Quality Testing With QTP & Loadrunner

Adding custom methods to an object

2015-05-06T16:05:00.002+03:00

During an automation project, generally you work on same web application. And during this project you see that making a procedure is same on all of the test cases (like ensuring the synchronization of a web page). You can make use of shared function library to develop faster/easier/maintainable test scripts (Also you can check Extensibility plugin).

Adding custom methods to an object may be one of these. For example during the synchronization of the web page we want to make sure that the Browser object is activated. To accomplish this I've added a method named "Activate" to the "Browser" object.

The first thing to do is write a generic method that activates the browser:

'Activates the Browser and moves the mouse on the Browser's Page object
Function BrowserActivate(Object)
    Dim hWnd
    Reporter.Filter = rfDisableAll
    On Error Resume Next
     If Environment.Value("Browser")="Chrome" Then
      hWnd = Window("nativeclass:=Chrome_WidgetWin_1","regexpwndtitle:= Google Chrome").getroproperty("hwnd")
     Else
      hWnd = Object.GetROProperty("hwnd")
     End If
        Window("hwnd:=" & hWnd).Activate 
        If Err.Number <> 0 Then
            Window("hwnd:=" & Browser("hwnd:=" & hWnd).Object.hWnd).Activate
            Err.Clear
        End If
    Err.Clear
    On Error Goto 0
    
    ''>>>This part is not mandotary, to move the mouse on a blank part of the page you can uncomment this part
 'Set obj=CreateObject("Mercury.DeviceReplay")
    'If Environment.Value("Browser")="Chrome" Then
    ' obj.MouseMove Window("hwnd:=" & hWnd).GetROProperty("abs_x") + 10, Window("hwnd:=" & hWnd).GetROProperty("abs_y") + 75
    'Else
 ' obj.MouseMove Browser("hwnd:=" & hWnd).Page("index:=0").GetROProperty("abs_x") + 5, Browser("hwnd:=" & hWnd).Page("index:=0").GetROProperty("abs_y") + 5
 'End If
    Reporter.Filter = rfEnableAll
End Function

Second (just after the function declaration) we are registering this method to the Browser object.

'Register the BrowserActivate Function as a method of the Browser object
RegisterUserFunc "Browser", "Activate", "BrowserActivate"
'Now the Browser object has Activate method

Now you can use the Activate method of the Browser object.

Making external webservice call in C# rule

2015-02-26T18:08:00.001+02:00

In a C# rule, you can also make external web service call. Before doing this first we have to make some configuration settings (like security and adding reference). If the security configuration is left as default you probably are going to get "System.Security.SecurityException: Request for the permission of type 'System.Net.WebPermission'" error.
Security configuration for making external web service call.

SV Server Side:
Add the following line into the file: C:\Program Files\HP\HP Service Virtualization Server\Server\bin\HP.SV.StandaloneServer.exe.config and restart SV Server.


<add key="Simulator.Scripting.Sandbox" value="false"/>

If this line exists with true value, change it to false.

SV Designer Side:
AFAIK Nothing needed for the designer.

By using following code template you can make external web service call from your C# rule.
Since this code template uses System.Xml namespace you have to follow these steps before running following code.

using System;
using System.Net;
using System.IO;
using System.Xml;
using HP.SV.DotNetRuleApi;
using HP.SV.CSharp; 

namespace HP.SV{
 public class CSharpRule{
  public static void Execute(HpsvRootObject hpsv){
    string host = "<<<YourExternalHost>>>";
    string xml = "<?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"ISO-8859-9\"?><XML>Your xml request goes here</XML>";
    string url = "http://"+host+"/EndpointURL";

    System.Net.HttpWebRequest request = (System.Net.HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create(url);
    byte[] requestBytes = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(xml);
    request.Method = "POST";
    request.ContentType = "text/xml;charset=utf-8";
    request.ContentLength = requestBytes.Length;
    Stream requestStream = request.GetRequestStream();
    requestStream.Write(requestBytes, 0, requestBytes.Length);
    requestStream.Close();
    HttpWebResponse response = request.GetResponse() as HttpWebResponse;
    XmlDocument xmlDoc = new XmlDocument();
    xmlDoc.Load(response.GetResponseStream());
    
    XmlNamespaceManager nsmgr = new XmlNamespaceManager(xmlDoc.NameTable);
    nsmgr.AddNamespace("ns", "You can add namespaces if exists");
 
    string out_version = "1.0";
    string out_returnCode = xmlDoc.SelectSingleNode("/XPATH/For/ReturnCode", nsmgr).InnerText;
    string out_detailCode = xmlDoc.SelectSingleNode("/XPATH/For/DetailCode", nsmgr).InnerText;
    string out_tid = xmlDoc.SelectSingleNode("/XPATH/For/TID", nsmgr).InnerText;
  }
 }
}

Adding .Net Reference

2015-02-25T18:09:00.003+02:00

You can write complicated C# codes in SV Designer. By default only System and System.Code references can be used while wirting your C# methods. Since you are mostly working with XML objects you are going to have to use System.Xml.XmlDocument reference.

