IT DON'T WORK

Test Case Migrator Plus

2011-06-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

TFS 2010 - utility on Codeplex allows you to import your test cases from Excel to Test Manager

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vstsqualitytools/archive/2010/05/07/work-item-migrator-excel-mht-to-tcm-tool-on-codeplex.aspx

Micirsoft Test Manager - Test Scribe Power Tool

2011-06-14T08:13:00.001-07:00

I read about this Power Tool at Safari Books Online “Software Testing with Visual Studio 2010”.

http://visualstudiogallery.msdn.microsoft.com/e79e4a0f-f670-47c2-9b8a-3b6f664bf4ae/

Requires MS OpenXML SDK 2.0 (installed if missing)

Requires Office 2010 (not installed if missing)

This adds the Tools menu to Test Manager where you can view the test run summary in grid format. Select one or more Test Cases and generate a Test Run Summary Report.

DSN error message

2011-05-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

I got a strange error when an ODBC Data Source existed in the 32-bit Data Sources and was missing from the 64-bit Data Sources (ODBC) = "The specified DSN contains an architecture mismatch between the Driver and Application". I added the DSN to 64-bit control panel to fix it. The error message made it seem like I used the wrong ODBC driver, but really it was unable to find the DSN.

Writing Good Defect Reports

2011-05-18T11:26:00.000-07:00

These are my ideas based on experience. I am writing this down to help you form your own ideas.

Title includes the feature or area where the problem was found - The developer needs to know where you saw the problem. The person who retests the fix needs to know. Other testers need to know whether or not a bug has already been reported before entering a new bug. It would be nice to sort the bug list and see which areas have the most problems. The bug title BEGINS with location.
Title describes the problem - Some people write defect titles with no problem description, similar to this: "Version 1.0.0> Home Page". It's even worse when they enter 5 bugs reports with the exact same title. Other testers have no way of quickly searching to see if the the problem has already been reported. The title should describe the problem so others can get a quick view of the types of problems that are being reported. The title should make the developer want to read it.
The version number should not be included in the title - Bug tracking systems usually have another field where you can enter the version number where the defect was found. Besides, this issue may exist in multiple versions of the software. The version number doesn't make sense as part of the bug title.
Steps to reproduce - The steps to reproduce need to be repeatable. Get them narrowed down to the simplest form and write it down. Try following them yourself. You might find you are missing a key detail when you follow steps you have already written.
Report relevant details - Don't include details unless they are relevant to the specific problem you are reporting. Include any preconditions that are required.
Don't combine problems into one bug report - Each problem needs a separate bug report. You should create a new bug report if you are including more than one result. Each unexpected result equates to a new bug report.
Ideas are not bugs - We are reporting results of an experiment, not writing opinions of how things should work. If expected behavior is documented in another document, reference the document and page number or reference a similar website, but we shouldn't report our opinion or ideas for improvements as a bug. Submit a feature request instead of a bug when you have ideas for improvement.
Attach screenshots - Highlight the section of the screen capture where you see the problem. The problem might be obvious to us, but other people have to decipher what we are talking about. Highlight the screen capture to save time. Attach screen captures as graphics files and not embedded in Word documents. It speeds up the process of reviewing the images and saves disk space.
Include Expected Results - Describe what you expect to happen
Include Actual Results - Describe what actually happened
Include supporting log files or databases - Attach evidence of the issue. Many errors depend on the data that was input to the application. Including a copy of the data used to generate the error sometimes helps narrow down the cause of the problem.

Which one do you think would get read and fixed first?

Version 1.0.0> Home Page
OR
Home Page> company logo incorrect
OR
Live Home Page> the company logo is currently being replaced with an offensive image

CodedUI Test Close Browser

2011-03-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

I am testing a web application and some error messages are generated through JavaScript. I created a Coded UI test that verified the error messages when the user attempts to login with an empty username or an empty password. I couldn't use a Web Performance Test because the JavaScript is not executed during playback.

I forgot to record closing the browser, so I added it under TestCleanup.

