Testing Internet Applications - Literature review Example

Testing internet applications Name: Unit: Course: Supervisor: Date of submission: Introduction The development of an internet application requires compliance to given conditions which if achieved will ensure smooth functioning of the application. During the development of an application, it is advisable to test the application to determine its suitability and efficiency. According to Aleksandar, Darko and Veljko (2006) testing entails the process of evaluating and gauging whether the application meets the specified attributes (Aleksandar, Darko &Veljko, 2006). The main purpose for the testing is usually to ensure that the errors and shortcomings are identified. In the testing of internet application, the interaction between the application and the environment is simulated. For internet applications the first phase of testing entails the endeavour to recognition of the nature of the application cycle, this can be decisive in identification of systematic errors that may relate to the functionalities inherent in the application. Testing of internet application is imperative for proper functioning of the final product. Literature review The internet has had tremendous implications in the daily running of affairs. This has seen a rise in demand of internet applications and consequently many applications have been developed to fasten and make internet applications easy to use and accessible to many people. To ensure these applications are of quality and can be relied on, they need to be tested in the developmental stages and before they are released for commercial use (Amalfitano, Rita & Tramontana, 2011). There are different techniques that are being used for the testing of the internet applications. This literature reviews the techniques, models and strategies applied in internet testing. Testing is a core process in the development of new internet applications. The testing of the internet application depends on the type and functionality of the system that is to be tested. There are challenges that crop up in the testing process. According Myers (2004) these challenges can be combated by putting in place strategies that will help in the process of the testing. The two main strategies that come to play according to Myers include the application of the black box testing and the white box testing approaches. The black box testing is data driven process. This method entails the program developer paying attention to whether the application conforms to the set specifications. This strategy relies on the test data that is derived only from the application specifications. This means that the person involved in the application testing turns a blind eye on the internal structure of the application and concentrates on the specifications only. The strategy makes use of exhausting input testing in which the input conditions are used for the testing purposes (Myers, 2004). The testing of the internet application can be carried out using the white box testing strategy. Unlike the black box strategy, this strategy allows the evaluation of the internal components of an application. In the application of this strategy, the test data is normally from the logic of the application which means that the specifications are not applied in the case of the testing. The white box testing employs the exhaustive path testing in which the analog to exhaustive input testing that was applied in the black box strategy is established. In each of the testing strategies, a test case component must be established and should contain a clear description of the data input to be used for the application and description of the output that relates to the data that is input (Myers, 2004). The use of internet applications has been on increase and many applications are being developed. This calls for many people to carry out the testing of the applications. According to Aleksandar, Darko and Veljko (2006) to ensure effective testing for the many applications being developed, the process of testing can be automated. However, the time for developing the test environment should entail a test environment that does not result to changes of the internet applications. Aleksandar, Darko and Veljko (2006) argue that the test environment should be designed in a unique way that ensures the testing environment used can acclimatize for the varied applications being tested. The test automations and the unique testing environment are aided by test tools. The commonly applied test tools in the automatic process include the Puffin Automated Framework and Apache JMeter. In the use of the Puffin Automated framework, the test automation environment is normally carried on internet application language Phyton. The testing environment for this tool is based on four premises, the action in which the executable object has the capability of receiving one or more that one inputs. The second premise is the action token which points to the value that is normally used as input for the value and relates to data system. The third premise is the task in which different action groups which are arranged in a manner that given task is completely executed only if the other set of task has been successfully been performed. The fourth premise is the plan, in this premise an execution scheme with sets of tasks is specially structured, a clear definition of the tasks to execute and at given conditions is laid down and tasks follow the scheme until the task is completed. The Apache JMeter is another tool that can be used for the testing internet applications functionality and performances (Aleksandar, Darko & Veljko, 2006). It is best for testing the static and dynamic resources performance. The tool is applied in the simulation of server and testing the persistence a system can hold in varied environments. For the past 20 years, use of the internet has been on the rise, this has seen an evolution in the way internet applications are developed and delivered to the market. One of the significant markers of the evolution is the use of web which allows application of interface for the web user (Kamara, Gregor & Guy, 2009). Such internet applications can be developed using range of standards that render the interface. This calls for unique testing of the applications being developed. This trend has ushered in the Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) which make use of technologies such as Ajax and Flex. The RIAs presents challenge of security vulnerabilities. The mode of development and the behaviour exhibited due to the use of the new technologies and the interface make it difficult to efficiently test using the internet application security scanners. Therefore an automated scanning for the RIAs is needed. The scanners have been developed specifically to test the internet applications that are Web based (Kamara, Gregor & Guy, 2009). The tools that are available for the testing and security scan for the evolving applications include the AppScan Products and WebInspect. These tools follow a similar basic scheme. According to Kamara, Gregor and Guy (2009) the tools in the testing and security scans usually endeavour to uncover the possible pages used by a client. On uncovering the pages the tools can carry out automated security tests. The Rational AppScan Products have the capability of carrying and generation of tests on the web application. The automated tests in