New job, new priorities

So we changed jobs. Still Test Automation, but different colleagues (internal developers yay!) and different tooling. Out with the Tosca, in with the .NET technology.

So the new goal is: let's learn how to work with the Microsoft technology stack.

Very useful link:
https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/docs/tfvc/overview

We start with creating a solution and then adding it to TFVC:
https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/docs/tfvc/set-up-team-foundation-version-control-your-dev-machine

But then we run into the situation that apparently it's not possible to connect to MULTIPLE Team Foundation Servers from one Visual Studio client. This is rather annoying since I was planning to do some experimenting on my own in the VisualStudio cloud separate from work, but this is apparently not possible. My manager created a new 'Team Project'

Current technical roadblocks to resolve:
1. Connect to the work TFS via VPN.

Tosca > TDM > Setting up

When working with Tosca sooner or later the need to store testdata in a database will arise. In Tosca this is supported via the 'TDM' functionality.

Before you can start writing testdata to a TDM database you'll need to create a 'class' in the TestCaseDesign section and assign attributes to that class corresponding to your TDM needs

• DO NOT FORGET to tick the 'TDM' column tickbox for every attribute which needs to make it into your TDM database.

Find the relevant modules in the section:
Modules\Tricentis\Tbox\Tbox XEngines\TestDataManagement



First create an object with the 'TDM Create Object' module.
Then set attributes with the 'TDM Set Attribute' module.
Then save the object to the TDM database with the 'TDM Save' module.

To retrieve an entry from TDM use the 'TDM Find Single Object' module. After the call an object with the given name is stored in memory. To access the TDM values of this object use the 'TD' function in Tosca:
{TD[[ObjectName].[AttributeName]]}

Tosca > TDM TQL search within a search

In our repository we have a TDM structure where the different TDM objects are linked with reletions. If you want to find one property via its link with another property this is done via a TQL query:

->RETURN All:[TDMObject1]->[TDMObject2][Property=="[property_value]"]

or: in human readable:

-> RETURN All:Portfolio->Client[Username=="login01"]

Tosca > Report detail level

If the logs in your ExecutionLog don't contain enough details, then set:
Settings -> TBox -> Logging -> Report successful Execution of

to the value

TeststepValues - All

Tosca DUH! moment: May

Test Automation is - in the end - software development. Everyone who has ever dabbled in software development is familiar with being stuck on things that in the end turned out to be very trivial and make you feel like: DUH!. I'll be logging my Tosca DUH! moments in this post. It'll be good as therapy in any case, and seeing all these items listed under each other might provide me with some insights.

• If you have a verification error make sure you read the ENTIRE 'Loginfo' message and not be fooled by the fact that the textbox can be many times smaller than the actual message. /Facepalm
• Was until now unaware of the distinction between single and double quotes in Powershell.
• In short: just use single quotes when possible
• In long: http://windowsitpro.com/blog/single-quotes-vs-double-quotes-powershell-whats-difference

BitBucket > Setting up a Git repository

It is still my goal to have my own AWS-powered LAMP server (or Windows tech equivalent) server up and running where I'll host a Git server, mail server, web server, etc. But what I wish for and what is realistic are generatlly two very different things, so it's time to get a bit more realistic in the short term. And that newfound realism is going to start with setting up a Git repository on BitBucket so that we'll have a lightweight method to share coding projects over multiple locations.

How to:

• Create an account at BitBucket - this should speak for itself
• Create an EMPTY Git repository on your BitBucket account
• Go to the empty repsository at BitBucket and...
• click 'Clone'
• A popup will appear containing text starting with "git clone"
• Copy all text MINUS "git clone" to the clipboard
• Create a new project (optionally with initial code) in Visual Studio
• Add the project to Source Control in Visual Studio (if necessary)
• Commit the project
• You'll get an error message that the project wasn't added to a remote repository and a screen with an option to provide the URL of the remote repo
• Paste the clipboard into the URL field
• Click the obvious button and...
• DONE :-)

Definitely can be done neater, but this works.

Tosca > Steering Parameter > FireEvent > Finding out which one to use

If you are trying to steer a web element with Tosca and the default 'FireEvent = change' is not working you have to find out which 'event' is 'being listened to'. These are two techniques to go about that:

Chrome:

• Rightclick the element and choose 'Inspect'
• In the 'underwater screen' that pops up Leftclick the tag corresponding to the element
• In the right upper section of the underwater screen there is a section with the tabs: Styles, Computed, and Event Listeners
• Click the tab 'Event Listeners'
• A list of events appears.

Firefox:

• Rightclick the element and choose 'Inspect Element'
• In the 'underwater screen' that pops up Rightclick the tag corresponding to the element and choose 'show DOM properties'
• In the second underwater screen that pops there is a section on the right side.
• Scroll down this section to find all 'on-' events.
• Firefox seems less discerning than Chrome. I've had cases where Chrome found the events being listened to and Firefox didn't.