Here is what I changed in the CodedUI Test:

1) click + to expand the Additional test attributes region
2) Un-comment the TestCleanup method
3) add a line to close the browser: "this.map.UIMSNcomWindowsInterneWindow.Close();"

[TestCleanup()]
        public void MyTestCleanup()
        {
            // To generate code for this test, select "Generate Code for Coded UI Test" from the shortcut menu and select one of the menu items.
            // For more information on generated code, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=179463
            this.map.UIMSNcomWindowsInterneWindow.Close();
        }

tornado described by a yinzer

2011-03-23T21:26:00.000-07:00

only in western Pennsylvania

Rename Virtual PC

2011-03-02T06:52:00.000-08:00

I have some virtual machines used for testing. I am writing down what I do when we make a copy of the Virtual PC. Sometimes I make a copy of a virtual machine or give a copy to someone else to use. Then I have to rename the virtual PC, so there are not conflicts; rename the machine in Windows, assign a new MAC address to both network adapters, rename the SQL Server, and change the database connection strings in used by services and applications.

1) login to the Virtual PC; select Control Panel> System> Computer Name> Change... and enter a new name

2) restart Windows when it prompts you to reboot

3) open SQL Query Analyzer and rename the SQL Server instance

sp_dropserver 
GO
sp_addserver , local
GO

4) close virtual machine and commit changes to hard disk

5) edit the .vmc file to change the MAC address; there is one line for each network adapter,

so in a laptop I had to change two lines one for the wireless adapter and one for the wired connection
0003FFxxxxxx

6) reconfigure any applications that use the machine name or IP address

CodedUITests

2011-01-06T11:01:00.000-08:00

I was not sure if I would be using these since I am testing a web application. CodedUI Tests can do things that the Web Performance Tests can't do like validating error messages generated through JavaScript. I used the CodedUI Test to validate an error message when username or password is empty; the error message is generated by JavaScript. The web tests cannot verify that error message since the page didn't so a post back.

Web Performance Test - Expected HTTP Status Code

2011-01-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

I have a web performance test that is submitting an invalid username and password and verifying the error message is "Invalid Username or Password". I added a data source from csv file and started putting a bunch of different values in it. When I ran the data driven test some of the rows failed because page validation is enabled and the .NET Framework throws an exception. This happened if the username or password contained script tags.

Since some of the requests failed, I made another web test for the failures; browse to the login page, enter script tags in the username and password, and click the Login button. The test was failing because it returned a 500. There is a way to validate the HTTP status code returned by a Web Performance Test request. There is a property on the request called Expected HTTP Status Code. When it is 0 a return code in the 200 – 300 range is success. I set the Expected HTTP Status Code to 500 to verify error page is returned when script tags are input to username/password and also checked for this text: "System.Web.HttpRequestValidationException: A potentially dangerous Request.Form value was detected from the client (userNameTextBox="")."

I ended up with two data driven tests for the login page. One to check for the normal error message when login information is incorrect and another to check that page validation is working when script tags are submitted.

This is the error page when request validation is enabled:

Server Error in '/WebPARCS' Application.

A potentially dangerous Request.Form value was detected from the client (userNameTextBox="").

Description: Request Validation has detected a potentially dangerous client input value, and processing of the request has been aborted. This value may indicate an attempt to compromise the security of your application, such as a cross-site scripting attack. You can disable request validation by setting validateRequest=false in the Page directive or in the configuration section. However, it is strongly recommended that your application explicitly check all inputs in this case.

Exception Details: System.Web.HttpRequestValidationException: A potentially dangerous Request.Form value was detected from the client (userNameTextBox="").

Source Error:

[No relevant source lines]

Source File: c:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\Temporary ASP.NET Files\webparcs\b39bbbab\1a2d57ab\App_Web_gjejbkkx.0.cs Line: 0

VS2010 Schema Compare only works when databases are on the local drive

2011-01-04T08:30:00.000-08:00

In Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate there is an option called Data> Schema Compare. I was unable to compare two databases on the test server. Visual Studio generated an error message of "Schema information could not be retrieved because of the following error: InternalError: SqlCeManager could not be initialized."

I found this post with the answer: "The error message is not accurate as what the specific issue is, its actually hitting an unsupported case. SQLCE can not work against remote storage or mapped drives. It has to use a local drive for its sdf files and cache."

So I am unable to use Schema Compare because these databases are too big to copy and restore locally. Seems like a pretty big limitation to me.

