XLT

Release of XLT 4.7

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Summary

Xceptance released version 4.7 of its load testing and test automation product Xceptance LoadTest. It features a wide range of improvements and new functionalities.

Here is a selection of the most important changes.

  • Script Developer fully supports test data sets now
  • Script Developer learned “post steps” for easy cleanup or tear down of test cases
  • Script Developer and the framework support the new echo command for enhanced debugging
  • Load testing supports a variable load factor function to easily and globally vary load quickly
  • Load test reports display DNS resolution time
  • Load test reports display error charts per error type and response code
  • Data tables and charts for custom values display more details
  • Data tables have sticky headers for easier data evaluation
  • Load test reports can be created for specific test scenarios by filtering to include or exclude specific scenarios during report creation
  • XLT can log method and POST data to its timer files
  • All core libraries have been updated for improved browser support and improved performance
  • The new Amazon data center in Mumbai, India (ap-south-1) has been added

See below for more details of the highlights. Make sure to read the full online release notes.

As always, this upgrade is free for everyone.

Continue reading Release of XLT 4.7 →

Automation, Java, Software, XLT

Localisation Verifier – A Custom Java Module for Script Developer

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Introduction

When employing XLT Script Developer you usually resort to automated or manual scripting to drive your testing. Sometimes though you will face a very specific or complex task that can not be expressed that easy with the standard scripting capabilities of Script Developer. For these types of scenarios Script Developer provides the option to integrate a custom Java module. With custom modules you have the full power of your Java runtime and are able to achieve virtually any testing objective.

The following blog post will describe a small custom Java module we created and used recently. By this example we will explain when to choose this route and demonstrate the creation and execution of Java modules. Ultimately you will be able to add Script Developer’s custom module option to your testing arsenal.
Continue reading Localisation Verifier – A Custom Java Module for Script Developer →

Automation, Testing, XLT

Special Characters in Script Developer

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Recently we received a support request regarding special characters in Script Developer. Perhaps other XLT users stumble across a similar requirement, so it’s a good idea to make the discussion available to the public.

First of all, some bad news: Up to now, Script Developer does not have explicit support for special characters, such as Line Feed (\n), Horizontal Tab (\t), Backspace (\b) or similar. For example, typing multiple lines of text – each line delimited by a newline character – into an element on your page is not possible just like that. Upon loading your script, XLT Script Developer normalizes all white-space characters contained in the target or value field of any command.

Of course, we don’t want to leave you out in the rain but provide a feasible solution.
Continue reading Special Characters in Script Developer →

Automation, XLT

Conditional Expressions in XLT

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Motivation

Did you ever have to create multiple versions of your test cases to accommodate small differences of your test objects? Looking for a trade-off between good testing practice and minimizing project complexity. The following blog post reflects on this challenge and introduces you to a potential solution: Conditional Expressions.

Introduction

Xceptance introduced its test automation and load testing tool XLT 4.6 in February 2016 and with it we brought you conditionals. Today we want to shed some light on this new feature, the discussion that came along with it and why we finally decided to introduce it. This blog post will equip you with everything required to employ conditional expressions in your test scripts.

In computer programming, a condition or conditional expression performs an action depending on whether a given statement (the condition) evaluates to true or false. The programmer has the possibility to execute a part of the program only if certain circumstances are met. Now don’t worry, you do not need to become a full-fledged programmer to create your test cases with XLT Script Developer. But you should not skip on the possibilities this new feature is offering.

The Challenge

In testing typically you want your flow of execution to be linear, deterministic and transparent. The individual execution steps of your test case should be well-defined and yield the same results in a constant environment. If one execution step fails – e.g. an assertion does not check out – the whole test case always breaks and evaluates to failed. Run, rinse and repeat.

On the contrary often enough your real world test cases need to cater various scenarios. Think multi-region support of your page for example. Area specific content and functionality can quickly bring you into a catch-22 situation. Follow good practice in test case design, but deal with complexity and organizational nightmares in your test suite. Tiny differences in your test objects force you to keep multiple versions of your (already lengthy) test cases. Farewell maintainability!
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Xceptance

Xceptance at 11th Charity Relay in Jena

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Yes, we did it again. We’re athletic and we care for our community, so we took on another sports challenge and had three of us participate in the 11th Relay Race in Jena, a charity run covering a 3x2km distance.

We had a lot of fun and did pretty well but most importantly we’re happy that this year’s funds will be donated to the Kindersprachbrücke Jena e.V., a local organization devoted to helping refugees and migrants, especially children and their families, learn German and find a new home in Jena.

Bugs in the Wild, Testing

Tracking and Ad-Blocker Software

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Summary in 64 words

Ad blockers are widely used tools these days. Users install this software to improve loading times of websites or to simply remove intrusive advertisement. But what does this mean for us as a testing company? We saw some sites break and are now including tests with enabled ad blockers. This helps our customers to see where problems might occur and to improve user experience.

Introduction

The amount of advertising increases and more and more users take this matter in their own hands and install ad blockers. Users also become privacy-conscious and do not want to expose their browsing behavior to an ever increasing number of companies. Facebook’s, Twitter’s, and Google’s ad or content pixels are on nearly every page nowadays. Adobe collects data as well with font services, Scene7, and Omniture. There are lots of big and small third parties that live on pages and are included as a service. We have seen websites with over 50 third party services on a single page of their web shop.

Continue reading Tracking and Ad-Blocker Software →

Xceptance

Open-Air in Jena – kulturarena 2015

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Logo KulturarenaWe are again supporting Jena’s widely acclaimed KulturArena Open-Air to contribute to local arts and culture. The international festival, which is held right in downtown Jena, is famous for hosting musical acts from all over the world.

This year’s performers include well-known artists such as Tanita Tikaram, Roachford, and Element of Crime. As always, visitors can also go to movie nights and theater performances. We’re excited to be a part of the biggest open-air event in Thuringia.

So come on out and enjoy exciting summer nights in Jena!

Xceptance

Xceptance at 5th Jena City Corporate Running Challenge

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On May 20, 2015, we again joined Jena’s greatest sports and charity event, the Jena Corporate Running Challenge. Every year local companies and organizations go on a 5 kilometers run in downtown Jena to promote sporting activities and, more importantly, raise money for local programs and institutions devoted to help others in need.

We had a lot of fun and all of us tackled the whole distance. This year’s funds will be donated to various charity projects in Jena: the Paten für Demenz project for people with dementia, the mental health charity Aktion Wandlungswelten, and the Stiftung Hodenkrebs dedicated to research on testicular cancer.

Xceptance

Xceptance Goes by Bike

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From May 9 – 29, the city of Jena hosts the so-called Stadtradeln event, a nation-wide campaign initiated by the Climate Alliance to foster climate protection and bicycle-friendly communities. Everyone is invited to get together in teams and compete for the most miles commuted by bike.

Banner StadtradelnA total of 46 teams is going to cycle in Jena and we are proud to announce Xceptance is one of them this year. Throughout the next couple of days we will therefore ditch our cars, get on our bikes as much as possible and track our miles as well as CO2 emissions saved. It is not that important to us where in the ranking we will end up: as an international company we still care about our local environment and we are happy to contribute in our own small way to climate protection and an eco-friendly Jena.