Email founder roots to Muhavur(India)

I was so excited and proud to share this post. Mr. V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, who is Email founder, has roots to Muhavur, Rajaplayam (India), which is my native place. His father has given many donations to our schools.

V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai WWW Home
SiliconIndia News
Tamil News

I came to know about this yesterday. How did I miss, even though I'm in this industry more than 10 years? How do the media and country promote the inventions and achievements? How the corporate companies/business involving in today's inventions & hype?

Still I'm wondering, what happened to Mr.Ramar Pillai. Not sure about his invention, but he brought few thoughs about so called 'Bio-Fuel' or 'Herbal Fuel'. I am not sure, how the government agencies are serious about alternative fuel? Also difficult to find honest reporing in media like Newspapers, TV Channels, etc...

Vishing - Security Attack?

I got a mail from my bank in last month about 'Vishing'.It looks like old trick for new technologies.

Definition
"Vishing" is an activity where fraudsters trick unsuspecting customers into providing their personal and financial details over the phone.

Usual Methods
Usually fraudsters pose as representatives of large companies, banks or public authorities like Reserve Bank of India.
The details may be used to carry out fraudulent transactions in the customer's account.

Note:
Do not reveal your confidential banking details like account/card number, PIN, validity date of your debit/credit cards, CVV, or other passwords to anyone.

Microsoft Products

Microsost has many products in variety of domains and divisions. Just listed down the various business units.

Microsoft Business Solutions
Microsoft Office Division
Online Services Division
Server and Tools Business
Windows & Windows Live Division
Windows Phone Division
Skype

For more information, visit Fast Facts about Microsoft!!!

Windows 8 Launch to external world

Finally, Windows 8 is launched across world to consumers. Windows 8 comes with a new smooth and intuitive start screen and tiles that are brimming with content, and update in real time. Same look and feel across Tablets, Hybrids, Ultrabooks, Desktops.

Links

Windows Home Page

Official Windows Blogs

Windows YouTuBe Channel

Windows 8 on Wikipedia

XBOX 360 and Kinect

I'm not much interested on Games side. I bought XBOX 360 with Kinect for my kid. It is used for games as well as virtual sports. Had amazing experience!!!

I was going through couple of wikipedia pages and Microsoft is a strong contender on this space. Microsoft also gives SDK for Kinect device and many out-of-box projects may come up in near future.

Testing these kind of applications, will bring next level of testing challenges and concepts.

Few links:
XBOX 360 on Wiki

Kinect on Wiki

Accessories on Wiki

XBOX live on Wiki

XBOX Marketplace

XBOX Support

Kinect SDK

Windows Startup error code 0x00000074:BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO

Two weeks back, My laptop was unable to start. I got blue screen and error message as BAD_SYSTEM_CONFIG_INFO and error code as 0x00000074

I thought it might be due to Hard disk crash or some other internal issues. But actually these issues were due to some software updates either Windows or Anti-Virus. I used System Restore option to correct this issue. Microsoft has given few more options to recover on Windows 7. You can go through the following links.

What are the system recovery options in Windows 7?
Choosing an advanced recovery method
Startup Repair: frequently asked questions


Hope it may help to few others too!!!

New Microsoft Logo

After 25 years, Microsoft company logo was evolved. For more info, read this post ==> Jeff Hansen’s Microsoft blog - Microsoft Unveils a New Look

Windows 8 Release

Microsoft has released Windows 8 OS. It has many features and new UI style. Check following links for more details..
Windows Team blog
Windows 8 on Wikipedia

Team Foundation Server

Recently I had a chance to use Team Foundation Server (TFS). It is a great ALM tool and having many workflows, templates and reports. Microsoft has integrated with many tools and developed many utilities around for various purposes. Attempted to list down the major workflows and integrated tools.