Tester Tested !: Help Chandru to live his testing dreams

2010-11-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

Tester Tested !: Help Chandru to live his testing dreams

Is toilet testing a form of load testing or is this just a load of crap?

2010-11-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

When a new stadium opens everyone flushes the toilets at the same time. They hope the pipes don't break.

This sounds similar to multiple users hitting the same button at the same time in software testing.

Can we start calling this test "the flusher" or "toilet testing" or am I just full of crap?

Visual Studio 2010

2010-11-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

Microsoft is offering an online series of free and interactive Live Workshops.

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/almcatalyst/Pages/Workshops.aspx

I just want to use your website not break it

2010-10-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

I was reading an advertisement for free phones. We are using prepaid cell phones. I was checking the price of changing from pre paid to a monthly plan. With free phones it would cost over $400 per month for 5 phones that have unlimited minutes, unlimited data, and unlimited text messaging. Doesn't include the expensive phones I see other people using. That seems ridiculously expensive, so I can't afford to buy cell phones for everyone yet.

I had one phone in my shopping cart then added four more. When I clicked Add to Cart I got this error "An error has occurred please refresh your browser". I tried again and did not get the same error. It is very annoying when I see errors using a website. Cryptic error messages seem to follow me everywhere I go.

testing effective dates

2010-10-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

This description is similar to the application we are testing:

the employee has an effective date and an expiration date
the employee is assigned to a department
each department has an effective date and an expiration date
the employee is assigned a badge with an effective date and an expiration date
the department is the top level item, then employee, and finally badge

Effective dates of the child items should be within the start and end dates of the parent item. The application is not enforcing this rule, so these dates are allowed:

Department 1/1/2009-1/1/3000
Employee     1/1/2001-1/31/2001
Badge          1/1/2005-12/31/2006

In the real application each field also has a bit field called Blocked to temporarily shut off the ability to use each item. These bit fields are Nullable, which is wrong. Blocked shouldn't affect the effective dates.

If you deactivate the top level item it should inactivate all child items. When an item is deactivated it sets the expiration date to today.

There is also a rule that says effective date cannot be after the expiration date - sounds like bad news for these dates:

Department 1/1/2009-11/1/2010
Employee     1/1/2011-1/1/3000
Badge          1/1/2011-1/1/3000

After deactivating the Department Employee and Badge will generate the error message "End date cannot be before start date" and the effective dates are out of order for employee and badge:

Department 1/1/2009-10/22/2010
Employee     1/1/2011-10/22/2010
Badge          1/1/2011-10/22/2010

Error 1001. The specified service already exists

2010-10-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

The msi installs Windows Services; Error 1001 occurred during an install or repair when the services were stated.

Collecting Interest on Technical Debt: Fixing: Error 1001. The specified service already exists

2010-10-20T12:37:00.000-07:00

Collecting Interest on Technical Debt: Fixing: Error 1001. The specified service already exists

Outlook Instant Search Encountered a Problem

2010-10-14T07:43:00.000-07:00

The web application threw an error message and thought for sure it was fixed by in one of the Stored Procedures. So I searched email, but used the wrong search text. I searched for =, !=, <, <= , >, >= or and this error message: "Instant Search encountered a problem while trying to display search results. Modifying your query may resolve this problem"

I still can't find the email. I must be remembering a different application error. Searching for an error message returned an error message. Very nice

Resources for Test Tools in Visual Studio 2010

2010-10-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

Content index for Microsoft Test Manager:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/anutthara/archive/2010/02/09/resources-for-test-tools-in-visual-studio-2010.aspx

Content index for Coded UI Tests:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mathew_aniyan/archive/2010/02/11/content-index-for-coded-ui-test.aspx

Content index for Web and Load Tests:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/edglas/archive/2007/12/17/content-index-for-web-tests-and-load-tests.aspx

Coded UI Test Documentation

2010-10-06T11:20:00.001-07:00

I was trying to find some documentation about the best way to use Coded UI tests and so far here is what I found.

