Forum Discussion

j416's avatar
j416
Occasional Contributor
14 years ago

Fixtures / Runner.CallMethod

Hi,



I would like to implement fixtures for my tests, that is, I want to initialise (reset and start) some things, then run a set of tests, then tear it down (clean up and close). I was thinking I would implement this by throwing in an array of methods to call, and have something like (pseudo DelphiScript):



procedure RunTests(tests);

begin

<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />  // - init things here - //

  loop through tests and for each do:

    Runner.CallMethod(test);

<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />  // - tear down things here - //

end;



...to be able to do something like:



procedure Main;

begin

  RunTests('test1', 'test2', 'test3');

end;



<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />Although, in the documentation for Runner.CallMethod, I read the following:

  "The Runner.CallMethod method is obsolete and it is supported for backward compatibility only."

I wonder, what should I be using in place of it, to call a method by name in a script?



Also, is there a better recommended way of doing this, or am I on the right track?



I would much appreciate any information you can give.

Thank you very much.



Johan
  • tristaanogre's avatar
    tristaanogre
    Esteemed Contributor
    14 years ago
    Runner.CallMethod has been replaced (sort of) by aqObject.CallMethod.  What you'd need to do is create an object for each test and then have a method on that object that you would run to execute the test. 



    Probably a BETTER way to do what you're asking is to implement something using a data driven loop, either as a Keyword Operator or using one of the DDT objects to iterate through a set of records and, for each record, execute some test determine by information within the record.  Then, if you ever need to add or modify tests, you wouldn't need to change code, all you'd need to do is modify the data used to determine which tests are run.  There are several help topics on data driven testing in the online help.  What you would do, then, is before your loop run your "setup" routines and after the loop run your "clean up" routines.


  • j416's avatar
    j416
    Occasional Contributor
    14 years ago
    Hello Robert,



    Thank you for your very quick response. I did think about data driven testing, but I think in our case it would be hard to apply. For each run, we restore a database from file, start the application, then perform different tasks (different access paths and settings through menus and different dropdown boxes and whatnots) that can vary widely between tests, and then close the application. What is common is that the database needs to be restored between each test. If you still think we could benefit from some kind of DDT, please do tell me and I will investigate it further.



    About aqObject.CallMethod, I tried to grasp how to use it, but to little avail. Currently I have each test case in its own test unit, with a method I call 'Run' that runs the test. Would I somehow wrap this in a class and instantiate that?



    If you have any hints on this, I would be grateful.





    Thank you again,



    Johan
  • tristaanogre's avatar
    tristaanogre
    Esteemed Contributor
    14 years ago
    What you described sounds very similar to what we implemented at another place of employment.  What we did was something much like this (this is Pseudo code so you'll have to modify it somewhat for whatever language/environment you're using):





    procedure RunAllTests(CSVFileName); //CSVFileName would be the fully qualified path and filename to a CSV file w/ column names in the first row



    begin

    RestoreDatabase;

    RunAUT;

    DDT.CSVDriver(CSVFileName);

    while not DDT.CurrentDriver.EOF do begin

        case DDT.CurrentDriver.Value["TestType"] of

            "NavigateMenu" : NavigateMenuTest;

            "CheckSettings" : SettingsTest;

            end;

        DDT.CurrentDriver.Next;

        end;

    DDT.CloseDriver(DDT.CurrentDriver.Name);

    CleanUpEnvironment;

    end;




    Each one of the cases would call a test method that would utilize DDT.CurrentDriver within the method so that values within the driver record could be used to determine what parameters to use within the test.



    Don't know if this gives you some ideas, but this is the way I'd do it.
  • j416's avatar
    j416
    Occasional Contributor
    14 years ago
    Robert,



    Very interesting indeed, DDT might be something we can move towards in the future. Thank you for the concrete example, I will keep it for reference.



    Currently though, we have a few dozen scripts, and time is limited at the moment so we will not be able to streamline it all into DDT even if it is possible. I managed to run these using Runner.CallMethod (see below); would you care to give a short example on how to translate that into using aqObject.CallMethod?



    Runner.CallMethod('MyTestScenario.Run');



    ->



    aqObject.CallMethod(....?);







    Thank you,



    Johan
  • AlexanderM's avatar
    AlexanderM
    Staff
    14 years ago
    Hi Johan,



    aqObject.CallMethod is not related to Runner.CallMethod: the former is used for calling an object method, the latter - for executing script routines. As an alternative, if you are using routines that return values, you can use Evaluate:






    //MainUnit


    uses MyTestScenario;



    procedure Main;


    var retValue:OleVariant;


    begin


      retValue := True;


      Evaluate('MyTestScenario.Run('+aqConvert.VarToStr(retValue)+')');


    end;






    //MyTestScenario


    procedure Run(var ReturnValue);


    begin


      //some code


      ReturnValue :=True;


    end;


  • j416's avatar
    j416
    Occasional Contributor
    14 years ago
    Thank you Alex.



    Good to know that there is something that can be used for that case too.

    The methods I call do not return values, and since Runner.CallMethod seems to be deprecated, I wanted to know what to use instead.



    This is what I have now (DelphiScript), the argument ATests contains an array of strings with method names:




    procedure RunTests(ATests: OleVariant);

    var i: integer;      

    begin

      try

        try

          // Set up

          Log.AppendFolder('Foo');

        

          // Run tests

          for i := VarArrayLowBound(ATests, 1) to VarArrayHighBound(ATests, 1) do begin

            if aqString.GetLength(ATests) > 0 then begin

              Runner.CallMethod(ATests);

            end;

          end; 

      

        except

          Log.Error(ExceptionMessage);  

        end;

      finally 

        // Tear down

        Log.PopLogFolder;

      end;      

    end;




    Is there a better way to call the methods than using "Runner.CallMethod(ATests);" ?





    Thank you,

    Johan
  • AlexanderM's avatar
    AlexanderM
    Staff
    14 years ago
    Hi Johan,



    In this case, you can pass the name of the routine to the Evaluate function with the name of the unit:



     

    Evaluate('Unit1.' + ATests);
     





    Note that Unit1 must be linked to the current one (if Unit1 is external). To link the unit, add the following statement at the beginning of the unit where Evaluate is used:


     

    uses Unit1;
     

  • j416's avatar
    j416
    Occasional Contributor
    14 years ago
    Hello again Alex,



    I thought you said Evaluate only works with methods that return a value? Also, using Runner.CallMethod, it seems I don't need to include the units (uses Unit1; etc.)



    Am I correct in believing there is no alternative/replacement for Runner.CallMethod?





    Johan
  • AlexanderM's avatar
    AlexanderM
    Staff
    14 years ago
    Hi Johan,



    I thought you said Evaluate only works with methods that return a value?
    For routines that return values, Evaluate can be used without specifying a unit. In case of routines that do not return values, Evaluate must be used with the name of the unit. 





    using Runner.CallMethod, it seems I don't need to include the units
    You are right. 





    Am I correct in believing there is no alternative/replacement for Runner.CallMethod?
    The only alternative is to use Evaluate.
  • j416's avatar
    j416
    Occasional Contributor
    14 years ago
    Alex,



    Thank you for the quick and clear response.





    Johan