When you add using System.Xml; line at the top of your code you are going to get "Xml does not exist in the namespace 'System'" error.

To resolve this error SV has to include System.Xml reference. Making this is pretty easy:

For the SV Designer:
Go to directory [SVDesignerInstallationPath]\HP Service Virtualization Designer\Designer\bin\Config and change following lines of scripted-rule-context.xml file
<property name="ReferenceAssemblies" value="System,System.Core" />
to
<property name="ReferenceAssemblies" value="System,System.Core,System.Xml" />

For the SV Server:
Go to directory [SVDesignerInstallationPath]\HP Service Virtualization Server\Server\bin\Config and change following lines of scripted-rule-context.xml file
<property name="ReferenceAssemblies" value="System,System.Core" />
to
<property name="ReferenceAssemblies" value="System,System.Core,System.Xml" />

And restart the SV Server.

Enabling scripted rules

2015-02-25T17:47:00.001+02:00

Because of heavy business schedule I wasn't able to submit new posts. Meanwhile I was mostly working on UFT and HP's Service Virtualization (SV). After the business hours it would be better for me to write some posts before forgetting what I learned. I am going to describe how to enable scripted rules in SV.

For some of the web services that needed to be virtualised, sometimes default rules and default functions may not be enough to implement desired output. For this reason there are scripted rules that you can do by programmatically for those you weren't able to implement by default functions. First you have to enable scripted rules funcionality from the SV Designer.

Open the SV Designer and click Tools->Options. Then select the Labs section and click the "Enable Scripted rule" checkbox that is in the Scripting section. By doing this you can write Javascript (and C#) codes in your rules.

HP tells that this feature is in experimental phase, but according to my experience it works pretty smooth. In version 3.61 we were able to write javascript codes but that was insufficient in some cases. But with the version 3.62 now we are able to write C# code and it is very powerful and stable.

When you enable the scripted rule feature you can create a scripted rule for a data model (as below screenshot). You can either create a javascript rule and C# rule (or both if you want).

Next, I am going to describe adding .Net referance to your C# rule.

Upgrading QC 11 to ALM 12.01

2014-09-07T16:45:00.004+03:00

According to some QC admins upgrading and migrating to ALM may be very complicated. I am going to describe how we made this process in less than 3 hours for a project that is bigger than 40GB without any problem. No DBA needed for this operation :) Following the described procedures on this page is at your own risk! Do not blame me if something goes wrong :)

Step 1: We installed brand new Oracle DB server on Linux and new Windows App Server for the ALM for the new production environment. Also we needed an extra temporary Windows application server that is same version as existing QC11 App Server. This temporary server is not mandotary, this is just to make this process much safer.

Step 2: Install QC11 application on the temporary application server that mentioned in Step 1. You can use out of box 30 days evaluation free licenses. No extra license needed for this process. Installing same patches on current production enviroment to this temporary server is suggested. The DB server for this temporary application server is going to be your new production server's DB as shown in the following screenshot.

Step 3: Open your current production environement's Siteadmin and Disable the project you want to upgrade and migrate from the Site Projects tab. In the Site Projects tab select Project Details tab and take note the Project Directory property. Verifying and Repairing the project from the Maintain Project menu suggested.

Step 4: On the current production QC server open the project directory path and then open the ProjRep folder in that directory. You'll see "000" folder there. Cut-Paste this folder to somewhere else in the same drive (C:\TempALM_Rep\MyProj1).

Step 5: From the current production environment's Siteadmin panel right click on the project and select Export Project option. Cut-Paste operation in Step 4 is going to decrease the time needed to export project. This process can take upto 1 hours according to your project's size. When the export operation finishes Cut-Paste the "000" folder to it's original location. The project should be still deactivated.

Step 6: Open you temporary QC Server's Siteadmin panel. Go to Site Projects tab and select Create Project. Select "Create a project by importing data from exported project" option. Do not forget that you are importing the project to your new production DB server now. This import process can take upto 1,5 hours according to your project's size.

Step 7: From the temporary QC Server's Siteadmin right click on the imported project and select Remove Project option. This will remove the project from the PROJECTS table, not going to drop the project's DB Schema.

Step 8: You can start copying repository folder's "000" directory from the existing production application server to new ALM application server's drive (to a temporary folder).

Step 9: Open the ALM App Server's repository path. There should be LAB_PROJECT directory (if not you can create an empty project). Drill-down the LAB_PROJECT's repository folder, you are going to see "dbid.xml" file. In this file you can see you DB User's hashed password between the DB_USER_PASS tags. Write down this value to somewhere.

Step 10: From the temporary QC server Copy the project repository folder to new ALM Server's repository path. After the temporary project's repository copied drilldown to repository and you'll see "ProjRep" folder. Copy and overwrite the "000" directory inside ProjRep folder that you copied before on Step 8.

Step 11:
a) Open the dbid.xml file on the ALM Server and check the DB_USER_PASS value. It should be same as the value that you checked on Step 9. If not change that value to same value as Step 9.

b) Check PHYSICAL_DIRECTORY value. It should be the path that you copied the repository to.

