Functional Testing has always been an activity done by Test Engineers using Functional Testing tools like QTP from HP/Mercury, SilkTest from Borland/Segue, Functional Tester from IBM/Rational, …
But time is changing – so is Functional Testing – and the things you can do with it. In this article I talk about: • The Past – Functional Testing done by Testers • The Present – More and More Functional Testing done by Developers with the help of Frameworks • The Future - Extend Functional Testing with Transactional Tracing to improve Root Cause Analysis and Automate Architecture Validation
The Past: Traditional Functional Testing
All those tools traditionally had their record/replay approach by recording the interactions with the User Interface that should be tested as well as recording the control structure of the windows/controls that were tested. With this separation it was easier to maintain scripts in case the layout of the application under test changed. You only had to update the description of the UI and not each test script that used that description.
The drawback of all these tools was that it required a special set of skills to do Functional Testing. Each tool came with its more or less proprietary testing language as well as IDE and runtime. These were some of the reasons developers usually didn’t get in-touch with functional testing. Due to the lack of exposure developers also frequently questioned the results of functional testing tools as they were presented to them by the Testing Engineers leading to built up tension between the testing and development teams.
The Present: The Functional Testing world is changing to …
Over the past couple of years – greatly driven by the Open Source Community as I believe – we could see a move towards bringing Functional Testing closer to the developers. The approach taken was to provide testing frameworks that allow writing functional tests in Java, .NET, JavaScript, … just as you would write your unit tests using frameworks like JUnit or NUnit. The frameworks are easy to use and provide support for the major browsers, RIA frameworks and desktop UI technologies.
The list of available frameworks is growing - a lot of them are free, e.g.: Selenium, WebAii, WindMill
Benefits of Functional Testing Frameworks
I see multiple benefits of these frameworks: • Developers can now easily write functional tests besides only writing unit tests • Functional tests can cover test areas where it is hard to write unit tests for • Functional tests can easily be integrated in your Continuous Integration process -> execute them as you execute your unit tests • Developers not only think about how components can be made testable for unit testing – but also how the UI can be made testable for Functional Testing • BETTER TEST COVERAGE • Reuse tests for load-testing and production monitoring
The Future: Go beyond Functional Testing with Transactional Tracing
Functional Testing in the hands of developers promises to bring us more tests that can easily be integrated in the existing automation processes like Continuous Integration. So – is there anything missing? YES THERE IS • Root Cause Analysis: you still have to sit down and figure out why certain tests failed. This often requires manual re-runs of the tests with an attached debugger to track down the problem. Too often the problems cannot be reproduced on the developers machine but only on the test machine that was setup with a special environment – which might just not be available right now • Architecture Validation: functional testing as well as unit testing only verifies the functional correctness of the tested components. It does not verify if the underlying code is efficient and scalable when executed under load or in production like environments
The next evolutionary step for Functional Testing is to combine Functional Testing with Transactional Tracing. Analyzing the executed transactions from end-to-end down to the invoked components, across tiers and runtime boundaries allows you to
Speed up Root Cause Analysis • you get the dynamic execution path of the tested code as part of the functional test result for each functional test step • no need to manually re-run tests as all code-level execution results have already been collected on the target machine where it happened • no need to debug through code as the transactional trace contains method level information including execution time, arguments, exceptions, …
Automate Architecture Validation • you can analyze the dynamic code behavior in terms of e.g.: number of sql-queries, number of remoting roundtrips, memory allocations, … • you can analyze which components really interact with each other and if the dynamic execution matches what is on the blueprint • Automating the analysis of these “Architectural Rules” allows you to let test runs fail in case certain rules have been violated even though the application might be functionally correct • identify problems early on that would later cause problems under load or in production
About the Author
www.dynaTrace.com is the leader in continuous APM for business-critical Java/.NET applications. We enable lifecycle stakeholders, development, QA and production, to quickly find problems & coordinate resolution, speeding MTTR by 10x.
Script Writing & Filmmaking : How to Make a Music Video
Concept for a Film on Corbett National Park Part-iv
FILM TYPE: DOCUMENTARY
FILM DURATION: ABOUT 45-60 minutes
TREATMENT: HIGH END TECHNICALS
EMPHASIS ON VISUAL SPECTACLE WITH NARRATIVE
VOICE-OVERS
THEME: CORBETT AS A NATURE LOVERS’ PARADISE
BACKGROUND
Corbett National park is undoubtedly the most fascinating Nature Reserve of India. Named after the famous tiger-hunter-turned-conservationist, Jim Corbett, the park, situated near Ramnagar in Uttranchal, is a rare gift for any nature lover.