Major flows / features

• Requirements Tracking
• Project Status Reporting
• Burn down chart/Effort tracking
• Source control
• Defect Tracking
• Test case Management
• Test Execution reporting
• Traceability Matrix
• Various Reporting through MS SQL BI features

Integrated tools

• Visual Studio
• Microsoft Project Professional
• Office Tools (Excel, Outlook & Word)
• Microsoft Test Manager
• SharePoint
• MS SQL Server BI features
• CodedUI Integration

Few Links related to TFS
Manage Team Project Collections
Setup automated UI Tests
Process Template modification

Open2test.org Free Automation Frameworks

Open2test.org team has developed many frameworks for different tools like QTP, Selenium, TestPartner, e-Tester, Silktest and OpenScript. Couple of years back, frameworks are available only for QTP & Selenium

Available frameworks

• QTP for Web Framework
• QTP for Windows Framework
• QTP for .NET Framework
• QTP for .NET Syncfusion Framework
• QTP for JAVA Framework
• QTP for SAP Framework
• QTP for Oracle Apps Framework
• QTP for Flex Framework
• QTP for PowerBuilder Framework
• QTP for Mainframe Framework
• Selenium for Web Framework
• Testpartner for Web Framework
• Testpartner for .NET Framework
• e-Tester for Web Framework
• SilkTest for JAVA Framework
• SilkTest for Web Framework
• OpenScript for Web Framework

Robotframework with IronPython (CSharp)

RobotFramework Installation is a tricky task. Also installing for IronPython, is bit risky one. You may end up doing installation 3-4 times.

RobotFramework DotNet Support
How To: Use CSharp with Robot Framework

Robot Framework has given above page for DotNetSupport and Below I have given the instructions for Windows OS..

Tools installation
All RobotFramework related software can be the latest. The other software should be as the same version.

1. Install Python (python-2.6.4.msi). Set installation directory as C:\Python26
2. Install Robot Framework (robotframework-2.6win32.exe)
3. Install Robot Selenium Library (robotframework-seleniumlibrary-2.7.win32.exe)
4. Install Python Widgets (wxPython2.8-win32-unicode-2.8.11.0-py26.exe)
5. Install Robot IDE (robotide-0.31.win32.exe)
6. Install Python Win32 module (pywin32-214.win32-py2.6.exe)
7. Install IronPython (IronPython_262.msi). Set installation directory as C:\IronPython
8. Ensure .NET framework 4 should be available in current system

Environment variables Configuration
To execute RIDE and Pybot, environment variables should set properly.

1. Create a system level environment variable & value as --> PYTHONHOME=C:\Python26
2. Create a system level environment variable & value as --> PYTHONPATH=C:\Python26\Lib;C:\Python26\Scripts;C:\Python26\Lib\site-packages;C:\Python26\Lib\site-packages\SeleniumLibrary;C:\Python26\Lib\site-packages\robotide\;C:\Python26\Lib\site-packages\robot\;C:\Python26\Lib\site-packages\wx-2.8-msw-unicode;
3. Also add to PATH variable --> % PYTHONHOME%;% PYTHONHOME%\Scripts;

For IronPython, environment variables should set properly.

1. Create a system level environment variable & value as --> IRONPYTHONHOME=C:\IronPython
2. Create a system level environment variable & value as --> IRONPYTHONPATH=%IRONPYTHONHOME%\Lib;%IRONPYTHONHOME%\Scripts;%IRONPYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages;%IRONPYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\SeleniumLibrary;%IRONPYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\robotide\;%IRONPYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\robot;

Preparing ipybot.bat
To run with IronPython, you need to create a batch script. Copy below contents into a text editor and save it as ipybot.bat.

@echo off

::  
::  ipybot.bat - for IronPython
::  IRONPYTHONHOME - Env variable set for IronPython home directory
::  PYTHONHOME - Env variable set for CPython home directory
::


::  Copyright 2008-2010 Nokia Siemens Networks Oyj
::
::  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
::  you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
::  You may obtain a copy of the License at
::
::      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
::
::  Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
::  distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
::  WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
::  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
::  limitations under the License.


::
:: pybot.bat -- Python start up script for Robot Framework on Windows
:: 

:: Python executable to use. 
set pythonExec="%IRONPYTHONHOME%\ipy.exe"

:: Path to robot\runner.py
:: set runner="%PYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\robot\runner.py" 
set runner="%IRONPYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\robot\runner.py" 

:: Run Robot on Python interpreter
%pythonExec% %runner% %*

Changes for Robot Framework
RobotFramework is developed by CPython. To support IronPython, we need to do few changes.