Step 12: From the new ALM Server's Siteadmin panel select Restore Project. Select DBID.XML file and follow the instructions. This process shouldn't take more than 1 minutes.

Step 13: After the restore project finishes, you should see the project in the Site Project's tab. Right click on the project and select Maintain Project -> Upgrade Project. This step may take upto 2-3 minutes.

You can activate the project now from the new ALM server's siteadmin panel.

Changing proxy configuration automatically

2014-06-16T14:19:00.001+03:00

For our automation scripts we are testing various type of applications. Some of these applications needs proxy configuration to access the application page while for some of them proxy mustn't be configured.
To solve this we use a function named "initAutomation" that takes application name as a parameter. This function is being called at the beginning of the test script and checks the application name and then decides to configure proxy settings before the execution.

Following piece of code accomplishes this functionality.

Function getVal(p_key)
  v_retVal = "N/A"
  Select Case p_key
    Case "AutoConfigURL" v_retVal = "http://<<<autoconfigURL>>>"
    Case "QCDBNAME" v_retVal = "QCTEST"
  End Select
  getVal = v_retVal
End Function

Function initAutomation(p_appName)
  If p_appName="APP1" OR p_appName="APP2" Then
    SystemUtil.Run "cmd.exe", "/D /C reg delete ""HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings"" /v AutoConfigURL /f"
  Else
    SystemUtil.Run "cmd.exe", "/D /C reg add ""HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings"" /v AutoConfigURL /t REG_SZ /d """ & getVal("AutoConfigURL")  & """ /f"
  End If
End Function

Disabling Smart Identification

2014-06-16T13:24:00.002+03:00

Sometimes the "Smart Identification" functionality may become a pain for the automation scripts especially if you have dozens of test scripts. I prefer not to use this functionality because of slow identification and sometimes QTP mis-identifies the objects. For me it is better to get an "Object not found" error instead of waiting for the smart identification to find correctly desired object.
As far as i know there are 2 ways to disable smart identification from the QTP menus.

From the object repository. You can disable it by selecting for desired objects.
From the File -> Settings -> Run menu. You can disable it for all objects.

For a testset that contains dozen of automation scripts disabling smart identification may consume lots of time to configure in either two ways. The third and the best way for me is disabling it by programmatically. All my automation test scripts call a function named "initAutomation" function at the very beginning of the scripts. This function is defined in the shared function library that is also linked with the test scripts. Within this function i am preparing the environment for automation to run. For instance you may change some registiry records (for proxy configuration), prepare test parameters, close opened applications, etc...

Adding following lines into that function disables smart identification for all automation scripts.

Set qtApp = CreateObject("QuickTest.Application")
qtApp.Test.Settings.Run.OnError = "Stop"
qtApp.Test.Settings.Run.DisableSmartIdentification = True
Set qtApp = Nothing

Exporting QC Projects bigger than 4GB

2013-06-20T15:32:00.000+03:00

Exporting projects those are bigger than 4GB from siteadmin is a known limitation of QC 11.00. Fixing this limitation is being traced under enhancement request: QCCR1J17611. Until HP publishes a fix for this limitation you can use following steps for exporting big QC projects. I've described here how to restore these backups.

First of all we need to reduce the project size. You can add following lines in this script just before exporting the project. Caution: Be carefull while moving the repository files the project must be deactivated. Otherwise smart repository builder job will link the rep files to invalid objects.

''''''''''Temporary move the repository file

Set fso = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

fso.MoveFolder v_repDirectory & "\000", v_tempPath & v_date & "_" & v_project

'''''''''

sa.ExportProject v_domain, v_project, v_fileName

This piece of code is going to cut and paste the repository folder to temporary folder. After export process finishes put back the rep folder to it's original directory. Do not activate the project until you put back the repository folder to it's original location. Otherwise smart repositoy orginizer job will start to work and going to update the smart_repository_logical_file and smart_repository_physical_file tables. It will be safe to check the SMART_REPOSITORY_LOGICAL_FILE and SMART_REPOSITORY_PHYSICAL_FILE table data still shows the correct files.
'''''''''Move back the repository file to its original place

fso.MoveFolder v_tempPath & v_date & "_" & v_project, v_repDirectory & "\000"

''''''''

sa.ActivateProject v_domain, v_project

Of course you've to define v_tempPath (whereever you have available on network or on disk) and v_repDirectory (the repository path of the project) in the beginning of the script.

You can get the repository folder backup with the following batch commands. I am assuming you are using 7-zip command line version.

set hr=%time:~0,2%
if "%hr:~0,1%" equ " " set hr=0%hr:~1,1%
7za.exe a -t7z YourProjectName_%date:~-4,4%%date:~-10,2%%date:~-7,2%_%hr%%time:~3,2%%time:~6,2%.7z YourRepositoryDirectory\YourProjectName\ProjRep

Getting defect time report for status change actions

2013-06-04T17:12:00.001+03:00

In the analysis module of the QC there are bunch of report types that you can measure what is going on about the defects for your project. But some reports are missing. I'll describe one of the most important one.
If you want to see how much time spent for fixing a defect you have to check it's history section from the GUI. There is no way - at least i couldn't find - for taking this information from the predefined reports for all (or a group of) defects. Here is the SQL for how many hours passed for changing a defect's status (Closed and Rejected&Closed statuses are assumed to be final statuses for a defect). You can use these SQLs in the Analysis section by creating Excel Report or you may want to use them directly as a SQL statement via TOAD or you can embed them in an excel sheet.

