Difference between revisions of "SWTBot/Generator"

The test generator can be enabled on any Eclipse-based application at runtime. It monitors at UI events as they are performed by user and the generate some pieces of code that can be reused later in automated tests to playback user actions.

Limitations

Some conceptual limitations of UI recorders (which are true for SWTBot Generator, but also for Selenium or other recorder/playback engines):

There are several ways to identify a widget, the recorder will choose only one, that may not be the best
The recorder understand "atomic" UI operation, which may be too fined-grained compared to what you want to test
The generator is not aware of your code style and tastes, so it may generate code that is not conform to your standards
The generator doesn't know what to check, it's just a bot: it's your role to add assertions and other checks

All those points mean that the generation of code is only something that makes you save time by replacing some code writting, but the generated code always needs to be reviewed and enriched with assertions and probably improved.

A limitation that is specific to this recorder and Eclipse is that it does not (yet) support GEF.

How to get the maximal benefit from it

Speed up the process of creating a test: instead of writing directly code, start by running your test scenario with the generator enabled. You'll get a huge part of your code already written down, ready to go into a TestCase. Then improve that code is necessary and add your assertions and checks.

Ask users to provide their scenarios as code: If possible, when a user has a bug, ask him to start the recorder (you could embed its enablement in a higher-level menu - Help > Record usage scenario -to prevent end-users from doing complex operations); and ask your users to post the generated code. It will reduce the gap between users reports and unit tests.

Screencast

Here is a screencast presenting SWTBot Recorder and Generator: https://vimeo.com/55953990

Installation

The Test recorder and generator is a single plugin to install in any RCP application (may it be your Eclipse IDE, or a bundled RCP application. You can get it from the SWTBot update-site/p2 repository (starting from version 2.0.6).

With p2 UI: TODO screenshot of installation

With p2 director, install bundle org.eclipse.swtbot.generator:

java -jar plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.laucher_*.jar -application org.eclipse.equinox.p2.director -repository <choose_a_SWTBot_p2_repo> -installIU org.eclipse.swtbot.generator

Enablement

At startup for a Run Configuration from IDE

Ensure the org.eclipse.swtbot.generator bundle is part of your Lauch Configuration TODO: screenshot

Set the -Dorg.eclipse.swtbot.generator.enable=true system property TODO: screenshot

At startup for a RCP app

Ensure org.eclipse.swtbot.generator bundle is installed in your application (use ls or OSGi console at runtime to check that).

Set the -Dorg.eclipse.swtbot.generator.enable=true system property in your config.ini. Example for JBoss Developer Studio, in jbdevstudio/studio/jbdevstudio.ini, line 17:

```
-vm
```

/usr/lib/jvm/java-6-openjdk-amd64/jre/bin/java

```
-startup
```

plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher_1.3.0.v20120522-1813.jar

```
--launcher.library
```

plugins/org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.gtk.linux.x86_64_1.1.200.v20120522-1813

```
-product
```
```
com.jboss.jbds.product.product
```
```
-showsplash
```

platform\:/base/plugins/com.jboss.jbds.product

```
--launcher.XXMaxPermSize
```
```
256m
```
```
--launcher.defaultAction
```
```
openFile
```
```
-vmargs
```

-Djboss.discovery.directory.url=https://devstudio.jboss.com/updates/6.0/devstudio-directory.xml

-Dorg.eclipse.swtbot.generator.enable=true

```
-Xms512m
```
```
-Xmx1024m
```

-Dosgi.instance.area.default=@user.home/workspace

Programmatically from a plugin

This is useful to start the recorder from menus, buttons or anything. Just make sure the bundle you're developing depends on org.eclipse.swtbot.generator and when relevent, invoke the following code to open the recorder Window:

org.eclipse.swtbot.generator.ui.StartupRecorder.openRecorder();

Usage

The generator window generates code, copy-paste it where you want

Extending it

Rules mechanism

The recorder places some SWT listeners that look at events and generate code from each event. A Generator support is just a set of "rules" that are classes that process (or not) the current event to generate some code. Processing an event is divided in 2 pieces:

Create an accessor for the widget (eg: bot.button("blah")
create an action on the widget (eg: .click())

There are 2 kinds of rules:

Simple rules match a single event. Example: Combo selection
Complex rules match several single rules, and then several events. Examples: Combo Text Modify, ToolbarMenu

Those rules are easy to test with JUnit and SWTBot.

Adding and contributing a rule

Recommended way to create and contribute a rule is:

Set up environment as described in the 2 first paragraph of contribution guide : set up target-platform and get source for org.eclipse.swtbot.generator and org.eclipse.swtbot.generator.test in IDE
Write a test for your rule. Use the RecordComboTest as example. Run tests, ensure it's failing.
Write a rule for the event(s) you're trying to support. Add this rule to the SWTBotGenerationRules.
Run your tests and ensure it's now green.
Contribute test and rule to SWTBot as a Gerrit patch.

Contribute your own Bot support

There is an extension point for that in org.eclipse.swtbot.generator. We recommend you to get the source for the org.eclipse.swtbot.generator plugin and see what's in it. The default SWTBot support is installed as an extension too, so you can take it as an example.

Contributing

The contributions tools and process are the same as for any SWTBot part. See SWTBot/Contributing.

