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WinRunner vs. QuickTest Pro
Quick Comparison
Overview
Today Mercury has two functional testing tools – WinRunner (WR) and
QuickTest Professional (QTP). WinRunner has been around since about
1995 while QuickTest Pro has been available since about 2002. We have
lots of companies asking us “What’s the difference between WinRunner and
QuickTest Pro?” and “If they are both functional testing tools from the same
company, then which one of the tools should we use?” This document was
developed as a short simple reference in helping to understand the basics
about the tools in order to answer these two questions.
Mercury’s position on the two tools is this:
•1 The strategic direction for Mercury and its customers for
Functional Testing is product integration. The new releases of QTP
and WR improve already existing integration where customers can
leverage complete WinRunner assets (scripts/functions) from
QuickTest Pro without any modification to these assets.
•2 QuickTest Pro 8 has recently been released and WinRunner
version 8.0 is planned for November 2004. There are no plans to
phase out WinRunner.
•3 QuickTest Pro remains Mercury’s prime product for best
customer satisfaction and experience. For customers who need both
products, Mercury continues to offer Mercury Functional Testing as a
combined package of both product offerings. The Business Process
Testing system will be extended to incorporate components designed
in WinRunner for the WinRunner 8.0 release in November.
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WinRunner Compared to QuickTest Pro
Environment Coverage Comparison:
•1 Common environments shared by both WinRunner and
QuickTest Pro:
Web-Related IE, Netscape, AOL
Environments
JDK, Java Foundation Classes,
AWT
Symantec Visual Café
ActiveX Controls
ERP/CRM Oracle: Jinitiator, 11i, NCA
Custom Client Server Windows
C++/C
Visual Basic
Operating Systems Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME, XP
Legacy 3270, 5250 Emulators
VT100
•2 WinRunner Only Environments:
Custom PowerBuilder
Client/Server
Forte
Delphi
Centura
Stingray
SmallTalk
ERP/CRM Baan
PeopleSoft
Windows
Siebel 5, 6 GUI
Clients
Oracle GUI Forms
•3 QuickTest Pro Only Environments:
ERP/CRM SAP
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Siebel 7.x
PeopleSoft 8.x
.Net WinForms
WebForms
.Net controls
Web Services XML, HTTP
WSDL, SOAP
J2EE, .Net
Multimedia RealAudio/Video
Flash
Feature Comparison:
•4 Common features found in both WinRunner and QuickTest Pro:
Record/Replay ODBC & Excel
Connectivity
Code Editor & Debugger Recovery Manager
Shared Object Repository Rapid Object Import
Numerous Checkpoints Analog
Script & Function Libraries
•5 WinRunner Only Environments:
Function Generator Database
Integration
Run Wizard TSL
MDI
•6 QuickTest Pro Only Environments:
ActiveScreen TestGuard
Tree View ScriptFusion
Data Table VBScript
Function Run Wizard*
Generator* (coming in v7.0)
(coming in v7.0)
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What We Recommend
QuickTest Pro is our functional testing tool of choice!
Most customers are in either of two situations:
•7 Existing WinRunner customers asking “Should we switch to
QuickTest Pro?”
•8 New customers asking “Which should we get, WinRunner or
QuickTest Pro?”
We have been implementing Mercury’s products since 1992 and have senior
level expertise in WinRunner. We have been implementing WinRunner
since the very first version of it. So like many existing WinRunner
customers we have a huge knowledge investment in WinRunner ourselves.
However we have worked on the Mercury development team on the
QuickTest Pro 6.0 and 6.5 releases, and have solid real-world experience in
implementing QuickTest Pro since the 6.0 release. We have found it to be a
great tool to use and recommend it to all customers! Overall, we
recommend using QuickTest Pro unless for some reason you have to use
WinRunner due to an unsupported environment not existing in QuickTest
Pro.
Overall, QuickTest Pro is easier to use and implement for both technical and
non-technical testers in comparison to WinRunner. QTP offers many
features that are found in WinRunner, but are easier to use. QTP also offers
many features not found in WinRunner that make test script creation,
enhancement and maintenance easier.
Let’s quickly discuss some key issues:
•1 The WinRunner interface forces the user to look directly at TSL
code. TSL is the WinRunner programming language developed by
Mercury. It is based on the “C” programming language and therefore
looks very similar. For testers who do not have a technical
background, they are not always comfortable with having to always
look at code. However QuickTest Pro offers a “Tree View” which is
an icon-based view of the script. This is very easy to get used to and
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non-technical people adapt to it quicker and feel more comfortable
working with it. For the technical user, they can always switch over
to the “Expert View” in QuickTest and look directly at code, and
program away using VBScript.
•2 WinRunner uses TSL which is a proprietary language of
Mercury. These types of languages can be very restrictive and you
are limited on available resources. QuickTest Pro use the Microsoft
programming language VBScript which is very powerful, has lots of
capabilities and there are lots of resources available.
•3 We feel that there are many more “point and click” features in
QuickTest Pro than WinRunner. This makes its use easier.