SELECT TO_NUMBER(AAA.BUG_ID) ID,
       AAA.AU_TIME STARTDT,
       BBB.AU_TIME ENDDT,
       ROUND(((BBB.AU_TIME - AAA.AU_TIME) * 24),2) TIME_ELAPSED_HOURS,
       BBB.AP_OLD_VALUE || '>' || BBB.AP_NEW_VALUE ACTION,
       TO_CHAR(CCC.BG_DETECTION_DATE, 'yyyy-mm') TERM,
       CCC.BG_SEVERITY
FROM   (SELECT ROWNUM ROW_ID, AA.*
        FROM   (SELECT A.AU_ENTITY_ID BUG_ID,
                       A.AU_TIME,
                       B.AP_OLD_VALUE,
                       B.AP_NEW_VALUE
                FROM   <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_LOG A,
                       <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_PROPERTIES B
                WHERE  A.AU_ACTION_ID = B.AP_ACTION_ID AND
                       A.AU_ENTITY_TYPE = 'BUG' AND
                       B.AP_FIELD_NAME = 'BG_STATUS'
                ORDER BY A.AU_ENTITY_ID, A.AU_TIME) AA) AAA,
       (SELECT ROWNUM ROW_ID, AA.*
        FROM   (SELECT A.AU_ENTITY_ID BUG_ID,
                       A.AU_TIME,
                       B.AP_OLD_VALUE,
                       B.AP_NEW_VALUE
                FROM   <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_LOG A,
                       <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_PROPERTIES B
                WHERE  A.AU_ACTION_ID = B.AP_ACTION_ID AND
                       A.AU_ENTITY_TYPE = 'BUG' AND
                       B.AP_FIELD_NAME = 'BG_STATUS'
                ORDER BY A.AU_ENTITY_ID, A.AU_TIME) AA) BBB,
       <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.BUG CCC
WHERE  AAA.BUG_ID = BBB.BUG_ID AND
       (AAA.ROW_ID + 1) = BBB.ROW_ID AND
       CCC.BG_BUG_ID = BBB.BUG_ID
UNION ALL
SELECT TO_NUMBER(CC.BG_BUG_ID) ID,
       DD.AU_TIME STARTDT,
       SYSDATE ENDDT,
       ROUND(((SYSDATE - DD.AU_TIME) * 24), 2) TIME_ELAPSED_HOURS,
       CONCAT('>', CC.BG_STATUS) ACTION,
       TO_CHAR(CC.BG_DETECTION_DATE, 'yyyy-mm') TERM,
       CC.BG_SEVERITY
FROM <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_PROPERTIES BB,
       (SELECT MAX(AU_ACTION_ID) AU_ACTION_ID, BUG_ID
        FROM   (SELECT A.AU_ENTITY_ID BUG_ID,
                       A.AU_ACTION,
                       A.AU_ACTION_ID,
                       A.AU_TIME,
                       B.AP_OLD_VALUE,
                       B.AP_NEW_VALUE
                FROM <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_LOG A,
                       <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_PROPERTIES B
                WHERE  A.AU_ACTION_ID = B.AP_ACTION_ID AND
                       A.AU_ENTITY_TYPE = 'BUG' AND
                       B.AP_FIELD_NAME = 'BG_STATUS'
                ORDER BY A.AU_ENTITY_ID, A.AU_TIME)
        GROUP BY BUG_ID) AA,
       <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.BUG CC,
       <<<YOUR_PROJECT_SCHEMA>>>.AUDIT_LOG DD
WHERE  AA.AU_ACTION_ID = BB.AP_ACTION_ID AND
       AA.BUG_ID = CC.BG_BUG_ID AND
       CC.BG_STATUS NOT IN ('Closed', 'Rejected&Closed') AND
       DD.AU_ACTION_ID = AA.AU_ACTION_ID AND
       DD.AU_ENTITY_TYPE = 'BUG' AND
       BB.AP_FIELD_NAME = 'BG_STATUS'

This SQL will output the status change actions for all defects for the action that is shown in the ACTION column. For example if the ACTION column is New>Open this means TIME_ELAPSED_HOURS column shows how many hours passed until the corresponding defect status changed to "Open" from "New".
It is a good idea to create a View by using this SQL.