Categories:

Retrieved from "https://wiki.eclipse.org/index.php?title=SWTBot/Generator&oldid=346483"

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{SWTBot}}
+== Purpose and limitations ==
+=== What it does ===
+The test generator can be enabled on any Eclipse-based application at runtime. It monitors at UI events as they are performed by user and the generate some pieces of code that can be reused later in automated tests to playback user actions.
+=== Limitations ===
+Some conceptual limitations of UI recorders (which are true for SWTBot Generator, but also for [http://seleniumhq.org/ Selenium] or other recorder/playback engines):
+* There are several ways to identify a widget, the recorder will choose only one, that may not be the best
+* The recorder understand "atomic" UI operation, which may be too fined-grained compared to what you want to test
+* The generator is not aware of your code style and tastes, so it may generate code that is not conform to your standards
+* The generator doesn't know what to check, it's just a bot: it's your role to add assertions and other checks
+All those points mean that the generation of code is only something that makes you save time by replacing some code writting, but the generated code '''always needs to be reviewed and enriched with assertions''' and probably improved.
+A limitation that is specific to this recorder and Eclipse is that it does not (yet) support GEF.
+=== How to get the maximal benefit from it ===
+'''Speed up the process of creating a test:''' instead of writing directly code, start by running your test scenario with the generator enabled. You'll get a huge part of your code already written down, ready to go into a TestCase. Then improve that code is necessary and '''add your assertions and checks'''.
+'''Ask users to provide their scenarios as code:''' If possible, when a user has a bug, ask him to start the recorder (you could embed its enablement in a higher-level menu - ''Help > Record usage scenario'' -to prevent end-users from doing complex operations); and ask your users to post the generated code. It will reduce the gap between users reports and unit tests.
 == Screencast ==
@@ Line 19: / Line 40: @@
 == Enablement ==
-=== From IDE ===
+=== At startup for a Run Configuration from IDE ===
 Ensure the '''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator''' bundle is part of your Lauch Configuration
@@ Line 27: / Line 48: @@
 TODO: screenshot
-=== From a RCP app ===
+=== At startup for a RCP app ===
 Ensure '''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator''' bundle is installed in your application (use ''ls'' or [http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/os-ecl-osgiconsole/ OSGi console] at runtime to check that).
@@ Line 53: / Line 74: @@
 -Xmx1024m
 -Dosgi.instance.area.default=@user.home/workspace
+</source>
+=== Programmatically from a plugin ===
+This is useful to start the recorder from menus, buttons or anything. Just make sure the bundle you're developing depends on '''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator''' and when relevent, invoke the following code to open the recorder Window:
+<source lang="java">
+org.eclipse.swtbot.generator.ui.StartupRecorder.openRecorder();
 </source>
@@ Line 61: / Line 89: @@
 == Extending it ==
-=== Mechanism ===
+=== Rules mechanism ===
-The Generator places some SWT listeners that look at events and generate code from each event. A Generator support is just a set of "rules" that are classes that process (or not) the current event to generate some code. Processing an event is divided in 2 pieces:
+The recorder places some SWT listeners that look at events and generate code from each event. A Generator support is just a [http://git.eclipse.org/c/swtbot/org.eclipse.swtbot.git/tree/org.eclipse.swtbot.generator/src/org/eclipse/swtbot/generator/framework/rules/SWTBotGeneratorRules.java set of "rules"] that are classes that process (or not) the current event to generate some code. Processing an event is divided in 2 pieces:
 # Create an accessor for the widget (eg: ''bot.button("blah")''
 # create an action on the widget (eg: ''.click()'')
+There are 2 kinds of rules:
+* Simple rules match a single event. Example: [http://git.eclipse.org/c/swtbot/org.eclipse.swtbot.git/tree/org.eclipse.swtbot.generator/src/org/eclipse/swtbot/generator/framework/rules/simple/ComboSelectionRule.java Combo selection]
+* Complex rules match several single rules, and then several events. Examples: [http://git.eclipse.org/c/swtbot/org.eclipse.swtbot.git/tree/org.eclipse.swtbot.generator/src/org/eclipse/swtbot/generator/framework/rules/complex/ModifyComboComplexRule.java Combo Text Modify], [http://git.eclipse.org/c/swtbot/org.eclipse.swtbot.git/tree/org.eclipse.swtbot.generator/src/org/eclipse/swtbot/generator/framework/rules/complex/ToolBarMenuComplexRule.java ToolbarMenu]
+Those rules are easy to [http://git.eclipse.org/c/swtbot/org.eclipse.swtbot.git/tree/org.eclipse.swtbot.generator.test/src/org/eclipse/swtbot/generator/test/RecordComboTest.java?id=4946c6c9f846cd4c5a81aa397f41ca43259cf8c7 test with JUnit and SWTBot].
+=== Adding and contributing a rule ===
+Recommended way to create and contribute a rule is:
+# Set up environment as described in the 2 first paragraph of [[SWTBot/Contributing|contribution guide]] : set up target-platform and get source for ''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator'' and ''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator.test'' in IDE
+# Write a test for your rule. Use the RecordComboTest as example. Run tests, ensure it's failing.
+# Write a rule for the event(s) you're trying to support. Add this rule to the SWTBotGenerationRules.
+# Run your tests and ensure it's now green.
+# Contribute test and rule to SWTBot as a [[SWTBot/Contributing#Provide_a_contribution_using_Gerrit|Gerrit patch]].
 === Contribute your own Bot support ===
-There is an extension point for that in '''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator'''. We recommend you to [[SWTBot/Contributing#Getting_the_source|get the source]] for the '''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator''' plugin and see what's in it. The default SWTBot support is installed as an extension too, so you can take it as an example.
+There is an extension point for that in '''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator'''. We recommend you to [[SWTBot/Contributing#Getting_the_source|get the source]] for the ''org.eclipse.swtbot.generator'' plugin and see what's in it. The default SWTBot support is installed as an extension too, so you can take it as an example.
 === Contributing ===
 The contributions tools and process are the same as for any SWTBot part. See [[SWTBot/Contributing]].

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