1. 1. Copy folders %PYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\SeleniumLibrary;%PYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\robotide\;%PYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages\robot\;
   To
   %IRONPYTHONHOME%\Lib\site-packages
   
2. Need to copy few files from Python installation. Few files should be downloaded over internet and copy into ironpython installation. Few files may not be required to copy for latest Robot framework. Create a following batch file with required files and execute the script to copy all of them.

:: Python Home directory. 
set pythonIns=%PYTHONHOME%
set ironpythonIns=%IRONPYTHONHOME%

:: Files to be copied
:: Copy ipybot.bat from current directory to IronPython installed dir
copy ipybot.bat "%ironpythonIns%\" /y

:: Copy expatbuilder.py from under Python\Lib\xml\dom to IronPython\Lib\xml\dom
copy "%pythonIns%\Lib\xml\dom\expatbuilder.py" "%ironpythonIns%\Lib\xml\dom\" /y

:: Copy expat.py from under Python\Lib\xml\parsers to IronPython\Lib\xml\parsers
copy "%pythonIns%\Lib\xml\parsers\expat.py" "%ironpythonIns%\Lib\xml\parsers\" /y

:: copy fepy/trunk/lib/pyexpat.py from IronPython\Lib 
copy pyexpat.py "%ironpythonIns%\Lib\" /y

:: copy fepy/trunk/lib/unicodedata.py from IronPython\Lib 
copy unicodedata.py "%ironpythonIns%\Lib\" /y

:: Copy ElementTreePath.py from under Python\Lib\xml\etree to IronPython\Lib\xml\parsers
copy "%pythonIns%\Lib\xml\etree\ElementTree.py" "%ironpythonIns%\Lib\xml\etree\" /y

:: Copy a dummy signal.py from current dir 

Steps for 64 Bit OS To enable Robot Framework for 64 bit OS, you should install 64 bit python setup in same directory. Also the command prompt should be invoked through setting ‘Run as a Administrator’ if OS is Vista or Windows 7 version.


Verify the Installation
Open new command prompt and type ‘pybot --version’ and output like --> Robot Framework 2.6.0 (Python 2.6.4 on win32) In Command prompt, type ‘ipy’ and output like ---> IronPython 2.6.2 (2.6.10920.0) on .NET 4.0.30319.1

QTP New Version?

QTP did not release any updates for almost two years. Any guess, whether HP is going to come with any different release altogether or coming up with new tool...

See the release history below...

11.0 - Released in 2010
10.0 - Released in 2009
9.5 - Released in 2008
9.2 - Released in 2007
9.1 - Released in 2007
9.0 - Released in 2006
8.2 - Released in 2005
8.0 - Released in 2004
source: Wikipedia - QuickTest Professional

Robot Framework - TypeKey Library

Implemented a library to simulate keyboard events. It can be used for upload and download operations along with Selenium.

TypeKeyLib - Library

# Author: Palani Selvam
#
# Purpose: Test library to simulate keyboard actions.
#

import time
import sys,os
import win32api, win32con
from win32com.client import Dispatch

from robot.errors import DataError
from robot import utils

__version__ = '0.1' # Developed by Palani

class TypeKeyLib:
ROBOT_LIBRARY_SCOPE = 'GLOBAL'
ROBOT_LIBRARY_VERSION = __version__

def __init__(self):
""" TypeKeyLib Library can be imported with optional arguments
"""
self._result='Init'
# To do

def TypeKeys(self,sKey):
""" TypeKeys - used to simulate keyboard keys. Parameter sKey can be STRING or LIST
For Key representation, see at http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/script56/html/wsmthsendkeys.asp

"""
try:
self._result='TypeKeys method'
shell=Dispatch("WScript.Shell")

stype = type(sKey).__name__
#print 'Given type: ', stype

if (stype == 'list'):
# Execute multiple times
for key1 in sKey:
shell.SendKeys(key1)
time.sleep (0.5)
else:
# Execute only one time
shell.SendKeys (sKey)
time.sleep(1)
#shell=Nothing
self._result='pass'
except:
self._result='fail'
print '*INFO* Exception occurs: ', sys.exc_type , ":", sys.exc_value
raise
finally:
self._result+= ' done'
return self._result

def TypeKeys_Space(self):
""" TypeKeys_Space - used to simulate SPACE.
"""
self.TypeKeys (" ")

NOTE: It will work only with Windows OS...