To get overall report and transpose from this SQL you can use following statement:

SELECT ID AS BUG_ID,
   SUM("New>Open") "New>Open",
   SUM("Open>Fixed") "Open>Fixed",
   SUM("Open>Rejected") "Open>Rejected",
   SUM("Fixed>Closed") "Fixed>Closed",
   SUM("Rejected>Rejecte&Closed") "Rejected>Rejecte&Closed"
FROM (SELECT ID,
 NVL(DECODE(action, 'New>Open', time_elapsed_hours), 0)
     "New>Open",
 NVL(DECODE(action, 'Open>Fixed', time_elapsed_hours), 0)
     "Open>Fixed",
 NVL(DECODE(action, 'Open>Rejected', time_elapsed_hours), 0)
     "Open>Rejected",
 NVL(DECODE(action, 'Fixed>Closed', time_elapsed_hours), 0)
     "Fixed>Closed",
 NVL(DECODE(action, 'Rejected>Rejected&Closed', time_elapsed_hours), 0)
     "Rejected>Rejected&Closed"
        FROM (SELECT ID,
                 SUM(time_elapsed_hours) time_elapsed_hours,
                 action,
                 term,
                 bg_severity
              FROM   (SELECT * FROM <<<MY_VIEW_CREATED_FROM_ABOVE_SQL>>>) 
                GROUP BY ID, action, term, bg_severity))
GROUP BY ID ORDER BY ID

QTP Integration with Oracle DB

2013-01-30T00:10:00.000+02:00

You can connect to Oracle database and execute SQL statements by following steps:

Oracle client has to be installed on QTP (or UFT) host.
Assuming the tnsnames.ora file contains the desired database information.

Using following two functions can help you to execute SQL queries.

Function executeQuery(p_db, p_sql)
 Reporter.ReportEvent micPass, "executeQuery", "The SQL query: '" &p_sql & "' is going to be executed on: '" & p_db & "'."
 If getVal(p_db)="N/A" Then
  Reporter.ReportEvent micFail,"executeQuery","DB connection information is not available."
  executeQuery = -1
  ExitAction
 End If
 
 Set localConn = CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
 Set localRs = CreateObject("ADODB.Recordset")
 Set localErr = CreateObject("ADODB.Error")

 On Error Resume Next
 localConn.open getVal(p_db)
 
 Global_DBErr = ""
 For Each localErr In localConn.Errors
  if Err.Number<>0 then
   Global_DBErr = Global_DBErr & Err.Number & vbCr &  " " & Err.Description
   Reporter.ReportEvent micFail,"Step 1","DB connection failed: " & Global_DBErr
   ExitAction
  end if
 Next
 
 On Error Resume Next
 localRs.open p_sql, localConn
 
 For Each Local_Err In localConn.Errors
  if Err.Number<>0 then
   Global_DBErr = Global_DBErr & Err.Number & vbCr &  " " & Err.Description
   Reporter.ReportEvent micFail,"Step 1","SQL Execution Failed: " & Global_DBErr
   ExitAction
  End if
 Next
 
 if localRs.eof then
  v_retVal = -1
 else  
  v_retVal = localRs(0).value
 end if

 set localConn = Nothing
 set localRs = Nothing
 set localErr = Nothing

 Reporter.ReportEvent micPass, "executeQuery", "Query result: [" & v_retVal & "]"
 executeQuery = v_retVal
End Function

Function getVal(p_key)
 v_retVal = "N/A"
 Select Case p_key
  Case "DB1" v_retVal = "Provider=MSDAORA.1;Password=DB_PASWORD1;User ID=LOGIN_USER1;Data Source=DB1;Persist Security Info=True"
  Case "DB2" v_retVal = "Provider=MSDAORA.1;Password=DB_PASWORD2;User ID=LOGIN_USER2;Data Source=DB2;Persist Security Info=True"
 End Select
 getVal = v_retVal
End Function

How you make use of these functions is as following:

v_sysdateFromDB = executeQuery(Parameter("p_db"), "select sysdate from dual")

How to restore a QC project that is bigger than 4GB

2013-01-23T09:20:00.000+02:00

HP officially does not support importing qcp files for the projects whose size is bigger than 4GB and at the same time size of the qcp file must be smaller than 2GB. You probably going to get "Server disconnected while performing ImportProject action" error message while importing the project from siteadmin panel.
Detailed information can be found in this document (KM1025768).

There is a workaround solution for the projects whose database files is bigger than 2GB. I'll describe the walkthrough. First of all you have to have an application that handles zip files (like 7zip or Winzip).

Steps to recover from big qcp files:

Backup your original qcp file to somewhere else.
Change the extension of the project's backup file to zip extension (let's call this backup.zip).
Extract backup.zip to backup folder.
In the backup folder cut-paste the ProjRep (let's call this folder backup_rep) folder to somewhere else. ProjRep folder is a very huge file (in my case bigger than 6GB). There will be only xml files and TABLES folder in the backup folder (about 40MB - 50MB in my case).
From the siteadmin panel create an empty dummy project. And export this project to dummy.qcp (To learn about export process you can check here).
Change the extension of dummy.qcp to zip.
Extract the dummy.zip to dummy folder.
In the dummy folder you'll see ProjRep folder. Cut and paste this ProjRep folder into the backup folder.
Zip the backup folder and then rename the backup.zip file to backup.qcp. Check the backup.qcp file size. It should be less than 2GB.
From the siteadmin create a project from a qcp file. And use backup.qcp while import process. Do not forget to uncheck "Activate project when restore completed".
When the project creation completed go to the project directory via remote desktop connection. You can see the project directory from the Siteadmin Panel - Site Projects.
Replace the ProjRep folder with the folder backup_rep (the folder in the step 4).
Activate the project from the siteadmin.