•4 All the same features found in WinRunner are found in
QuickTest Pro plus more.
•5 Data Table integration is much easier and simpler with
QuickTest Pro.
•6 Data Driven Testing is easier with more options in QuickTest
Pro.
•7 Script enhancements are typically easier with QuickTest Pro
because it has the Active Screen where the windows and objects in
your application are captured for later use. Using a “point and click”
capability you can easily interface with objects, their definitions and
create checkpoints after having recorded a script – without having to
navigate back to that location in your application like you have to with
WinRunner. This greatly speeds up script development.
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•8 QuickTest Pro currently has built in integration with WinRunner
in order to be able to call existing scripts, which is great for customers
who already have a large test script investment with WinRunner.
Likewise WinRunner 8.0 is to have the ability to also call QuickTest
Pro scripts. This eases the transition from WinRunner to QuickTest
Pro for existing customers.
•9 Parameterization is much easier in QuickTest Pro and basically
anything in QuickTest Pro can be parameterized (statements,
checkpoints and the Object Repository).
•10 Capturing various output values is easier and simpler with
QuickTest Pro. Using this capability with parameterization enables
you to easily develop scripts that can do more in regards to testing.
•11 We have been implementing QuickTest Pro in real-world
environments and have found it much easier to use, advance features
are easier to implement and the script development is quicker. We
really enjoy using QuickTest Pro and highly recommend it as the
functional testing tool to use.
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WinRunner
Summary:
This product is a mature tool that has been around since approximately
1995. It interfaces with most of the leading development toolkits using the
WindowsAPI and toolkit DLLs to interface with the “Application Under
Test”.
WinRunner offers a recording feature that will watch the individual tester
and generate a test script to simulate the same actions just performed. The
script is displayed as a program which can be enhanced with checkpoints,
logic and special coding/programming.
WinRunner also has integration with Excel spreadsheets for data driven
testing and the ability to write data out in Excel format or in simple text
files.
Here is the description from the Mercury “Features and Benefits” section of
the WinRunner web page:
Significantly increase power and flexibility of tests without any
programming: The Function Generator presents a quick and error-
free way to design tests and enhance scripts without any programming
knowledge. Testers can simply point at a GUI object, and WinRunner
will examine it, determine its class and suggest an appropriate
function to be used.
Use multiple verification types to ensure sound functionality:
WinRunner provides checkpoints for text, GUI, bitmaps, URL links
and the database, allowing testers to compare expected and actual
outcomes and identify potential problems with numerous GUI objects
and their functionality.
Verify data integrity in your back-end database: Built-in Database
Verification confirms values stored in the database and ensures
transaction accuracy and the data integrity of records that have been
updated, deleted and added.
View, store and verify at a glance every attribute of tested objects:
WinRunner's GUI Spy automatically identifies, records and displays
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the properties of standard GUI objects, ActiveX controls, as well as
Java objects and methods. This ensures that every object in the user
interface is recognized by the script and can be tested.
Maintain tests and build reusable scripts: The GUI map provides a
centralized object repository, allowing testers to verify and modify
any tested object. These changes are then automatically propagated to
all appropriate scripts, eliminating the need to build new scripts each
time the application is modified.
Test multiple environments with a single application: WinRunner
supports more than 30 environments, including Web, Java, Visual
Basic, etc. In addition, it provides targeted solutions for such leading
ERP/CRM applications as SAP, Siebel, PeopleSoft and a number of
others.
Simplify creation of test scripts: WinRunner's DataDriver Wizard
greatly simplifies the process of preparing test data and scripts. This
allows for optimal use of QA resources and results in more thorough
testing.
Automatically identify discrepancies in data: WinRunner examines
and compares expected and actual results using multiple verifications
for text, GUI, bitmaps, URLs, and databases. This ensures stable
functionality and execution of business transactions when the
application is released into production.
Validate applications across browsers: WinRunner enables the
same test to be used to validate applications in Internet Explorer,
Netscape, and AOL. This saves testing time and reduces the number
of scripts that must be developed and maintained.
Automatically recover tested applications from a crash:
Unexpected events, errors, and application crashes during a test run
can disrupt the testing process and distort results. WinRunner's
Recovery Manager enables unattended recovery and provides a
wizard that guides the process of defining a recovery scenario.
Leverage investments in other testing products: WinRunner fully
integrates with our other testing solutions, including LoadRunner for
load testing and TestDirector for global test management. Moreover,
organizations can reuse WinRunner test scripts with QuickTest
Professional.
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- WinRunner “Features and Benefits” webpage from Mercury:
http://www.mercury.com/us/products/quality-center/functional-
testing/winrunner/features.html
Pros:
•Mature product that has been around since about 1995.
•Simple interface.
•Many features.
•Many consultants and user group/forums for support.
•Decent built in help.
•Fewer features to have to learn and understand compared to
QuickTest Pro.
• Interfaces with the Windows API.
• Integrates with TestDirector.
Cons:
• Has basically been superceded by QuickTest Pro.
• Looking at “program code” for the test case.
