-catch block. But it has different wizards to handle different type of exceptions such as Pop-up exceptions, TSL exceptions, Object exceptions and Web exceptions.
Test/Error Recovery	Powerful Default recovery system is set based on extension and MainWindow. It can be extended by using BaseState.	Recovery Scenarios, which is available from Winrunner 7.5. Lower versions do not have this feature.
Wait statements	Sleep (10) ' 10 seconds to wait	Wait (10) ' 10 seconds to wait
Halt Execution temporarily	Agent.DisplayMessage () - temporarily stopping execution with a message.	pause() - pauses test execution and displays a message
To activate a window	MyWin.SetActive ()	set_window ("Shell_TrayWnd", 2);
Accessing DLLs	Only Standard DLLs. It does not support the COM/ActiveX DLLs, which are created by VB/.NET	Both COM and Standard DLLs are supported. COM DLL support is available from Winrunner 7.5
Database Verification	Having built-in functions to extract information from Databases through ODBC32 Interface (DSNs)	Having built-in functions to extract information from Databases through ODBC32 Interface (DSNs). WinRunner also provides a visual recorder to create a Database Checkpoint used to validate the selected contents of an ODBC compliant database within a testcase.
Data functions	Good	Good. Having extensive support for SpreadSheet (Excel).
Scripting Language	4Test scripting language. It is a object oriented scripting language. Similar to C++	TSL - Test Script Language. It is based on the C programming language.
Data types	Set of data types like integer, string and number are available. User can create their own data types also.	No data types
Mostly using - Compound Data type	LIST data type.	ARRAY. Subscript can be integer or string.

Winrunner - SET_WINDOW and WIN_ACTIVATE

This is one of my favorite and Expert questions in Winrunner.

1. What is the difference between "set_window" and "win_activate"?
2. When would you use "set_window" and when would you use "win_activate"?

win_activate has the syntax win_activate(window);. The win_activate function
makes the specified window the active window by bringing it into focus and
raising it to the top of the display. (It is the equivalent to clicking on the
window banner)

Set_window has the following syntax: set_window(window,[time]);
The set_window function directs input to the right application window. This
directs the GUI map to this window. It also sets the scope for object
identification in the GUI map.

The most important difference is that set_window has a timing option.
WinRunner will wait a maximum of the number used in the function, PLUS the system set timeout, to wait for the window to appear. Win_activate assumes the window is already on the desktop and has no timing option.

Comparison between SilkTest and QuickTest Professional

Two months back, I thought to write a post about SilkTest and QTP comparison. Both the tools are market-leading testing tools. The latest versions of both tools have Vista and Flex support. I did not give any detailed description for each feature or item.

Product page
Here I have listed the product pages for both.
Silktest Product Page
Quick Test Professional Product page

Wiki pages
Silktest on Wiki
QuickTestProfessional (QTP) on Wiki

Code samples for both tools
Sample 4test code snippets for SilkTest
Sample QTP and VB Script code snippets

References:

1. SILKTEST AND WINRUNNER FEATURE DESCRIPTIONS - By Horwath/Green/Lawler


2. WinRunner vs. QuickTest Pro Quick Comparison - By Shawn LoPorto, Senior Test Automation Architect


3. AUTOMATION TEST TOOLS - By Ray Robinson, 2001


4. Comparision of Web testing tools

Comparison Table: SilkTest Vs QuickTest Professional

Features	SilkTest	QuickTest Professional
Recording Script	Recorder available with different set of features.	Recorder available with different set of features.
OS	Windows upto Vista, Unix (SilkBean)	Windows upto Vista, Unix (Xrunner)
Browsers support	Internet Explorer, Netscape, FireFox, AOL	Internet Explorer, Netscape, FireFox, AOL
Database tests	With the help of DSN (ODBC32 Interface)	With the help of DSN (ODBC32 Interface) plus VB Scripting
Data functions	Good	Good. Having extensive support for SpreadSheet (Excel).
Tests	Termed as Testcase. Each Testcase has block of coding statements.	Termed as Actions. Each Action has block of coding statements.
Test Script	Script is a single file.	Actually Script is a folder and have set of supporting files.
Code View	Classic 4Test, Visual 4Test	Keyword View, Expert View
Objects Repository	Official term is Window declarations. They can be edited directly from the Editor.	Maintained as separate file. With the help of utility, objects are modified. Two types as per QTP setting. They are 'Per Action Repository' and 'Shared Repository'. File extensions will be varied for each type.
Dynamic objects	Object properties can be passed dynamically. Variety of methods available to handle them.	Object properties can be passed dynamically. Another term is known as Descriptive Programming.
Class Mapping	Class Mapping is available.	Class Mapping is available.
Custom Classes	RecorderClass and Extension Kit are available.	Virutal Object Wizards available.
Image testing	Bitmap Capture and Verification functions.	Bitmap Capture and Verification functions.
Test/Error Recovery	Powerful Recovery system available.	Recovery Manager
Verification	Provided Verify and Verify Properties functions.	Provided check points for different purposes.
Results Reporting	Results are stored into *.res binary files. It can be converted into differnt formats. Multiple versions can be stored into single file.	QTP results are stroed as XML files and can be converted to HTML files. Result folder contain many files. One result folder can store results for only one run.
Test Management Tool Integration	Integrated with SilkCentral Test Manager.	Integrated with Quality Center.
Distributed Testing	Remote Agent.	Having Remote COM Agent.
DLL support	Only Standard DLLs. It does not support the COM/ActiveX DLLs, which are created by VB/.NET.	Both COM and Standard DLLs are supported.
Java Support	Yes	Yes
Flex Support	Available to certain extent.	Available to certain extent.
DotNet Support	Yes	Yes
Internatioalization (i18N) Support	Yes	Yes
Timer functions	Having rich set of functions to calculate time taken for block of statements or testcases. Help: Timers	Having limited functions to calculate time taken for block of statements or actions. Help: Measuring Transactions
Environment support	Can access OS level variables.	Can access OS level variables.
Batch Run	Suite (*.s) and Test plan (*.pln) are available.	Test Batch Runner utility.
Coding	4Test Language.	Similar to Visual Basic
Ability to run multiple scripts consistantly and continuously.	Yes	Should run from Quality Center.
Coding Style	4Test Language. Similar to C++	Visual Basic Script
Integration with External libraries	NO	VB Script libraries.
Code Samples	Few samples from vendor.	Few samples from vendor. But many VB Script samples available on Internet.
OOPs Support	Yes. Oops concepts are supported for certain extent. User can extend standard classes.	NO
Data types	Set of data types are available. User can create their own data types also.	Set of data types are available. User cannot create their own data types
Interactive Debugging	Debugging features available.	Debugging steps available.
Ease of use	Just record and playback, won't help. Medium.	Record and playback used to help. Very Simple. Easy to learn.
Documentation	HLP file available. PDF docs are only for beginners.	Both CHM and PDF files are available. Enough info.
Tool Updates	Continuing process.	Continuing process.
Cost	~$9K	More than $10K
Script Templates	Manual. No Ways to create automatic templates.	Manual. No Ways to create automatic templates.
Editor	Good. Simple one. Having Project explorer similar to MS Visual Studio.	Better one with nice look. But using tabs to show more than one script.
Tool Support	Tool support is available for only latest versions (from silktest 8.0 )	Tool support is available for only latest versions.
Latest Version	Silktest 2008	QuickTest Professional 9.5
Strengths	Good Development language, good online community, recovery system, Good cross browser support, Code Maintenance	The most popular test tool by great user base, plenty of jobs, good online community, Good cross browser support.
Weaknesses	Helpdesk, Slightly expensive, Skilled resources	Helpdesk (Getting bad now), Expensive tool.
Vendor	Borland. Initially developed by Segue. Borland acquired Segue on 2006.	HP (Hewlett-Packard). Initially developed by Mercury Interactive. HP acquired Mercury on 2006.
Product Name Changes	Initially QA Partner. Later changed to SilkTest.	Initially Astra QuickTest. Later changed to QuickTest Professional.

Note:In case, if you want to add or modify any feature, please drop a mail to palani.selvam@gmail.com

Tool Comparison - Silktest Versus VisualTest

You will not get the difference between Silktest and VisualTest in the web. Thats why I thought to update it. See the comparison below.

Features	SilkTest	VisualTest
OS	Windows, Unix	Windows
Browsers	Internet Explorer, Netscape, FireFox	Only Internet Explorer
Recorder	Mouse Clicks and Context Sensitive	Only Mouse Clicks and Keyboard Events
Installation	Simple	Easy
Debugging	Good	Fair
Verification	Recorder and code can be used	Needs to write lot of code
Results	Results are stored into *.res files. It can be converted into differnt formats	Suite Manager has the flexibility. Otherwise will output to View Port.
Batch Run	Suite (*.s) and Test plan (*.pln) are available.	Suite Manager is available.
DLL support	Only Standard DLLs. It does not support the DLLs, which are created by VB	Supporting Standard and COM Dlls
Java Support	Supports all Java components	Support for only AWT package
Internatioalization	Support is available	No
Documentation	HLP file available. PDF docs are only for beginners.	Only HLP file available. Adequate.
Distributed Testing	4test scripts can be run in multiple systems from single machine.	Not Known
Tool Support	Tool support is available for only latest versions (from silktest 8.0 )	No
Updates	Continue process. Latest version is Silktest 2008	Product updates were stopped seven years ago (from Version 6.5 )
Cost	~$9000 + Support cost	Less than $1000
Script Templates	Manual	Automatic Templates
Editor	Better One	Good
Coding	4Test Language.	Similar to Visual Basic

Silktest - Difference between tag and identifier

Sometimes testers are confused with tag and identifier. Thats why, I prepared this post.

