Frequently Asked Questions

This document answers some of the common queries in mobile testing.

Questions

Answers

  • A 1. Make sure that the device and test workbench are in the same network.

  • A 2. Before you can test a mobile application, the application must first be instrumented. An instrumented application contains the application under test augmented with code that allows you to record or play back a test.

    When you record a test, the Android application (the .apk file) is recompiled into a recording-ready app that has been heavily instrumented to capture user actions. Because Android does not allow two versions of an application to be installed at the same time, the test workbench uninstalls the original application and replaces it with the recording-ready app. When you play back a test, the test workbench uninstalls the recording-ready app and replaces it with a playback-ready app , a version of the original application that has been signed with a test workbench certificate.

    There is also another version of the app, the Tester app. This app contains the runtime code that is needed to replay a test. This app will not be noticeable if you run in silent mode. When the application under test is modified, only the recording-ready app and the playback-ready app are generated. You can simplify this process of installing and uninstalling versions of the Android app by choosing Playback on instrumented from the Settings page on your Android device or emulator. This lets you play back a test using the more heavily instrumented recording version of the app, rather than the lighter weight playback version of the app. This is at the expense, however, of slower playback speed and greater memory consumption.

  • A 3. There could be many reasons. Some of the reasons include:
    • Ensure that the devices and test workbench are connected.
    • Ensure that a supported version of Android SDK is installed on the computer where workbench is installed.

  • A 4. Ensure that the devices are connected to the test workbench.

  • A 5. The UI elements or actions might not be supported by the product. You can manually add an action to the test script.

  • A 6. If there is only one compatible device configured with the workbench and set to passive mode, it will automatically be selected. If there are several devices, follow the steps in Defining a variable to run a test with a selected mobile device.

  • A 7. Rational® Test Workbench provides a native browser called mobile web recorder to record and playback web tests. For Android, when you tap Manage Web Applications for the first time, the browser is installed. For iOS, you must install it from the Apple store or from the build archive on an iOS simulator.

  • A 8. Yes. The instrumented application must be produced again from the new version of the app.

  • A 9. Yes, you must re-instrument the app to use the latest workbench runtime code that is embedded in the instrumented application.

  • A 10. While it is not strictly required, not doing so will usually prevent you from making use of the new features of the product.

    For iOS web client, clear the Safari browser cache before browsing the workbench URL.

  • A 11. Yes, you can instrument your app from the command line.

  • A 12. No, you cannot connect the mobile client to multiple workbenches at the same time.