How to make scheduled backup of a QC project

2013-01-22T22:47:00.001+02:00

The Quality Center's site admin supports backing up and restoring the projects as following the below screenshot procedure.
The output file will be a .qcp extension file.

Restoring a .qcp file that is smaller than 2GB is a straight forward process. As below screenshot just selecting Create Project and then checking the last option will be enough. In the next entry i am going to describe how to restore a qcp project file that is bigger than 4GB.

If you are managing an important QC project, making this backup process as a scheduled job is a good option rather than backing up database scheme and file system. You can use following VB code and define a scheduled job on Windows Task Manager that triggers this script. To make sure that this code runs on your host first you have to open the siteadmin and qc application to install the client components like OTAClient and SAClient.

By using this script you can define the domains and projects those you want to back up. Before starting the backup process the script opens a defect on a different project (SUPPORT:QC_BackupProject). When the job completes the defect will be Fixed and Closed and then the alarm mail will be sent. The script must be copied on the backup server and a scheduled task must be defined by using Windows Task Manager.

Dim v_qcURL, sa, v_username, v_pasword
Dim v_domain, v_project, v_date, v_fileName, bugId, v_summary
Dim v_projectList, v_domainProject, v_domainProjectArray

v_qcURL = "http://<hostname>:8080/qcbin"
v_projectList = "DOMAIN:PROJECT_I;DOMAIN:PROJECT_II;DOMAIN:PROJECT_III"

v_username = "site_admin_user"
v_password = "site_admin_password"

For each v_domainProject in split(v_projectList,";")

 v_domainProjectArray = split(v_domainProject,":")
 v_domain = v_domainProjectArray(0)
 v_project = v_domainProjectArray(1)

 v_year = Year(Now)
 v_month = Month(Now)
 v_day = Day(Now) 
 v_hour = Hour(Now)
 v_minute = Minute(Now) 
 v_second = Second(Now)

 If v_month<10 Then
  v_month = "0" & v_month
 End If
 If v_day<10 Then
  v_day = "0" & v_day
 End If
 If v_hour<10 Then
  v_hour = "0" & v_hour
 End If
 If v_minute<10 Then
  v_minute = "0" & v_minute
 End If
 If v_second<10 Then
  v_second = "0" & v_second
 End If

 v_date = v_year & v_month & v_day  & v_hour & v_minute & v_second
 v_fileName = "D:\DO_NOT_REMOVE\QCBACKUPS\" & v_date & "_" & v_project & ".qcp"

 v_summary = "For project <" & v_domainProject & "> backup started: " & v_date

 bugId = openDefect (v_summary)

 Set sa = CreateObject("SAClient.SaApi")
 sa.Login v_qcURL, v_username, v_password
 
 sa.SendAllQualifiedNow "SUPPORT","QC_BackupProject"
 sa.SendMessageToProjectConnectedUsers v_domain, v_project, "This project is going to be deactivated due to maintenence."
 sa.DisconnectProject  v_domain, v_project
 sa.DeactivateProject v_domain, v_project
 sa.ExportProject v_domain, v_project, v_fileName
 sa.ActivateProject v_domain, v_project

 Set fs = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
 Set f = fs.GetFile(v_fileName)

 fixAndCloseDefect bugId, v_fileName & ": " & round((f.Size/1024)/1024,2) & " MB"
 sa.SendAllQualifiedNow "SUPPORT","QC_BackupProject"
Next
sa.Logout


Function  openDefect(p_summary)
 v_detectionDate = Day(Now) & "." & Month(Now) & "." & Year(Now)
 If Day(Now)<10  Then
  v_detectionDate = "0" & Day(Now) & "." & Month(Now) & "." & Year(Now)
 End If
 If Month(Now)<10  Then
  v_detectionDate = Day(Now) & ".0" & Month(Now) & "." & Year(Now)
 End If
 If Month(Now)<10 And Day(Now)<10  Then
  v_detectionDate = "0" & Day(Now) & ".0" & Month(Now) & "." & Year(Now)
 End If

 set tdc = createobject("TDApiOle80.TDConnection")
 tdc.InitConnectionEx "http://<hostname>:8080/qcbin"
 tdc.Login "mehmet.kahraman","pass"
 tdc.Connect "SUPPORT","QC_BackupProject"
 
 Set bfact = tdc.BugFactory
 
 Set mybug = bfact.AddItem (null)
 mybug.Summary = p_summary
 mybug.Status = "Open"
 mybug.Field("BG_SEVERITY") = "2-Medium"
 mybug.DetectedBy = "mehmet.kahraman"
 mybug.Field("BG_DETECTION_DATE") = v_detectionDate
 mybug.Post()
 bugId = mybug.ID
 tdc.Logout
 tdc.Disconnect
 openDefect = bugId
End Function

