Reviews : iTKO LISA :

LISA Overview

The main interface and tool of LISA is the Test Manager (figure 1 shows a screen capture of the Test Manager). It is from the Test Manager that users can create new test cases, which for the uninitiated are step-by-step testing scenarios. Nodes are the steps in each test case, and these can be created by visually navigating through Java classes and packages or a set of nodes can be recorded by having LISA record a user's actions for Web site testing (e.g. clicking on links, submitting form pages, etc.).

Properties can be used to pass values to Java classes, Web services or Web pages. These can be sent as static values, dynamic values or even a set of pre-created values that can be stored in a file. This flexibility allows for qualitative load testing and flexibility in other types of testing.

Filters can be used to perform steps prior to or after a given node is executed. These can be used to insert dynamic values, such as form fields in a JSP page; to parse results, such as ResultSet objects or HTML responses; or other more granular filters using the LISA API.

All of LISA's information is stored in XML files, including test cases and results. This, specifically with the results, allows for custom parsing, processing and reporting, as well as intuitive archiving. When tests are run, a number of different informations will be returned, including:

• HTTP response code (e.g. 400, 401, etc.) and header
• JDBC ResultSet contents and information
• Property values
• Other, more granular results using the LISA API

Using LISA

The process of testing with LISA requires a few steps:

1. Developers must use the LISA integration API in their code.
2. Developers, managers or Q/A analysts create test cases (and edit nodes, filters and properties) in the LISA Test Manager.
3. Tests are run from the Test Manager.
4. Load tests can be run.
5. Regression tests can be run.

Overall, I found the process fairly intuitive and it looks to be even better in the upcoming 2.5 release (see the next section for more info). Admittedly I didn't get down into the nitty- gritty and plug in the API or run major load tests or even develop an entire project using LISA for unit testing and that is where the ultimate answer lies: does LISA save time and make better applications. But given that it integrates with JUnit (and ANT) and given what usage I was able to test I think the overall process makes sense.

How to Add Java Applets to Your Site

New on the Java Boutique:

New Review:

Time Management Made Easy with the Quartz Enterprise Job Scheduler
Why not just use the Java timer API? This open source scheduling API boasts simplicity, ease-of-integration, a well-rounded feature set, and it's free!

New Applet:

Reverse Complement
Reverse Complement is a simple applet that converts DNA or RNA sequences into three useful formats.

Elsewhere on internet.com:

WebDeveloper Java
Lots of Java information on webdeveloper.com

WDVL Java
Thorough Java resource at the Web Developer's Virtual Library.

ScriptSearch Java
Hundreds of free Java code files to download.

jGuru: Your View of the Java Universe
Customizable portal with online training, FAQs, regular news updates, and tutorials.