Robot Framework - Database Libraries

Robot framework already has two database libraries and both are implemented in different lanugauges.
Database Library - Java
Database Library - Python

I have developed two simple database libraries. One is for generic ODBC interface and another one is especially for Oracle. The second one can be used as thin client.
Database Library - ODBC interface

#
# Author: Palani Selvam
#
# NOTE: It is supported all type of Databases, which are having support to ODBC
# For ex, DB2, ORACLE, MS SQL SERVER, Sybase.
#
import pyodbc as DB
from robot.errors import DataError
from robot import utils

__version__ = '0.1' # Developed by Palani - 20101022

class DBLibrary:

ROBOT_LIBRARY_SCOPE = 'GLOBAL'
ROBOT_LIBRARY_VERSION = __version__

def __init__(self):
"""DBLibrary Library can be imported with optional arguments.

"""
self._connection = None
self._default_log_level = 'INFO'
self._bexception = False
#self._prompt = prompt

def make_connection(self, sDsn, sUid=None, sPwd=None):
""" make_connection method is used to create the connection object.
sDsn - DataSource Name
sUid - User Id to access the database
sPwd - Password to access the database
"""
sConn = None
try:
sConn = DB.connect(dsn=sDsn, uid=sUid, pwd=sPwd )

except Exception:
self._bexception = True
print 'Connection for database has failed', Exception
raise
finally:
self._connection = sConn

def execute_sql (self,sSql=None,iRows=None):
""" execute_sql method is used to execute the sql query to the given connection object.
sSql - Query to access the database
iRows - No of rows to be returned.
"""
sOut = None
sCursor = None
sConn = self._connection

if (sConn == None) :
return sOut
else:
try:
sCursor = sConn.cursor()
sCursor.execute(sSql )
# curs.execute("SELECT * FROM EmpTable WHERE SCOPE=3 ")
if (iRows <> None) :
iRows = int (iRows)
sOut = sCursor.fetchmany (iRows)
else :
sOut = sCursor.fetchall ()

except Exception:
self._bexception = True
print 'Query execution is failed. ', Exception
raise
finally:
if (sCursor <> None):
sCursor.close ()
return sOut

def execute_for_one_row (self,sSql=None):
""" execute_for_one_row method is used to execute the sql query and returns only first row.
sSql - Query to access the database
"""
sOut = None
sCursor = None
sConn = self._connection

if (sConn == None) :
return sOut
else:
try:
sCursor = sConn.cursor()
sCursor.execute(sSql )
rows = sCursor.fetchone ()
for sOut in rows:
break

except Exception:
self._bexception = True
print 'Query execution is failed. ', Exception
raise
finally:
if (sCursor <> None):
sCursor.close ()
return sOut

def disconnect_from_database (self,sConn=None):
""" disconnect_from_database method is used to disconnect from the given connection object.
sConn - Connected Object, which is got through make_connection method.
"""
if (sConn <> None):
sConn.close ()
else:
self._connection.close ()

Database Library - Oracle

#
# Author: Palani Selvam
#
#
# NOTE: It is supported only ORACLE Databases
# DSN is not required.
#
import cx_Oracle as DB
from robot.errors import DataError
from robot import utils

__version__ = '0.1' # Developed by Palani

class ORADBLibrary:

ROBOT_LIBRARY_SCOPE = 'GLOBAL'
ROBOT_LIBRARY_VERSION = __version__

def __init__(self):
"""DBLibrary Library can be imported with optional arguments.

