HP QTP Interview Question 20: How to build automation framework around HP QTP 9.5?

I've been planning to create up some tips on QA interview for Senior QA Engineer a good long time now. I keep putting it off, because it's going upset almost every interviewee. Why? Because you cannot just read some blog about interview answers and pretend you have 10+ year extensive experience with HP QTP 9.5 or Silktest 2008 or any other tool, you named it.

I just considered giving out an interview tip for automation framework around HP QTP 9.5. This interview question would be definitely asked to a Senior SQA Engineer. Perhaps you never build any, in this case carefully watch the video about building a flexible and reusable framework around Selenium from Google Test Automation Conference 2007. This video as a live experience report from two people who work on the automation framework that Google has written.

Unfortunately, many of the great ideas illustrated in Selenium framework video require an object-oriented programming language to allow automated Engineers to use encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism. HP QTP 9.5 does not allow us to do this - VBScript is object based rather than fully object oriented.

QTP Interview Questions 19: Where to download HP QTP 9.5

1. Go to 'HP QuickTest Professional software' page (search it in Google)
2. Click on HP QuickTest Professional 9.5 Evaluation link
3. Register for the HP BTO Software Download Center
4. Download free HP QPT 9.5 Evaluation
   

HP WinRunner is dead

The life of SQA Engineers becomes easier. HP Software announced the end of support for HP WinRunner versions 7.5, 7.6, 8.0, 8.2, 9.2 – all versions, all editions. For the past seven years Mercury Interactive and then HP has offered both test automation testing tools HP WinRunner and HP QuickTest Professional as part of top functional testing packaged solution for extensive automated testing. Eliminating the functionality overlap between the products will maximize the value of the software functionality to HP customers. As part of the migration proposal, HP will replace the HP WinRunner licenses listed above that are fully maintained by an active annual HP WinRunner support contract with HP QuickTest Pro 9.5 license, free of charge. The free QTP 9.5 evaluation is available for download on HP web site.

HP has chosen Gallop Technologies as their exclusive partner for providing migration services from HP WinRunner to HP QTP 9.5 based on the WinQuick platform. According to Gallop Technologies, WinQuick provides a fast, high quality, cost effective solution for automatically converting and re-architecting HP WinRunner code base to HP QTP 9.5. WinQuick delivers clean and maintainable code that uses structures, idioms, libraries, conventions and components of the target HP QuickTest Professional 9.5 environment. The migrated code does not have any dependency on TSL and is native to the target environment.

HP QuickTest Professional 9.5

In the rainy morning I navigated my Firefox to the HP Software Support & Troubleshooting website with only one goal – to download HP QuickTest Professional 9.2 manual and suddenly noticed the ability to select HP QTP 9.5 version in the drop down menu. Unfortunately I haven't found any mentions of QuickTest Professional 9.5 release notes, but after spending a few minutes in Google I discovered the following highlights of the newest version this functional testing tool.

New Features in HP QuickTest Pro 9.5

• Maintenance run mode.
• Process Guidance (best practices and methodologies manuals)
• All-in-one QuickTest Installation (All of HP QTP on one DVD)
• New QuickTest IDE Panes (flow, available keywords and resources panes)
• Checkpoint and Output Objects in the Object Repository.
• Test Your PowerBuilder Applications in QuickTest
• Extend QuickTest Web Support for your Custom Web Objects
• Accelerate SAP Testing with HP Business Process Testing for SAP Applications

HP QTP 9.5 now supports new technologies:

• PowerBuilder 9, 10, 10.5 and 11
• Oracle Forms 10 and Apps 12
• StingRay Objective Grid 10, 11
• PeopleSoft 9.0
• New Terminal Emulator versions
• NET 3.5 (beta)

HP QuickTest Professional 9.5 introduces support for new environments
• Windows Vista 64 bit
• Eclipse 3.2, 3.3
• Record on SWT
• Firefox 3.0
• Netscape 9 (nice feature, but too late. AOL discontinued support for Netscape)

To download QTP 9.5 contact immediately with your HP support representative and HP will provide the download link HP QTP 9.5 in ISO format. In addition too new tool, downloaded 1.32 GB file contains also HP QTP tutorials and documentation. For same reasons I forgot to ask HP support about updated HP QTP 9.5 license key, so I just applied HP QTP 9.2 license and it works as expected. I jsut wonder how long it will take before HP QuickTest Pro 10 comes out.

QTP Interview Questions 18: How to recognize text in CAPTCHA image with HP QTP?

What is CAPTCHA? It is a type of test used to determine whether the user is human or computer. CAPTCHA is an acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart". The goal of CAPTCHA is to prevent automated software like Borland Silktest 2008 or HP QuickTest Pro 9.2 from performing actions which degrade the quality of service of a given system, whether due to abuse or resource expenditure.

Of course as a part of testing effort your test team should try to break insecure implementation, not only with HP QTP 9.2. QA Engineer may check if CAPTCHA image allows multiple solution attempt on the same CAPTCHA or if system can by bypassed just by reusing the session ID on know image or check the size of pool of images.

What if you need to test other functionality of your web application with HP QTP 9.2 and CAPTCHA preventing from passing in? One of the solutions on QA environment would be to add text field near CAPCHA image that can be easily accessible by HP QuckTest Pro 9.2. One more approach would be to keep the same image on QA environment. In both cases do not forget to ship correct version to production.

QTP Interview Questions 17: How to use Microsoft Excel in a HP QuickTest Pro test?

For comprehensive listing of Excel methods and properties that can be used with HP QTP 9.2 scripts refer to "Microsoft Office 2000 Visual Basic for Applications Language Reference". SQA engineer can utilize these Excel object methods within a HP QTP script to create workbooks, create new sheets, input data, etc, but keep in mind Excel's object methods and properties are not part of HP QuickTest Professional, therefore, they are not guaranteed to work and are not supported by Hewlett Packard Technical Support. Any changes that Microsoft may apply to these methods for a new version of Microsoft Office are not the responsibility of Hewlett Packard.

HP QTP Tutorials

Every HP QTP specialist knows mournful fact that HP QuickTest Professional books are not available on open market. Today I put together nice presentations about using short keys in test automation tools.