Claims
- 1. A computerized method for interacting between a first information-processing device having native operating software that includes a human-interface for interacting with a human user, the method comprising
providing a first target interface on the host computer; providing a software agent in the first device, the software agent being a minimally intrusive code added to the native operating software of the first device, the software agent provided to interact with the first target interface; sending a stimulation command from the host computer to the software agent in the first device; stimulating the human-user interface of the native operating software of the first device by the software agent according to the stimulation command received by the software agent; and receiving, into the host computer, output results of the stimulation of the first device.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the host computer is programmed to perform a testing function upon the native operating software of the first device, the method further comprising:
comparing in the host system the received output results to expected values.
- 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the received output results are representative of a visual output of the device.
- 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the received output results are representative of an audio output of the first device.
- 5. A computer-readable media comprising instructions coded thereon that, when executed on a suitably programmed host computer and on a suitably programmed information-processing device, execute the method of claim 1.
- 6. A computerized method for testing an information-processing system-under-test unit via a host testing system unit having a target interface for connecting to the system-under-test unit, the system-under-test unit having native operating software for controlling field operations, the method comprising:
issuing a target interface stimulation instruction to the target interface; processing the target interface stimulation instruction to derive a stimulation signal for the system-under-test unit; sending the stimulation signal from the host testing system unit's target interface to the software test agent running in the system-under-test unit; executing a set of test commands by the software test agent to derive and issue a stimulation input to the native operating software of the system-under-test unit based on the sent stimulation signal; capturing, in the host testing system unit, an output of the system-under-test unit; and comparing the captured output in the host testing system unit to an expected result.
- 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the comparing the captured output to an expected result is performed to determine test success.
- 8. The method of claim 6, wherein the captured output includes a visual output from the system-under-test unit.
- 9. The method of claim 6, wherein the captured output includes an audio output from the system-under-test unit.
- 10. The method of claim 6, wherein the processing the target interface stimulation instruction to derive a stimulation signal for the system-under-test unit includes encoding the stimulation instruction in Extensible Markup Language (XML) in the stimulation signal.
- 11. The method of claim 6, wherein the processing the target interface stimulation instruction to derive a stimulation signal for the system-under-test unit includes a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) interface between the target interface and the software test agent.
- 12. The method of claim 6, wherein the processing the target interface stimulation instruction to derive a stimulation signal for the system-under-test unit includes a Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM) interface between the target interface and the software test agent.
- 13. A computer-readable media comprising instructions coded thereon that when executed on a suitably programmed computer and on a suitably programmed information-processing system-under-test executes the method of claim 5.
- 14. A computerized system for testing a function of a first information-processing system-under-test unit, the system comprising:
a host testing system unit that includes:
a memory, a first target interface stored in the memory, the first target interface including commands for controlling stimulation signals sent to the first system-under-test unit, a first output port, and a first input port; the first system-under-test unit that includes:
a memory, native operating software stored in the memory, a software test agent stored in the memory, the software test agent including commands for stimulating the first system-under-test unit, wherein the software test agent receives stimulation signals from the host testing system unit's first target interface, an input port, and an output port; a connector for carrying signals from the host testing system unit first output port to the first system-under-test unit input port; and a connector for carrying signals from the system-under-test unit first output port to the host testing system unit first input port.
- 15. The computerized system of claim 14, wherein the host testing system unit further includes:
an output device that provides a test result indicator.
- 16. The computerized system of claim 14, wherein the software test agent's commands for stimulating the first system-under-test unit include only commands for parsing stimulation signals received from the host testing system unit and for directing stimulation to the native operating software on the first system-under-test unit.
- 17. The computerized system of claim 14, wherein the connectors for carrying signals include carrier waves transmitted and received using a wireless connectivity technology.
- 18. The computerized system of claim 14, wherein the host testing system unit further includes an image capture device for capturing visual output signals from the first system-under-test unit.
- 19. The computerized system of claim 18, wherein the host testing system unit further includes:
expected visual output definitions stored in the memory; and a comparator for comparing captured visual output signals from a system-under-test unit with one or more expected visual output definitions.
- 20. The computerized system of claim 14, wherein the host testing system unit further includes:
an audio output capture device for capturing audio output from the system-under-test unit; expected audio output definitions stored in the memory; a set of commands stored in the memory for comparing the captured audio output with one or more expected audio output definitions.
- 21. A computerized system comprising:
a host system, wherein the host system includes a target interface; an information-processing device having native operating software; one or more connections between the host system and the information-processing device, wherein the target interface includes a platform-neutral, open-standard connectivity interface for driving stimulation signals over the one or more connections to the information-processing device; and software agent means in the information-processing device for parsing and directing stimulation signals received over the platform-neutral, open-standard connectivity interface with the target interface to the native operating software of the information-processing device.
