qtp-descriptive-programming
TRANSCRIPT
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DP 101 in 60 simple slides
www.AdvancedQTP.com
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What is DP?
DP stands for
Descriptive Programming
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But what IS DP?
It’s a cool way to work without QTP’s Object-Repository (OR)
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Why would I want to do that?
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Many reasons
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You have to
Functions & Recovery scenarios work with different actions
Different actions = Different ORs
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Do I know you?
Can’t be sure…
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You have to
Can’t record certain objectsAuto-hide panels
Objects with changing hierarchies
Nested inner-objects, Sub menus
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Hold still, damnit!
Even when you think you got it, all the properties turn out null
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Simplicity
Why kill a fly with an atom bomb?
No need to use the OR for every one-time click button in the application
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And,You can do VERY cool things with DP
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OK, bring it on
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First, we need to better understand the Object Repository
What the OR is
How does the OR work
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I thought DP is all about NOT using the OR…
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Well, yes, but under the hood, DP & the OR work the same way
To understand the OR, is to understand DP
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What is the OR?
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A mysterious beast that records objects, in order to use them later
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What is to record an object?
Write down how to identify it
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Who are you?
=How can I identify you?
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Identification is done with
properties and values
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Who are you?
=Your height = 400
Your title = “NotePad”
You are visible (=True)
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So, What IS the OR?
Collections of properties & corresponding values
Each collection represents an object
No mysterious beast here
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OK, So what IS DP?
DP is a way for specifying the properties & values without using the OR interface
No mysterious beast here, either
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OK, I get it, there’s nothing more than properties and values
Can we get on with it?
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How do I actually use DP?
There are two ways
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1Throw the properties and values
straight into a command
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It’s the good old syntax you know, except the string between the () is not the OR name.
It’s the property:=value identification string
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That’s kinda restrictive
What if I want to use multiple identification properties?
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No problem:
VBWindow(“height:=400”, “title:=New Document”).Maximize
You can use as many properties as you like
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All fine and well, but what if I want to use regular expressions?
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No problem:
VBWindow(“title:=.*Document.*”).Maximize
ID strings are automatically interpreted as regular expressions
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2Throw the properties & values into a description object, and throw IT into
the command
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Here also, all the values are interpreted as regular expressions. To turn it off, use
oDesc(“Property1”).RegularExpression = False
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Method 1 is faster, best used for one or two commands, tops
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When you want to execute multiple commands on an object, method 2 is a better choice by far
(allows one-time definitions, multiple uses)
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You can use DP with OR
VBWindow(“OR”).VBButton(“text:=OK”).Click
Or (when oDesc is a description object):
VBWindow(“OR”).VBButton(oDesc).Click
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But, you can only start from OR, and move to DP
So this will not work:
VBWindow(“title:=notgood”).VBButton(“clickme”).Click
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And that’s about it
You can use each of the methods (or combine them), and you’ll be able to use objects that are not in the OR
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You said I could do really cool stuff with DP!
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Right you are
We’ll cover some of the more popular tricks and tips
These examples are only the tip of the iceberg. Play with them and see the true power of DP
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The power of the string
DP is nothing more than simple strings
We can do such interesting things with strings…
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The power of the string
Say we got an app with 4 checkboxes, check0, …, check4
We can set all of them with a nice simple loop:
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The power of the string
Very complex identification tasks can be done via strings manipulation
Try different variations for yourself
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Solving double objects
When QTP finds two object which match the same description, it freezes
This kinda sucks
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?
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DP has a magic property: “index”, which allows us to tell the double objects apart
Index is a zero-based counter
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All is well
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Getting objects collections
This feature is so cool, deserves a title on its own
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THE coolest thing you can do with DP, is to get a
collection of all the objects that math an identification
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I don’t know who you are, or how many are you, but I want to mark all of you!
Regular DP won’t help - Don’t know how to identify each checkbox
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Object collections to the rescue!
Step 1: define a description object
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Object collections to the rescue!
Step 2: get all matching objects
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Object collections to the rescue!
Step 3: Use the collection
oChildren now holds a collection of all the checkboxes
So the first checkbox is accessed by: oChildren(0)
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What can we do with it?
Anything we want
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Example for common uses
Mark all Checkboxes
Mark all checkboxes with a certain property (even RO)
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The possibilities are endless
Randomly input fields
Input only mandatory fields
Zero maintenance (new fields are added automatically, blind to UI changes)
Select object which match complex identification criteria (write custom if filters)
The list goes on and on…
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OK, this is indeed cool, but it only gets us the inner controls of a given window.
Can we also get the application’s top level windows?
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Sure
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So, With DP we can work with no OR
Sometimes we have to use it
Other times it’s just more fun and useful
DP also throws in a lot of extras that make it an inseparable part of good QTP automation
Taste it, Experience it, Learn it, Use it, Love it
It’s worth your while
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And that was DP in 60 slides