Having a total area of over 1200 square kilometers the entire Corbett Tiger Reserve area (the National Park as well as peripheral forest areas) boasts of one of the finest flora, fauna and avi-fauna in the world.
Corbett has all the elements that would truly entice any nature worshipper but ALAS
At present the USP of Corbett is TIGER-SIGHTING
IT ACTUALLY SHOULD BE SPLENDOUROFNATURE-
CORBETT has it all:
Mountain Ridges
Vast Grasslands (CHAURS)
Rivers
Jungle Trails
Exotic plants
Exciting Wild life
Picturesque Landscapes etc.
Yet visitors go there merely to have a tiger sighting and more than often, come back disappointed tiger sighting is rare!
What happens, in the bargain, is that the rare and spectacular beauty of the park, inadvertently, goes un-noticed it is not the fault of visitors it is the unrealistic build-up and promotional peg an obsession with the king of the jungle!
This film proposes to correct just this! It aims at putting a spot-light on the natural beauty/splendor of Corbett National Park!
It can be argued that a film is the most appropriate medium to inculcate a ‘bias’ – a certain mindset.
Various programs of the Government of India as well as the Private Sector initiatives have not “corrected” this unwarranted USP!
This write-up is a call to all nature lovers, all
Across the globe to contact this author if they are also equally concerned to redefine the splendor of Corbett!
THE PROPOSAL
To produce a documentary film of about 45 minutes duration on the spectacular beauty of Corbett.
Technical details can be worked out if the proposal, in principle, is acceptable. However, the production values desirable would be high-end to do justice to the theme and subject of the film.
Film with a narrative (or even an anchor) would take the viewers through the breath-taking spectacles of this jungle through the mountain ridges through the hypnotizing landscapes through the fascinating herds of elephants & Cheetal deer through the amazing flora and fauna etc.
Educational inputs and informational nuggets would be occasionally sprinkled on this delicious platter of visual delight!
Film would be scripted, directed and produced by experts.
It is proposed to complete the on-site shoots over a period of 4-5 months, starting from the forthcoming DEC-JAN in order to capture the different seasons with their varied hues, shades and colors
Time Frame: It is expected that from conception till preparation of the final print(s), a time period of about 30-35 weeks would be necessary.
About the author:
I have worked on an ECO TOURISM project in the Corbett National Park.
The study was about ascertaining the Tourism Carrying capacity of this Park. The parameters under study were things like:
Park flora/fauna and its vulnerability to tourist traffic
Tourism dos and don’ts
A plan for smooth and ‘desirable’ interface between park biodiversity and the development of tourism infrastructure.
While working in this splendid nature reserve, I was hit by this painful realization that tourists are “conditioned” by the media hype etc. to visit Corbett only for Tiger sightings.
In the process, the most wonderful bounty of nature goes virtually without notice!!!
Hence this idea of a documentary film. This film would not only clear many misconceptions about Corbett National Park, it would also instill a sense of ECO SENSITIVITY in the visitors!
No matter how fantastic the story may be written without a catchy title chances are good that an editor will read it. The title is the most important part of history, this is what first captures the reader's attention.
A good title should grab the reader and make them wonder what the story is about. A bad title, the reader will probably skip the story entirely. This applies to the present their stories for publication. The editors are busy people and will go down in history, often without reading the first sentence, if the title does not capture your interest.
The title of his history will tell the editor a lot of creativity. If the title is strong, an editor will be more likely to seek in its history with an attitude positive.
So how to get a good title? Below is a brief list of tips to help you get a hold title attention.
1. Be brief, no more than four or five words. Even two or three word titles are generally more than sufficient. If you can get a single word that expresses something about its history, even better.
2. Avoid boring titles. Not the name of its history as something that 'The Monster' or 'The sea' as they are dull and boring, and also widespread. Instead, try something that evokes emotion. "Under the bed" would be a good title for a scary story, and 'High Tides' works best for a story based on the ocean.
3. Make sure your title fits their gender. Not the name of a detective novel with a title that could be confused with a romantic history.
4. Make your title easy to remember. This is another reason to keep the short title. Use your creativity to reach catchy something related to the subject, the action or the characters in the story. A memorable title allows readers to recommend your story to others.
5. Research the title to occur. Although the titles are not copyrighted, you do not want your story confused with another story of the same name. They may be similar without being accurate.
