GUI automation tool (windows)

[Grant Edwards]

On 2010-08-11, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo at geek-central.gen.new_zealand> wrote:
> In message <mailman.1936.1281496277.1673.python-list at python.org>, Robert 
> Kern wrote:
>
>> On 2010-08-10 21:57 , Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
>>
>>> In message
>>> <abe9b308-db83-4ca8-a71a-12d2025a7615 at i31g2000yqm.googlegroups.com>, Alex
>>> Barna wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Aug 10, 10:05 am, Lawrence D'Oliveiro
>>>>
>>>>> Can???t understand the point to it. ???GUI automation??? is a contradiction
>>>>> in terms, because a GUI is designed for use by humans to do manual
>>>>> tasks, not ones that can be automated.
>>>>
>>>> Automating GUI is for testing.
>>>
>>> But the most egregious GUI problems are going to be with humans being
>>> unable to figure out how to do something, am I right?
>> 
>> Possibly, but it's not the *only* important problem. Automated GUI testing
>> is usually a form of regression testing. You want to make sure that the
>> behavior of parts of the GUI did not change when you made what should be
>> unrelated modifications to the code.
>
> Again, that???s something that primarily affects real users, when they find
> some function is no longer in the place where they expect it to be.

Automated testing can detect when some function is no longer where it
used to be.

> You have to test with real users to find out what they think of this
> sort of thing.

Again, nobody's talking about using automated testing to figure out
what users think.  We're talking about using automated testing to make
sure that rev 3.5 acts the same what that rev 3.4 did when you push
button X or select menu option Y.

-- 
Grant