the category can be run on regular basis to test new versions or internet applications in order to monitor the vulnerability of the applications. The internet applications testing can be carried out by use of navigation models and DOM models. The models that are commonly used here include the data control or the data flow models. There are myriad of the models that can be applied in the testing of internet applications. These two categories of models are automated and are basically used to test the functionality of internet applications by basing the test to the user interface. According to Artzi et al (2011) the models are suited for the system and integration levels of the testing. In the client side testing, the testing can be conducted through the HTML code; however this parsing is complex and the use of DOM application is a preferred choice. The DOM models are suitable for facilitation and analysing of the internet application content and dynamic behaviour of the web pages. The data flow models and the data control models apply in the white box testing strategies in which the test concentrates on the internal components of an internet application and knowingly ignores the specifications of the application (Myers, 2004). The use of the exhaustive path testing is applied in such a case and prior to the testing a case component is established. In the use of the testing models, faults can happen; Dogan (2013) noted that development of effective test techniques which puts into consideration the specific internet applications is imperative. The importance of an effective test technique is that it ensures that bug taxonomies that apply to the domain are developed. This is achieved through the use of the different models to test web application; there are crucial tools that should be used. The usability of the tool is normally depended on the test being performed and in terms of the functionality and system orientations. Dogan (2013) listed the commonly used tools which include MUTANDIS, Crawljax, Tool-suite (CreRIA, CrawlRIA,Test Case) and Web Portal Incontainer Testing (WIT). The MUTANDIS is a testing tool in JavaScript. This tool leverages on the both the dynamic program analysis as well as the static program analysis. This tool is crucial in guiding the mutation generation to specified parts of codes that have high probability of influencing the output of the application. On the other hand the Tool-suite is used for dynamic analysis as well as testing JSP by automatic regression. In order to test the web portals, Web Portal Incontainer tool is used. This tool relies on the aspect technology in which the code being tested is put in the application code and is allowed to give room for the tests to run in a similar environment as the application of the portal (Artzi et al, 2011). Nowadays, the internet applications are not limited to use of computers only, mobile devices with complex internet applications have increased. To ensure that internet applications used in the devices are secure and of high quality cost effective testing techniques and tools should be developed. According to Amalfitano, Rita, and Tramontana (2011) one of the technique that can be applied is the GUI crawling technique that is suited for android mobile applications. The Android is an internet application that is installed on Smartphone devices. A common characteristic of these devices is that compared to the computers, they have limited hardware. The components in the Android include Java components; this means that activity component play key role in the development of an application for user interface. Amalfitano, Rita, and Tramontana (2011) stated that to test the internet applications for the Android internet applications, the testing application should put into considerations the behaviour of the android that is normally triggered by the data input and data being received as the androids are usually event driven. The mostly applied approaches for the testing of the applications are the EDS. These EDS are hinged on the models of the system being tested or on the GUI rippers that deduce possible consequences automatically in a sequential manner that can be used as the test cases. However the GUI and web crawling techniques for android testing requires adaptation of the models being applied in the testing and laying down strategies in order to incorporate the data input sources that are commonly used in Android devices (Amalfitano, Rita, & Tramontana, 2011). Conclusion The rising demand for internet usage has resulted to unparalleled development of internet applications. However the developers of the applications are faced with the challenge of the testing that can be effective for the internet applications that are developed. This is due to the dynamism and complexities that are inherent in the applications that are being developed. In this literature review, different strategies that are applied in the testing of internet applications have been discussed. In addition different models for internet testing and the tools have been presented and described. Testing of the internet applications is very crucial if quality and efficient internet applications are to be developed. From the review it is clear that there is no standard testing technique or model for internet applications that has been developed. This means that there is still much to be done in the area of testing internet applications. Furthermore there is need for more research on whether a hybrid testing application that conforms to internet applications standards can be developed to address the gaps lead to upgrading and adoption of models and tools for application testing. References Aleksandar, P., Darko, J and Veljko, M. (2006). Internet Application Testing. London: Finsoft Company. http://www.internetjournals.net/journals/tir/2006/july/paper%2008.pdf Amalfitano, D., Rita, A. and Tramontana, P. (2011). A GUI Crawling-based technique for Android Mobile Application Testing. Napoli: University of Napoli. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CEMQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cs.umd.edu%2F~atif%2Ftestbeds%2FTESTBEDS2011-papers%2FAmalfitano.pdf&ei=C6hrU_fCI66g7Abw8oAY&usg=AFQjCNEzOEmQvNy-vQRtf4-VnZDccCrGtw&sig2=is9EUfklbIQ8aBUX6USiOA&bvm=bv.66330100,d.ZGU&cad=rja Artzi, S., Dolby, J. Jensen, H. Moller, A and Tip, F. (2011) A framework for Automated testing of JavaScript web applications. International Conference on Software Engineering, pp. 571–580. http://cs.au.dk/~amoeller/papers/artemis/paper.pdf Dogan, S. (2013). Web Application Testing. Middle East Technical University. http://www.googlr.com/url?sa=t8source=web&cd=2&ved=0CCfjAB&url=http%3A%2F%Fetd.lib.metu.edu.tr%2Fupload%2F12616394%2Findex.pdf&=nyBru-LR0cqs0QXU1oGbBw&usg=AFQjCNEwkEoAaqLm7yqcdyCXe8C16E5Btg&sig2=nxUfn9VcCMZmclWe1m8w Kamara, B., Gregor, V., and Guy, J. (2009). Some Modeling Challenges when Testing Rich Internet Applications for Security. Ottawa: University of Ottawa. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=6&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEsQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.site.uottawa.ca%2F~gvj%2Fpapers%2FC32.pdf&ei=bqVrU_-4Eo_d7Qbg3IGYCg&usg=AFQjCNFZzkuhXkpQvXJeeiJBC_0YnDMZVw&sig2=DkZBcakw78R2dIjcjSHTIg&bvm=bv.66330100,d.ZGU Myers, G.J. (2004).The Art of Software Testing. John & Wiley Sons, Inc. Available at http://it-ebooks.info/book/2899 Read More