• Coding is done in a proprietary language (TSL).
• Very few resources available on TSL programming (it is based on the
C programming language, but is not C).
• Need to be able to program to a certain extent in order to gain
flexibility and parameterization.
• Need training to implement properly.
• The GUI Map can be difficult to understand and implement.
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QuickTest Pro
Summary:
QuickTest Professional provides an interactive, visual environment for test
development.
Here is the description from the Mercury Interactive “How it Works” section
of the QuickTest Pro web page:
Mercury QuickTest Professional™ allows even novice testers to be
productive in minutes. You can create a test script by simply pressing
a Record button and using an application to perform a typical business
process. Each step in the business process is automated documented
with a plain-English sentence and screen shot. Users can easily
modify, remove, or rearrange test steps in the Keyword View.
QuickTest Professional can automatically introduce checkpoints to
verify application properties and functionality, for example to validate
output or check link validity. For each step in the Keyword View,
there is an ActiveScreen showing exactly how the application under
test looked at that step. You can also add several types of checkpoints
for any object to verify that components behave as expected, simply
by clicking on that object in the ActiveScreen.
You can then enter test data into the Data Table, an integrated
spreadsheet with the full functionality of Excel, to manipulate data
sets and create multiple test iterations, without programming, to
expand test case coverage. Data can be typed in or imported from
databases, spreadsheets, or text files.
Advanced testers can view and edit their test scripts in the Expert
View, which reveals the underlying industry-standard VBScript that
QuickTest Professional automatically generates. Any changes made in
the Expert View are automatically synchronized with the Keyword
View.
Once a tester has run a script, a TestFusion report displays all aspects
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of the test run: a high-level results overview, an expandable Tree
View of the test script specifying exactly where application failures
occurred, the test data used, application screen shots for every step
that highlight any discrepancies, and detailed explanations of each
checkpoint pass and failure. By combining TestFusion reports with
Mercury Quality Management, you can share reports across an entire
QA and development team.
QuickTest Professional also facilitates the update process. As an
application under test changes, such as when a “Login” button is
renamed “Sign In,” you can make one update to the Shared Object
Repository, and the update will propagate to all scripts that reference
this object. You can publish test scripts to Mercury Quality
Management, enabling other QA team members to reuse your test
scripts, eliminating duplicative work.
QuickTest Professional supports functional testing of all popular
environments, including Windows, Web, .Net, Visual Basic, ActiveX,
Java, SAP, Siebel, Oracle, PeopleSoft, terminal emulators, and Web
services.
- QuickTest Pro “How it Works” webpage from Mercury:
http://www.mercury.com/us/products/quality-center/functional-
testing/quicktest-professional/works.html
We like QuickTest Pro and now prefer implementing it over WinRunner.
When you get into advance testing scenarios, QuickTest Pro has more
options and they are easier to implement compared to WinRunner in our
opinion.
Do to the similarities in concept and features, an experienced WinRunner
user can easily convert to QuickTest Pro and quickly become an efficient
Test Automation Engineer!
We recommend that existing customers begin all new development with
QuickTest Pro and use the built-in feature of calling WinRunner scripts from
QuickTest Pro for all existing WinRunner scripts that they already have. As
older scripts require updates and time permits, we recommend replacing
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them with QuickTest Pro scripts. Eventually you will be able to convert
your test script library with all QuickTest Pro scripts.
Pros:
• Will be getting the initial focus on development of all new features
and supported technologies.
• Ease of use.
• Simple interface.
• Presents the test case as a business workflow to the tester (simpler to
understand).
• Numerous features.
• Uses a real programming language (Microsoft’s VBScript) with
numerous resources available.
• QuickTest Pro is significantly easier for a non-technical person to
adapt to and create working test cases, compared to WinRunner.
• Data table integration better and easier to use than WinRunner.
• Test Run Iterations/Data driving a test is easier and better implement
with QuickTest.
• Parameterization easier than WinRunner.
• Can enhance existing QuickTest scripts without the “Application
Under Test” being available; by using the ActiveScreen.
• Can create and implement the Microsoft Object Model (Outlook
objects, ADO objects, FileSystem objects, supports DOM, WSH,
etc.).
• Better object identification mechanism.
• Numerous existing functions available for implementation – both
from within QuickTest Pro and VBScript.
• QTP supports .NET development environment (currently WinRunner
7.5 does not).
• XML support (currently WinRunner 7.5 does not).
• The Test Report is more robust in QuickTest compared to
WinRunner.
• Integrates with TestDirector and WinRunner (can kick off WinRunner
scripts from QuickTest).
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Cons:
• Currently there are fewer resources (consultants and expertise)
available due to QTP being a newer product on the market and
because there is a greater Demand than Supply, thus fewer employee/
consulting resources.
• Must know VBScript in order to program at all.
• Must be able to program in VBScript in order to implement the real
advance testing tasks and to handle very dynamic situations.
• Need training to implement properly.
• The Object Repository (OR) and “testing environment” (paths,
folders, function libraries, OR) can be difficult to understand and
implement initially.
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