VB.NET 2005 Tutorials : Testing a Windows Application

In this tutorial you will learn how to Test a Windows Application, Creating Unit Tests, Generating an ASP.NET Unit Test, benefits of unit testing, Integration Testing, Different approaches to Integration Testing, Regression Testing, goals of regression testing and Testing International Applications.

Testing

An application is software is created to function efficiently given the necessary parameters. Developers are conscious that, even in the most efficiently created software, errors of a certain nature can occur and must be provided for at design time. Yet other errors could occur at runtime and therefore applications need to be tested and debugged at runtime too. Therefore testing and debugging applications are an important part of application development. Visual Studio.NET provides the developer with several tools that he can use for testing and debugging the applications within the Integrated development environment (IDE).

Testing is the process of executing a program with the intention of finding errors. The application will be tested for usability, reliability and robustness also. The process may be manual, automated or a mixture of the two techniques.

The number of ways in which the application can be tested and debugged in Visual studio.NET demands that the user create a test plan beforehand. The developer can add a test project. He can test for performance, international settings or an existing test can be opened. To this end he must chalk out:

1. What kind of tests are to be created?

2. What is the type of load test that will be required?

3. Will the developer be required to execute a manual test?

4. How will the tests be managed?

5. What will be measured in the test--functionality, validation, performance or others?

Incremental testing is a modern approach to testing that proves useful while attempting rapid application development. This process is intended to be used while the application is being built. The levels of testing involved are : Unit testing, Integration testing and regression testing.

Unit tests are used when elementary units of an application are to be tested. Integration testing tests the integration of two or more units and the subsystems of those units. Regression testing is resorted to when bugs discovered in the first two types of testing are fixed and the unit and the integration of units have to be tested again for compatibility.

Creating Unit Tests

Let us presume that we have a project that has both public methods and private methods. The project has to be opened and we have to create unit tests for public and private methods. The next task is to run the tests on the projects code; find and correct the errors.

ASP .NET test projects can be created in any of the two ways mentioned below:

(1) By generating the ASP.NET unit test.

(2) By configuring an existing unit test as an ASP.NET unit test.

Generating an ASP.NET Unit Test

1. Create an ASP.NET application within the Visual Studio solution.

2. Add a class to the project,

3. Finally, generate a unit test from that class.

4. We will use the existing application to provide support for this.

5. Add a class to this project. To do this, in Solution Explorer, right-click the Windows Application and then click Add and then click class.

6. In the dialog box click Class, and then click Add.

7. Note that a new class has been added.

Now we will generate an ASP.NET unit test.

(1) To do this, first open the new class file by double-clicking it in Solution Explorer.

(2) Right-click within the class in the class file. In the context menu and click on “Create Tests.”