Testing Oracle Forms - Overview

Supported Oracle Forms Versions

Requirements for Testing Oracle Forms

Creating and Recording Tests for Oracle Forms

About Oracle Forms Identification and Name Mapping

About Support for Oracle Forms Controls

Viewing Object Properties, Fields and Methods

You can test applets created with the following versions of Oracle Forms:

• Oracle Forms 12c

• Oracle Forms 11g

You can also test Oracle Forms-based applications included in Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) 12.1 and 12.2.

You can test applets that run —

• On a web page,

• Out-of-browser, by using Java Web Start.

• A license for the TestComplete Desktop module.

• The Oracle Forms Control Support plugin.

  This plugin is installed and enabled automatically.

To learn more about the requirements TestComplete must meet to test Oracle Forms, and how to prepare your testing environment for testing, see Requirements for Testing Oracle Forms.

You can record and play back user actions on forms, or you can create tests manually from scratch.

When you record a test, you interact with the tested form as an end user would: populate form fields, click buttons and so on. TestComplete captures all the actions you are performing and adds them to your test.

A test consists of a sequence of operations that define various interactions with objects on the tested form. For example, in the sample test below you can see that item selection from a pop list is represented by the ClickItem operation, clicking a button - by the ClickButton operation, and so on:

Sample keyword test recorded against an Oracle Forms applet

def Test(): 
  app = Aliases.jp2launcher
  formDesktopContainer = app.frame0.Main0.MDIContainer.FormDesktopContainer
  ewtContainer = formDesktopContainer.EwtContainer
  
  ewtContainer.VTextField0.Click(29, 10)
  ewtContainer.VTextField0.Keys('tester')
  ewtContainer.VTextField1.Click(15, 8)
  ewtContainer.VTextField1.Keys('password')
  ewtContainer.VTextField2.Click(22, 10)
  ewtContainer.VTextField2.Keys('test-db')
  ewtContainer.ButtonBar1.ClickItem('Connect')
    
  drawnPanel = formDesktopContainer.ExtendedFrame.DrawnPanel
  drawnPanel.VPopList0.Click(23, 13)
  drawnPanel.VButton0.Click(69, 10)

You can modify and enhance the recorded test in a number of ways to create more flexible and efficient tests. For example, you can:

• Add new operations, reorder operations and modify their parameters.

• Delete or disable unneeded operations (for example, superfluous operations).

• Insert checkpoints for verifying objects and values in the tested application.

• Create data-driven tests that run multiple test iterations using different sets of data.

Refer to the following topics to learn more about creating and enhancing tests:

Each object in Oracle Forms has a number of properties, such as its location, text, type and so on. Some object properties are persistent and unchanging. TestComplete uses them to locate objects in applications and differentiate them among other objects.

When you record a test, TestComplete captures all the controls you interacted with during the recording session and adds them to the Name Mapping project item (also known as the object repository or GUI map). For each captured object, TestComplete does the following:

• Selects a set of properties and values that uniquely identify the object and saves them to the Name Mapping repository as the object’s identification criteria. TestComplete will use these properties for locating the object during subsequent test recording, editing and run sessions.

• Generates an alias (name) that it will use to refer to this object in tests. By default, TestComplete generates aliases based on object names that the application developers defined in the application's source code.

The following image shows sample Name Mapping for Oracle Forms controls:

Here, the VPopList object is identified by using the AWTComponentName property. The property holds the object name as the application developers defined it in the application’s source code.

You can also use other properties to locate objects in Oracle Forms, for example, their class name, text, and so on - whatever identifies the needed object best.

If needed, you can modify the default Name Mapping generated by TestComplete. For example, you can:

• Change the identification properties and values to define more robust identification criteria or to reflect major GUI changes in newer versions of the tested application.

• Rename aliases to more meaningful and descriptive aliases, so that it is easier for you to understand which object is which.

• Manually add new objects to Name Mapping.

For more information, see Name Mapping.

Keep in mind that the object hierarchy in Name Mapping mirrors the object hierarchy in the tested application. When locating an object, TestComplete takes into account its entire parent hierarchy. If TestComplete cannot find any object in the parent hierarchy using the specified property values, it cannot find the target object as well. That is why it is important to select unique and unchanging properties for object identification.

TestComplete recognizes individual controls of Oracle Forms. You can interact with them both at design time and during test recording and playback. TestComplete also provides extended support for a number of Oracle Forms controls. You use program objects that TestComplete provides for the controls, their methods and properties to automate user actions on the controls, get their state and so on. To learn more, see Support for Oracle Forms Controls.

You can also automate Oracle Forms controls by calling their native properties and methods (these are the same properties and methods that are available to the application developers). See Accessing Native Methods of Oracle Forms.

To see what operations (methods) are available to objects in your tested Oracle Forms applet, as well as the object properties, fields and their values, you can use the Object Browser or Object Spy. The available properties and methods include those provided by TestComplete, as well as native object fields and methods defined by the developers in the application’s source code.

You can view object properties, fields and methods both at design time and at runtime when the test is paused.

For more information on using the Object Browser, see Object Browser and Exploring Applications.