Visual Test

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Visual Test, originally known as MS-Test, was an automated testing tool for Windows applications developed by Microsoft and later sold to Rational Software.

1 Overview
2 Capabilities
- 2.1 32 bit enhancements
3 References

[edit] Overview

MS-Test was developed for internal use in Microsoft but became a commercial product at the beginning of 1992. MS-Test automated the process of testing Windows applications. It combined a Windows development language Basic with a testing oriented API.

Tests known as scripts were written in Test Basic, a form of the BASIC programming language. The API was predominantly wrapped around Windows API functions. Test scripts could be created with capture/replay, in particular by the Windows Recorder tool. However its dominant strength was that scripts could be coded and compiled. Either an individual script could be run, or a group of them run in sequence by a test driver. Among the innovations for the test driver was the ability to customize the batch execution with the inclusion of custom designed dialog boxes and menus. These were built with the User Interface Editor.

Customers had to purchase Visual Test to develop scripts, but it offered free and unlimited redistribution of compiled scripts. The ability to use OLE Automation allowed enterprising individuals to expand beyond basic functional testing into load testing. A script could create 10's of browsers, drive them, feed them with data, collect statistics and monitor the state of the test.

[edit] Capabilities

As with any tool new capabilities were added over time. In 1992 new DLLs were added to provide support for testing

DOS VM
DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange)
The ability to run scripts remotely on other PCs of a local LAN.
An enhanced test driver

Included with Visual Test were a suite of samples that demonstrated the range of capabilities of the product.

Play the minesweeper game on its own.
Play solitaire
Sample screensaver and others.

[edit] 32 bit enhancements

In 1994 MS-Test version 3.0 advanced from the 16-bit world to the 32-bit. Version 2.0 in 1993 had provided support for Windows 3.1. With Version 4.0 in 1995 it was hosted within Visual Studio and renamed to Visual Test. It was able to support the testing of the new application control that arrived with Windows '95 and NT. Interestingly the other development language, Visual Basic remained hosted within its own separate development environment. With its inclusion in Visual Studio, versioning of scripts could be maintained with Visual Sourcesafe, also part of Studio. In version 4.0, the ability to access its capabilities from Visual Basic and C++, lost with 3.0, was regained.

As 4.0r was being released Rational negotiated its purchase from Microsoft. Version 6 (5 was skipped) from Rational incorporated support Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA). A more visual enhancement for this version was support for HTML and Web pages. At Rational, Visual Test was bundled their other products Purify, Quantify and ClearCase. A version was ported to support Unix on the Sparc.

In 1998, version 6.0 provided support for Windows 98 and NT 5.0, which eventually became Windows 2000. It was now hosted in Rational DevelopmentStudio and gained the ability to read and change the Registry. Rational remained committed to fully support Visual Test through 2002. The 103 Tech Notes that were provided as part of the support from Rational remain available in 2006 from IBM, which previously acquired Rational ([[1]]).