"""
self._connection = None
self._default_log_level = 'INFO'
self._bexception = False
#self._prompt = prompt

def ora_make_connection(self, sConnString):
""" make_connection method is used to create the connection object.
sConnString - Connection String

Example:
'sqluser/welcome@127.0.0.1/orcl'
"""
sConn = None
try:
sConn = DB.connect(sConnString )

except Exception:
self._bexception = True
print 'Connection for database has failed', Exception, sConnString
raise
finally:
self._connection = sConn

def ora_execute_sql (self,sSql=None,iRows=None):
""" execute_sql method is used to execute the sql query to the given connection object.
sSql - Query to access the database
iRows - No of rows to be returned.
"""
sOut = None
sCursor = None
sConn = self._connection

if (sConn == None) :
return sOut
else:
try:
sCursor = sConn.cursor()
sCursor.execute(sSql )
# curs.execute("SELECT * FROM EMP_Table WHERE SCOPE=3 ")
if (iRows <> None) :
iRows = int (iRows)
sOut = sCursor.fetchmany (iRows)
else :
sOut = sCursor.fetchall ()

except Exception:
self._bexception = True
print 'Query execution is failed. ', Exception
raise
finally:
if (sCursor <> None):
sCursor.close ()
return sOut

def ora_execute_for_one_row (self,sSql=None):
""" execute_for_one_row method is used to execute the sql query and returns only first row.
sSql - Query to access the database
"""
sOut = None
sCursor = None
sConn = self._connection

if (sConn == None) :
return sOut
else:
try:
sCursor = sConn.cursor()
sCursor.execute(sSql )
rows = sCursor.fetchone ()
for sOut in rows:
break

except Exception:
self._bexception = True
print 'Query execution is failed. ', Exception
raise
finally:
if (sCursor <> None):
sCursor.close ()
return sOut

def ora_disconnect_from_database (self,sConn=None):
""" disconnect_from_database method is used to disconnect from the given connection object.
sConn - Connected Object, which is got through make_connection method.
"""
if (sConn <> None):
sConn.close ()
else:
self._connection.close ()

Like above, we can extend Robot Framework easily...

RobotFramework Standards

RobotFramework team has given guidelines --> HowToWriteGoodTestCasesWithExamples. Similar to coding standards, Automation team should use certain guidelines for Keyword-Driven framework also. It would be more useful to functional team as well as other teams.

Test Suite / Script

• Test Script names should be less than 20 characters and file type should be HTML.
• It should be easily readable and self-explanatory.
• Remember that suite names are created automatically from file/directory names. Extensions are stripped, underscores are converted to spaces and, if name is all lower case, words are capitalized. For example login_tests.html -> Login Tests and DHCP_and_DNS -> DHCP and DNS.
• Documentation should be updated with purpose of the script and pre-conditions.
• Proper keywords should be given for Suite Setup, Suite Teardown, Test Setup and Test Teardown.
• Should not have too many tests (max 50) in one suite unless they are data-driven.

TestCases / Tests

• Test case names should be less than 40 characters and file type should be HTML.
• Test case Name should be in camel case (In a word, First letter is capital and remaining letters are in small).
• It should be easily readable and self explanatory.
• Documentation should be updated with manual test case steps, notes and pre-conditions.
• Proper keywords should be given for Suite Setup, Suite Teardown, Test Setup and Test Teardown.
• Appropriate tags should be given for each case.
• Tests should be independent.
• In dependant tests, detailed notes should be given. Consider verifying the status of the previous test using ${PREV TEST STATUS} variable.
• Hard coding of object name should be avoided.
• Should contain many high level keywords instead of repeating steps often.
• High level keywords should be used for navigation.
• Local variables should have prefix char ‘t’ as temporary variables

Resources

• Keep all resource files in single folder.
• Resource file names should be less than 20 characters and file type should be HTML.
• All characters should be small characters.
• Documentation should be updated with purpose.
• All constants should be maintained in separate resource file.
• Keep separate resource files for application’s data.
• Keep separate resource files for all GUI objects page wise or module-wise.
• Group the high level keywords by categories like business logic, module and general.

