QAInsight.net, QABlog.com, QABlog.net
Brent Strange's thoughts on Software Quality Assurance and technology

 
Sunday, September 17, 2006
  
 

Inexpensive Web page automation

  
 

On this blog you hear a lot of SWEA this, SWEA that... SWEA solves all my web page automation tasks, SWEA saves my ass, SWEA is cheap, without SWEA I couldn't test 90% of a new build of our UI in 10 minutes, SWEA takes 4 letters out of SWEAt, no SWEAt with SWEA, I get left with T, Time. Time to focus on complex functional tests, installers, performance, (insert more buzz-word test types here).

So about now you're thinking, SWEA Sure Would Enhance the Automation in my workplace. Yeah! YEAH! Now you're catching on...

So, not long ago AdventNet posted a nice little automation tool comparison chart, but they forgot to add SWEA. Wonder why? Probably because SWEA is $59.00 which blows all other tools out of the water in the price department. Not only that, SWEA holds its own in features too. That's pretty freakin' sweet since SWEA was create by one man, a Mr. Alex Furman man. One might think, "Hmm, I'm not sure if I should bank my automation investment on a tool created and supported by one dude". Let me tell you, and you must listen my automation tool shopping friend: Alex Furman is the man! I work with quite a few tools, I've worked with some of the tools that you'll see in the comparison chart (the one I'm leading up to) plus some others, and I have never received the support I've received from Alex. Alex gets shat done, he works hard, he is proud of, and smart about his product. For example, one day I'm like all IMing Alex: "Hey, it'd be nice if I could attach the SWEA designer to any already open Internet Explorer window", Alex is all "Sweet idea, my heroic QA engineer Brent Strange, I'll put that feature in tonight, it'll be a lot more fun than that near-impossible AJAX support I've been working on". Heh. Seriously the guy responds and makes it happen for me (thanks Alex). The tool has made my QA life easier.

Oh yeah, the purpose of this post...If you put it in the comparison list provided by AdventNet it really hangs with the big dogs (view a larger comparison of tools here):

Features

Comparisons

 

SWEA

QEngine WebTest

WinRunner

SilkTest

Rational

Cost / License

$59

$799+

$8000

$6,495 plus $1,170 for Maintenance

$2,900 - $5000

Platform & Browser Support

Platform Support

Windows

Windows & Linux

Windows

Windows & UNIX

Windows

Browser Support

 IE

IE,
Mozilla & FireFox

IE &
Netscape

IE &
Netscape

IE &
Netscape

Recording

Floating menu's

Yes

Yes

No

?

?

Object Name Map

 Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Object Mode Recording in Windows Application

 No (only browser based UI)

No (only browser based UI)

Yes

Yes

Yes

MouseDown Events

 Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Modal / Modaless Dialog

 Yes (Modal)

Yes

?

?

?

Script Language

.Net languages

Jython

TSL

4Test

SQABasic

Extensible

 Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Checkpoint Libraries

?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

PlayBack

Play control
(Fast/Normal Mode)

 Yes

Yes

Yes

?

?

Interoperability

Partial
(Browser)

Full Support
(OS & Browser)

Partial
(Browser)

Partial
(Browser)

Partial
(Browser)

Multi-Window Handling

 Yes

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

Automated Regression

 Yes (NUnit)

Yes

Partial

Yes

Yes

Play against different host without re-recording

 Yes

Yes

?

?

?

Error Handling

 Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Validation

Multiple Validation with expression support

 Requires NUnit

Yes

No

No

No

Validation - Window

 Requires NUnit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Validation - Text

 Requires NUnit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Validation - Image

 Requires NUnit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Validation - Table

 Requires NUnit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Validation - Document

 Requires NUnit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Validation - Page Response Time & Status

 No

Yes

No

No

?

Validate & Save Window

 Yes

No

Yes

Yes

?

Validate Clipboard Text

 No

No

No

No

?

Validate & Synchronize Screen Rectangle

 No

No

Yes

Yes

?

Validate - DB Data

 Requires NUnit

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Validate & Synchronize Text

?

No

Yes

No

No

 

Data Driven Testing

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Portability

 Yes

Yes

?

?

?

In Built support for Script Maintenance

 No

CVS

No*

No*

No*

Parameterization

 ?

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

* - at extra cost

Others

Customizable

 Yes

Yes

No(separate tool reqd)

Yes

Yes

Internationalization

 Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Detailed Reports

 No

Yes

Limited

Yes

Yes

 
 

Application Support

Web, HTML, DHTML, ASP, , JavaScript

Web, HTML, DHTML, ASP, Java, JavaScript

HTML, XML, JavaScript, Java, ActiveX

HTML, XML, JavaScript, Java, ActiveX

HTML, DHTML, Java,
Visual Basic, Visual C++, Oracle Developer
/2000, Delphi, SAP, PeopleSoft and Sybase Powerbuilder.

Applet Testing

 No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

? - Unknown

How do I use SWEA? Check out the tutorial of my test framework with SWEA, NUnit and C#.

  
   
   
   
Comments are closed.

Search QAInsight.net
Subscribe!
RSS 2.0All of QAInsight.net
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

My Testing Tools
Brent's Web Testing Toolbox
User-Agent Info and Tools

QA Blogs
 Bug Bash
 James Bach
 Josh Poley
 Rosie Sherry
 Test Early
 Testing Reflections
 The Braidy Tester
Other, Favorite Blogs
 Alex Scoble
 CopyBlogger
 Greg Hughes
 Jeff AtWood
 Lidor Wyssocky
 Matt Lapworth
 Milind Pandit
 Phillip Forteza
 Rory Blyth
 Scott Hanselman
 Simon Goldstein

Profile
About Brent Strange
Send mail to the author(s)
E-mail
Instant Message
View Brent Strange's profile on LinkedIn

Blog Archive
 List all Posts
December, 2008 (1)
November, 2008 (2)
September, 2008 (7)
August, 2008 (1)
July, 2008 (3)
June, 2008 (1)
May, 2008 (2)
April, 2008 (9)
March, 2008 (14)
February, 2008 (8)
January, 2008 (13)
December, 2007 (8)
November, 2007 (4)
October, 2007 (14)
September, 2007 (11)
August, 2007 (4)
July, 2007 (1)
June, 2007 (4)
May, 2007 (10)
April, 2007 (7)
March, 2007 (6)
February, 2007 (11)
January, 2007 (19)
December, 2006 (6)
November, 2006 (5)
October, 2006 (22)
September, 2006 (12)
August, 2006 (16)
July, 2006 (12)
June, 2006 (19)
May, 2006 (18)
April, 2006 (23)
March, 2006 (27)
February, 2006 (16)
January, 2006 (21)
December, 2005 (14)
July, 2005 (2)

Legal Mumbo-Jumbo
The opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of my employer, not necessarily mine, and probably not necessary.

Copyright 2008 Brent Strange
Driven by newtelligence dasBlog 2.0.7226.0