Function fixAndCloseDefect(p_bugId, p_comment)
 set tdc = createobject("TDApiOle80.TDConnection")
 tdc.InitConnectionEx "http://<hostname>:8080/qcbin"
 tdc.Login "mehmet.kahraman","pass"
 tdc.Connect "SUPPORT","QC_BackupProject"
 
 Set bfact = tdc.BugFactory
    Set bgfilter = bfact.Filter

    bgfilter.Filter("BG_BUG_ID") = p_bugId
    Set bglist = bgfilter.NewList

 For Each theBug In bglist
  Set bg = bfact.Item(theBug.ID)
  bg.Field("BG_STATUS") = "Closed"
  bg.Field("BG_DEV_COMMENTS") = "Backup completed on <backup_host>: " & p_comment
  bg.Post()
 Next

 tdc.Logout
 tdc.Disconnect
End Function

To manage the old backup files you can define another job for the following script (deletes qcp files those are older than 10 days). To accomplish this you have to put this piece of code in a batch file and define another scheduled job that calls this batch file. forfiles.exe executable file must be in the same directory with the batch file.

Sometimes the qcp file may not be downloaded to the client that runs siteadmin panel. For this case you've to check the QC app server for the qcp file. It should be located on this path: <<<InstallationPath>>>\HP\ALM\repository\export\export<<<timestamp>>>.qcp

forfiles.exe /p D:\DO_NOT_REMOVE\QCBACKUPS /m *.qcp /d -10 /c "cmd /c del @file"

A Workaround Solution For QC Reporting According To User Groups

2012-11-13T13:40:00.001+02:00

Sometimes QC's group functionality for the users may not sufficient for reporting. For example you may want to report some user actions accoriding to their team/department/divison.
To accomplish this type of report you have to create a group for evey divison/department/team. Also QC's group functionality is not effective for hierarchical teams.

You can use the siteadmin's user description area as a workaround solution for hierarchical team membering.

As you can see above screenshot you can writedown the user's hierarchical position into user description area from the siteadmin.

By using following view you can select his/her team/department/divison.

CREATE OR REPLACE FORCE VIEW <<<YOUR_SCHEMA_NAME>>>.GET_USER_HIERARCHY
(
   USER_NAME,
   DIRECTORATE,
   DEPARTMENT,
   TEAM,
   ROLE,
   US_IS_ACTIVE
)
AS
     SELECT user_name,
            directorate,
            department,
            team,
            role,
            us_is_active
       FROM (SELECT LOWER (user_name) user_name,
                    TO_CHAR (description) description,
                    SUBSTR (TO_CHAR (description),1,INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1) - 1)
                       directorate,
                    SUBSTR (TO_CHAR (description),INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1) + 1, (INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1, 2)  - INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1, 1)) - 1)
                       AS department,
                    SUBSTR (TO_CHAR (description), INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1) + (INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1, 2) - INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1, 1)) + 1, INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1,  3) - INSTR (TO_CHAR (description),  '/', 1, 2) - 1)
                       AS team,
                    SUBSTR (TO_CHAR (description), INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1) + (INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1,  2) - INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1,  1)) + INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1, 3) - INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1, 2) + 1, LENGTH (TO_CHAR (description)) - INSTR (TO_CHAR (description), '/', 1, 3))
                       AS role,
                    us_is_active
               FROM qcsiteadmin_db_alm.users)
   ORDER BY 2, 3, 4, 5;

The query and the result will be similar to the following screenshot.

You can also query the users according to their directorate/department/team values. Hence this will make an easier way to list all the users those are in the specific department and you can query their actions.

How to get testcase path from QC DB

2012-11-12T17:15:00.002+02:00

Sometimes you may need to report testcases those are in a specific folder with some custom format. This can be done from the analysis view of the dashboard easily. But sometimes getting the testcases from the DB with some SQLs may be the way you might prefer.
When querying from the DB you have to use some complicated SQLs to accomplish this.

The function that i am sharing is a simple util function that will make this easier. To do this first you have to have the create function previlage on the DB side. Then you can create the GetTestCasePath function with this PlSQL.

Note: The t_crs is a ref cursor that is declared any pkg spec of your util package. It is declared like this: type t_crs is ref cursor;

CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION <<<YOUR_QC_SCHEME>>>.GetTestCasePath (
   p_db_name    VARCHAR2,
   p_test_id    NUMBER)
   RETURN VARCHAR2
IS
   PATH     VARCHAR2 (500);
   sqlStr   VARCHAR2 (9999);
   tc       <<<YOUR_QC_SCHEME>>>.kpi_pkg.t_crs;
BEGIN
   PATH := '';
   sqlStr :=
      'SELECT listagg (al_description, ''\'') WITHIN GROUP (ORDER BY aa.aaa DESC) PATH
  FROM (    SELECT al_item_id, LEVEL aaa, al_description
              FROM '
      || p_db_name
      || '.ALL_LISTS
        START WITH al_item_id = (select ts_subject from '
      || p_db_name
      || '.TEST where ts_test_id='
      || p_test_id
      || ')
        CONNECT BY PRIOR al_father_id = al_item_id) aa';