So how to awaken their creativity to design the perfect title for your story? The following are a few ways to awaken your muse.
a. A short line of dialogue or a memorable phrase of his story can sometimes be the right choice.
b. A common phrase or expression can often be found that sums up the theme of your story. Or use a play on words, which changes only one element of the sentence.
c. Borrowing a line from a work set. Look at Shakespeare, the Bible or other well-known book, song or movie.
d. Use Name one of your main characters. Think along the lines of 'Tom Sawyer' or Stephen King "Christine".
e. Similarly, the title may be your settings. Think Brokeback Mountain, Lost in Space, etc ...
f. A good title can convey the main idea of their history. 'Misery' or "Legends of the Fall" are good examples.
g. Using the word association to unite elements of the story.
h. Allow action to determine the name. By adding a command line''to the first word, you can come up with a catchy title. Some examples of this Chasing Rainbows could be life or dreaming.
Often, you can spend hours coming up with a title only for the editor to change after accepting story for publication. Sometimes the new title will have a lot of sense for you. While you may think your title is perfect, the editor knows readers of the publication well and may think that the alternative is a better option. And while this may irritate your ego, knowing that the story will be published is its own reward.
However up with the title of his story, remember that the first impression the editor will have on their writing skills. Like the logline to a screenplay or the first paragraph of a novel, the title should represent the story you are about to read. At the end of the day, you want the editor to remember its history and places it in the "accepted for publication 'pile on his desk.
About the Author
Kristy Taylor is a syndicated freelance journalist with articles and short stories strewn across all forms of media. She has written and published numerous books, and is the executive editor of KT Publishing. For free listings of short story competitions visit
In the minds of most Americans, the words “bounty hunter” would conjure up an image of a cowboy from the Wild West whose single-minded focus lay on bringing back a bond skip “dead or alive”. Although “alive” is more relevant in today’s context and modern bounty hunters are trained and licensed professionals, their job profile remains essentially the same – that of capturing fugitives for a monetary reward or, if you prefer a more adventurous word, a bounty.
To understand the bounty hunter’s task in greater detail, it is necessary to understand the work of his principal, the bail bondsman. A bail bondsman writes bail bonds, legal documents that guarantee the court that the defendant will appear in court on the day of his trial to face his charge. Hence, if the defendant fails to show up for his trial (that is, turns into a “skip”), the bail bondsman is liable to pay the amount of the bail bond to the court from his own buildup fund, a fund built up by retaining part of his commission. Besides, his credibility suffers in the eyes of the underwriter as well as of the court. To avoid this, the bail bondsman often employs the services of a bounty hunter, an agent who is responsible for tracing the skip and bringing him to the bail bondsman.
Regardless of whether they are Orange County bail Bonds or Los Angeles bail bonds, a bail bondsman needs street-smart, reliable bounty hunters. Needless to say, the business attracts hordes of tough, television-watching aspirants who promise to trace and deliver a skip from any corner of the world. In truth, only a limited number of professionals with exceptional tracing skills and years of experience genuinely have the ability to perform a bounty hunter’s service with great accuracy and within the confines of the law.
Since at the time of signing the bail bond, the defendant signs away many of his rights, it gives the bounty hunter the authority to track, seize and even imprison the skip, if the need arises, anywhere across the United States of America. He is legally allowed to break and enter the skip’s house house, if needed, and may even perform the arrest of a skip on the Sabbath. The task of the bounty hunter can be likened to that of a dauntless sheriff striving to capture and subdue an escaping prisoner.
Coming to the bounty itself, it is usually in proportion to the amount of the bail bond and the difficulty and complexity involved in tracing the skip. Small bail bonds usually mean relatively diminutive bounty. However, a $50,000 bail bond can bring as much as $10,000 as finder fees for the bounty hunter. Only the most established bounty hunters would be in a position to demand a retainer fee from their principals; most bounties are paid only after the skip is found, arrested and presented in front of the bail bondsman.
Although it seems like a scene straight from America’s popular cowboy movies, the job of a bounty hunter is not as romantic in real life. Along with the chance to ride off victorious into the sunset, a lot of figurative sweat, blood and grime – great deduction skills, unglamorous days spent in following leads and performing frustrating searches and years of experience go before our hero may rightfully call even a single bounty his own. This Wild West fantasy of bounty hunting has been transformed into a tangible, legal business and bounty hunters form an integral part of America’s justice system.
About the Author
Acme Bail Bonds Online bail bond services located in Southern and Northern California. Call 800-884-1222 if you need immediate help or need information about bail bonds. At Acme Bail Bonds, we make bail simple.
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