These are some of the blog posts and discussions:

Content Index
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mathew_aniyan/archive/2010/02/11/content-index-for-coded-ui-test.aspx

Coded UI test Extensibility
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/gautamg/archive/2010/01/05/series-on-coded-ui-test-extensibility.aspx

Test Framework Design:
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/vsautotest/thread/944b33b3-f650-4dd8-a035-c807cbb2aadf/

Multiple UI Maps
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff398056%28v=VS.100%29.aspx

Error Running WebTest; Build Error = The "EntityDeploy" task could not be loaded from the assembly

2010-10-01T07:14:00.001-07:00

Today I saw an error message trying to run a web test. I added some validation rules to a web test then tried running it. Also hovered over the Server Explorer tab at the same time.

I have reproduced this error; it happens if you click Run Test while hovering over Server Explorer at the same time. The error persists until you expand Server Explorer.

Error message:
The test could not be run because of the following exception: Assembly is still being loaded. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131016)

Build Error:
The "EntityDeploy" task could not be loaded from the assembly C:\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\Microsoft.Data.Entity.Build.Tasks.dll. Assembly is still being loaded. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80131016) Confirm that the ,UsingTask> declaration is correct, and that the assembly and all of its dependencies are ready

STARWEST 2010

2010-09-30T04:53:00.000-07:00

STARWEST virtual conference on software testing

Uninstall errors

2010-09-23T12:07:00.000-07:00

I am testing an application and was unable to uninstall. I was getting these errors:

Error 1001. The savedState dictionary contains inconsistent data and might have been corrupted.
Error 1001. An exception occurred while uninstalling. This exception will be ignored and the uninstall will continue. However, the application might not be fully uninstalled after the uninstall is complete. --> The specified service does not exist as an installed service

Kind of a long and boring story, but writing it down for future reference. I test the msi's on a Virtual Machine with SQL Server and IIS installed and undo disks enabled, so I can roll back after installing software.

The other day I made copies of this Virtual PC and installed 3 different versions of the software. Later on I found out I could not start more than one of the Virtual PCs at the same time because they all used the same machine name and MAC address.

So then I renamed the computer, reassigned the MAC address, and renamed the SQL server in 3 of the Virtual PCs. Now I have 4 Virtual PC's: one with the OS, SQL Server, and IIS and 3 more with different versions of the application.

The application would not uninstall on one of the renamed machines, so first I thought it was storing the PC name someplace in the registry. But then I remembered I tried running Repair from Add/Remove Programs before I tried uninstalling. So I tried to reproduce the error on the Virtual PC that was not renamed. It was Repair that caused Error 1001 on uninstall.

So it's best to remember exactly what you did, then verify the error can be reproduced. I really thought that bug had something to do with changing the machine name.

foreign key constraint violation

2010-09-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

A foreign key constraint violation can happen if you delete a row that is referenced in another table. When the constraint is violated the error message in SQL Server is "INSERT statement conflicted with COLUMN FOREIGN KEY constraint".

table named Person with an identity column PersonID
table named PersonPhones references Person.PersonID
the constraint is on the Person table

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Person] WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT [FK_PersonID] FOREIGN KEY([PersonID])
REFERENCES [dbo].[PersonPhones] ([PersonID])

The row cannot be deleted from Person if the PersonID exists in PersonPhones. The concept is the same in any RDBMS. The constraint could also be set up to automatically update and delete rows from the child table. It would look like this:

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[Person] WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT [FK_PersonID] FOREIGN KEY([PersonID])
REFERENCES [dbo].[PersonPhones] ([PersonID])
ON UPDATE CASCADE
ON DELETE CASCADE

It's just something the program should check. If you add a new person all fields should contain a value before you can say CRUD was successful. (CRUD=Create, Read, Update, Delete) If nothing else the user should be given a more friendly error message.

Visual Studio 2010 Coded UI Test Basic User Guide

2010-08-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

User Guide for Coded UI Tests on Codeplex: http://tfsguides.codeplex.com/releases/view/48007

I'm still trying to understand Coded UI Tests. Can they be edited? Microsoft says not to edit the UI Map. It just seems difficult to get everything recorded correctly the first time. The guide doesn't explain how to change something after it is recorded, but on Page 8 it says "Click the “Show Recorder Steps” in order to see and edit the recorder steps". Maybe it helps to check the recorded steps before generating the code.