Identifier
Identifier is equal to a variable and it holds the object's reference. The Constraints, which is applicable for variable, is applicable for identifier also. You can not give special characters such as space, dollar etc into the identifier.
Testcases use the identifier to refer to an object. In Winrunner, it is referred as Logical Name.

tag
Tag is a string information, which contains the object details. Tag is the physical description of the object. SilkTest uses the tag to identify objects in the application under test when recording and when executing testcases. Testcases never use the tag to refer to an object. Tags are classified as tag and multitag.

Types of tags:

1. Caption


2. Prior text


3. Index


4. Window ID


5. Location


6. Attributes - only for HTML objects (Added from Silktest 2006).

More details: See the Silktest help for tag: definition

Difference between Application server and Web server

I have explained the difference between Application server and web server. I prepared this table after referring few sites. I hope that it will be very useful to you.

Application server	Web server
Developers can create, test, and execute application components.	It is designed to create and deploy Web site, serving up content more so than applications.
These are typically J2EE-based, running EJBs or other Java components.	It supports JSP,Servlets,ASP and server side Java Script.
It exposes business logic to client applications through various protocols.	It is designed to create and deploy Web site serving.It mainly deals with sending HTML for display in a web browser.
Application Server supports HTTP,TCP/IP and many more protocols.	A Web Server understands and supports only HTTP protocol.

Silktest - Click Vs DoClick

Silktest has two different click methods. DoClick method is available for browser objects. Below I have given a comparison between Click and DoClick.

Click Method
Click means, silktest is doing physical mouse click. This method can be used for any type of object.

DoClick Method
DoClick means, silktest simulates browser click (DOM Click) and you cannot see physically. It will be worked only for few of web-based objects. It is not available for all objects.

Upto Silktest7.5
DoClick supported classes are HtmlLink class, HtmlImage, and HtmlPushButton for Internet Explorer DOM only. For Netscape 6, the DoClick method works only for menus and controls on the Netscape Navigator 6 toolbar.

Silktest2006R2
DoClick method available classes are HtmlCheckBox, HtmlColumn, HtmlHeading, HtmlImage, HtmlLink class, HtmlMarquee, HtmlPushButton, HtmlRadioButton, HtmlText, and HtmlTextField. The API click functionality is changed and an option is given for Compatibility.

FireFox Vs Internet Explorer

I have used different browsers such as Netscape, Opera, Internet Explorer, Firefox and few more. Earlier I used netscape and Internet Explorer regularly. But now I am using often Firefox and Internet explorer. It helps me to do browser compatibility testing.

In 2005, I started to use FireFox browser and it has many advantages while comparing with Internet explorer. Now Most of the sites are supporting Firefox also. I like the features such as tabbed browsing, popup blocker and download manager. These features are not upto the mark in IE. Opera browser already has similar to tabbed browsing. Opera is not popular as Firefox. Current IE7 is not fast as Firefox and also having security issues. Firefox has greater ease of use and more personalization options. It has improved performance and security features.

I am comfortable with firefox than IE. I heard that IE version 8 and FF version 3 are going to be released soon. Searched net for comparison. Got two interesting pages. Some old Comparison around 2004. Recent comparison is available here

Web Testing & Client server testing

Server process:

 Server programs generally receive requests from client programs, execute database retrieval
and updates, manage data integrity and dispatch responses to client requests. The serverprocess acts as a software engine
that manages shared resources such as databases, printers, communication links, or high
powered-processors.It is the backend process of the application.

Client process: 
       Client programs usually manage the user-interface portion of theapplication, validate data
entered by the user, dispatch requests toserver programs, and sometimes execute business logic.
The client-based process is the front-end of the application.It is the interaction between the user and the rest of the application
system.

In client server testing test engineer are conduct the following testings:-

1.Behaviour testing(GUI TESTING)

2.Input domain testing

3.Error Handling testing

4.Backend testing

In Web testing test engineer are condut the following testings:-

1.Behaviour Testing

2.Static web testing

3.Input domain testing

4.Backend testing

5.Error handling testing

5.Frame Level testing

Difference between Application server and Web server:

Application server	Web server
Developers can create, test, and execute application components	It is designed to create and deploy Web site, serving up content more so than applications.
These are typically J2EE-based, running EJBs or other Java components.	It supports JSP,servlets and ASP
Application servers are designed to create true applications with complex business logic,	Web servers are technology designed to create and deploy Web site serving up content more so than applications, serving
Application Server supports HTTP,TCP/IP and many more protocols.	A Web Server understands and supports only HTTP protocol