High Level Keyword / User Keyword / Function

• Function names should be less than 35 characters.
• It should be easily readable and self explanatory.
• For easy readability, it should be in camel case (Capital & Small letters).
• Prefixes are sometimes useful. For example, Is - to ask a question about something, Get - get a value, Set - set a value
• Can have space for better readability.
• Documentation should have clear details for purpose, variables and returning values.
• Hard coding of object name should be avoided.
• Arguments should have char ‘p’ as prefix and returned variable should have char ‘r’ as prefix.
• Local variables should have prefix char ‘t’ as temporary variables
• Duplicate Functions should not be added.
• Can contain some programming logic (for loops, if/else)
• Complex logic in libraries rather than in user keywords
• Important variables can have comments on the RHS

Variables

• Variable names should be less than 20 characters.
• Variables should have meaningful words
• For easy readability, it should be in camel case (Capital & Small letters).
• Local variables should have prefix char ‘t’ as temporary variables
• Arguments should have char ‘p’ as prefix and returned variable should have char ‘r’ as prefix.
• GUI object variables should have char ‘o’ as prefix.
• Constant variables should be in Capital letters. For example, APP_URL, DB_SERVER. All other type of variables should have mixed style (small and capital) characters.
• Script/Global variables should be defined at the top of the script.
• Function / test case level variables should be defined at top of the function.
• Can have space. But try to restrict for minimum

Performance Testing Guidance from Microsoft

I always admire Microsoft for its documentation. Right from OS to Office applications, you can find good documentation. Microsoft has shared very good articles for performance testing and tuning.

You can find more articles related to Performance testing available from
Patterns & Practices: Performance Testing Guidance . Just listed only How-TOs part. Thanks to Microsoft!!!

Performance Testing

• How To: Conduct Performance Testing Core Steps for a Web Application
• How To: Determine Performance Testing Objectives
• How To: Conduct Performance Testing
• How To: Conduct Performance Testing with Automated Load Testing Tools
• How To: Manage The Performance Test Cycle_Agile
• How To: Manage The Performance Test Cycle_CMMI
• How To: Consolidate Various Types of Performance Acceptance Criteria
• How To: Coordinate Performance Testing With an Iteration Base Process
• How To: Evaluate Systems to Improve Performance Testing Effectiveness
• How To: Quantify End-User Response Time Goals
• Explained: Types of Performance Testing
• Explained: Key Mathematic Principles for Performance Testers

Capacity

• How To: Capacity Plan for Web Applications Using Transaction Cost Analysis
• How To: Capacity Plan for Web Applications Using Predictive Analysis

Load Testing

• How To: Load Test Web Applications
• How To: Step Through Creating a Load Test in Visual Studio Team System
• How To: Load Test Web Applications Using Visual Studio Team System
• How To: Use Data Binding in Load Tests in Microsoft Visual Studio Team System

Stress Testing

• How To: Stress Test Web Applications

Test Cases/Scripting

• How To: Control the Number of Load Test Iterations in Visual Studio Team System
• How To: Create a Load Test Plug-In using Visual Studio Team System
• How To: Correlate Dynamic Data in a Load Test Transaction
• How To: Programmatically Set Think Time Between Test Iterations in Visual Studio Team System

Troubleshooting

• How To: Identify Functions Causing High CPU
• How To: Identify a Disk Performance Bottleneck Using SPA

Tuning

• How To: Tune Performance of Web Applications

Workload Modeling

• How To: Use IIS Log Files In Performance Testing
• How To: Model the Workload for Web Applications
• How To: Model the User Experience from Web Server Logs
• How To: Model User Delays and Think Times
• How To: Account for User Abandonment
• How To: Model Application Usage without Empirical Data
• How To: Model an Application Usage

Hope all these links would be useful..

JVM Monitoring

Couple of our applications are using Tomcat server. JMeter was used as load testing tool. To monitor Java memory, I used two options. One is JMX(Java Management Extensions) console and Psi-Probe.

To implement those options, you should add following entries into catalina.sh

set CATALINA_OPTS=-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote \
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.port=9005 \
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.ssl=false \
-Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote.authenticate=false

To access JMX console,Enter command ==> [java_installation]\bin\jconsole hostname:port
To use Probe, you need to deploy in tomcat server instance and then access the probe application.