   OPEN tc FOR sqlStr;

   LOOP
      EXIT WHEN tc%NOTFOUND;

      FETCH tc INTO PATH;
   END LOOP;

   CLOSE tc;

   RETURN PATH;
EXCEPTION
   WHEN NO_DATA_FOUND
   THEN
      NULL;
   WHEN OTHERS
   THEN
      -- Consider logging the error and then re-raise
      RAISE;
END GetTestCasePath;

For the testcase above getting path is something like this:

SELECT <<<YOUR_QC_SCHEMA_NAME>>>.
   GETTESTCASEPATH ('<<<YOUR_QC_SCHEMA_NAME>>>', 15396) TestCasePath
  FROM DUAL

And the output will be like this:

Is Ajax TruClient a lifesaver?

2012-09-21T11:01:00.002+03:00

Most of the time I prefer HTTP/HTML scripting protocol. Because it offers you to know all the details about requests and responses during replay and the actual load test.
But it's handicap is the correlation part for complex applications. For example i had to write a LR script for a GWT application. I wasn't able to complete all the scenario despite i followed these steps. There were a huge encoded block in the recorded scenario script and it wasn't a static part. I think the encoded part was identifiying some javascript codes or the state of the webpage.
While i was thinking that it is impossible to create a loadrunner script for that scenario Ajax TruClient came and rescued me. This add-on creates some sort of GUI based script like UFT (was known as QTP). The add-on does not involves the responses you get and the requests (that you have to modify before requesting) but just the clicks and javascript actions.
Hence it was very easy to create a loadrunner script for theapplication that i struggled. Parametrization is very easy for this type of scenario. The most important thing you must know is ofcourse the C languge (for writing some user defined functions) and JavaScript. The add-on gives you to opportunity to combine C and JS functions.

Lessons learned:
If you are working to much on a scenario, there should be another protocol that will make easier. So try Protocol Adiviser if you're struggling.

To open the protocol adviser
- Open the VuGen
- Navigate to File -> Protocol adviser -> Analyze Application
- Protocol Adviser dialog box shown
- Select the application type and other application details and press "OK" button.
- Perform major user actions on the application.
- Stop Analyzing
- Protocol adviser will show you the result automatically

VUGEN - QC Connectivity

2012-07-23T14:12:00.000+03:00

As you know manual test cases are stored in the Quality Center (QC) application. There is no restriction about the Loadrunner script files.
You can store them anywhere you want. But my suggestion is storing them in the QC servers and make their backup into your drive. By this way you can reach the scripts from any computer that has access to the QC servers. Also management of the test library will be better by this way, you are going to know which cases are LR scriptted and which not.

To accomplish this first thing you have to do is connecting the Vugen with QC. Follow the steps described below:

From the Vugen application select Tools->HP ALM Connection

Enter QC server address

Enter username/password and select Domain and Project that you want to use

When you click File->Open you should be able to see TestPlan button on the file chooser

If you are having troubes about Vugen - QC connectivity visit following page and follow the steps described there then retry again: http://<Your_QC_Server>:8080/qcbin/CommonMode_index.html

Introduction to Loadrunner (for beginners)

2012-07-22T01:07:00.002+03:00

Loadrunner (mostly known as LR) is a kind of software that helps you test your applications from the perspective of performance, stress and load.
The software consists of 3 main applications:

Vugen: With this application you record, parametrize and verify your scripts (does not require license).
Controller: By using Controller you create Load Test Scenarios by making use of the scripts you've already created (license is required).
Analysis: After running the load test you need to anayse the results. By using Analysis tool you can check the run result reports (does not require license).

What you do with LR is basically like following:
This is just a brief explanation, details of each step will be posted when i am available.

Create your manual testcases and scenarios (from QC is optional).

Right click on design step and select Generate Script -> Vugen
Optionally convert them to LR scripts.
Open the test script by using Vugen (Vugen -QC connectivity described here).
Click Record button. For the recording options generally i am using following settings.

My preferred recording options for HTML/HTTP protocol
While recording do not forget to add "Start Transaction" and "End Transaction" flags. The transaction markers are very important while running the real test. Because LR Controller is going to measure elapsed times of the transactions. If you do not set them correctly you won't be able to render the results correctly.

Label the user actions by using Start-End Transaction

A small part of the generated script
After recording of the scenario finishes you have to verify it by pressing F5. After execution of the script you recorded completes successfully. You can progress to the LR Controller part. If the replay fails you need to open the Tree View and compare the recorded and replayed requests and responses. And try to find on which request the problem is.
When everything is OK about the LR Script open the LR Controller application and create new scenario by selecting Manual Scenario and adding the script that you saved with Vugen.
In the Design tab of the Controller you can set number of users, their ramp up and ramp down setings and how much time you want to run the test, etc...
When the load test completes you can open the result with Analysis and check the execution time of each transactions and impact of the quantity of the virtual users to the transaction times.