The Automated Test Code Generator (ATCG) enables you to record and replay GUI actions in JADE applications, by capturing the execution of GUI event methods and generating code to replay those actions.
JADE's method tracking enables you to identify a target method to be tracked and to intercept the execution of that method. (For details about method tracking, see Chapter 18, "
At recording time, code snippets are generated. When the recording session is finished, a .cls file is generated and loaded into the database. When run with the standard functionality (that is, using the Replay Last or Replay List button on the ATCG Control dialog), the original GUI actions are replayed.
ATCG is typically used to create regression tests or benchmark systems. Although it has many uses, its primary purpose is to generate code that you can use in data‑driven testing.
Although there are a number of tools on the market that claim to allow the recording and replay of GUI actions for regression testing, they require the use of an additional language, and they are frequently complex and expensive. In addition, it can be difficult to specify in these tools which differences in the tested application are superficial and which are important.
The output from ATCG is JADE code, which you can modify to meet your requirements. For example, if a button on a form is renamed between releases of a regression test, you can easily find and fix the affected code. When used to create a benchmark system, you can record a business transaction once, and by modifying the generated JADE code, replay it many times in a loop; for example, reading input data from a flat file, or looping through a table and handling all rows.