- 22. The computerized system of claim 21, wherein the host testing system unit further includes:
a memory; a set of stimulation commands stored in the memory for stimulating the system-under-test unit through the target interface.
- 23. The computerized system of claim 22, wherein the host testing system unit further includes:
an output capture device for capturing output from the system-under-test unit; and a set of commands stored in the memory for comparing a captured output from the system-under-test unit with an expected output.
- 24. The host testing system unit of claim 22, wherein the set of stimulation commands stored in the memory include test commands of an automated testing tool.
- 25. The computerized system of claim 22, wherein the host testing system unit further includes:
a test program, created using one or more stimulation commands, for automatically testing one or more functions of the system-under-test unit; a log file in the memory for tracking test success; and an output device for viewing a test program result.
- 26. The computerized system of claim 22, wherein the host testing system unit further includes:
one or more target interfaces for one or more system-under-test units, wherein the system-under-test units are of one or more types of devices.
- 27. The computerized system of claim 21, wherein the platform-neutral, open-standard connectivity interface includes one or more interfaces selected from the group consisting of:
Component Object Model (COM); Distributed Component Object Model (DCOM); and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP).
- 28. The computerized system of claim 21, wherein the platform-neutral, open-standard connectivity interface includes one or more interfaces selected from the group consisting of:
Ethernet; Universal Serial Bus (USB); Electrical Industries Association Recommended Standard 232 (RS-232); and Bluetooth™.
- 29. A software test agent stored in a memory for execution on an information-processing system-under-test unit, the system-under-test unit having a native operating software, stored in the memory, that controls field functions of the system-under-test unit, the software test agent comprising:
a platform-neutral, open-standard connectivity interface; and a set of commands for execution on the system-under-test unit that parse stimulation signals received over the platform-neutral, open-standard connectivity interface and directs stimulations to the native operating software of the system-under-test unit.
- 30. The software test agent of claim 29, wherein the system-under-test unit is connected to a host testing system unit that drives stimulation commands in signals over the connection to test functions of the system-under-test unit.
- 31. The software test agent of claim 30, wherein the system-under-test outputs data, in response to the stimulation signals, that is captured by the host testing system unit for comparison with an expected output to determine a test result.
- 32. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:
providing a second target interface on the host computer; providing a second information-processing device having native operating software that includes a human interface for interacting with a human user, wherein the second device is not identical to the first device, the native operating software of the second device is not identical to the native operating software on the first device, and the human interface of the second device is not identical to the human interface of the first device; providing a software agent in the second device, the software agent being a minimally intrusive code added to the native operating software of the second device, the software agent provided to interact with the second target interface; sending the stimulation command from the host computer to the software agent on the second device, wherein the stimulation command is identical to the stimulation command sent to the first device; stimulating the human interface of the native operating software of the second device by the software agent according to the stimulation command received by the software agent on the second device; and receiving, into the host computer, output results of the stimulation of the second device.
- 33. The method of claim 32, further comprising:
stimulating the human interface of the native operating software of both the first and second devices by their respective software agents according to identical stimulation commands received by the software test agents on both the first and second devices, wherein the identical stimulation commands cause similar functionality to be tested on both the first and second devices.
- 34. The computerized system of claim 14, further comprising:
the host testing system further including:
a second output port, a second input port, a second target interface stored in the memory of the host testing system, the second target interface including commands for controlling stimulation signals sent to the second system-under-test unit; a second system-under-test unit that includes:
a memory, native operating software stored in the memory, a software test agent stored in the memory, the software test agent including commands for stimulating the second system-under-test unit, wherein the software test agent receives stimulation signals from the host testing system unit's second target interface, an input port, and an output port; a connector for carrying signals from the host testing system second output port to the second system-under-test unit input port; and a connector for carrying signals from the second system-under-test unit output port to the host testing system second input port.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application serial No. 60/377,515 (entitled AUTOMATIC TESTING APPARATUS AND METHOD, filed May 1, 2002) which is herein incorporated by reference.
[0002] This application is related to U.S. Patent Application entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING AND USING TEST VERBS filed on even date herewith, to U.S. patent application entitled NON-INTRUSIVE TESTING SYSTEM AND METHOD filed on even date herewith, and to U.S. patent application Ser. No. entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING AND USING WIRELESS TEST VERBS filed on even date herewith, each of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60377515 |
May 2002 |
US |