Error detection/correction and fault detection/recovery – Data processing system error or fault handling – Reliability and availability
Reexamination Certificate
1998-01-05
2001-02-27
Sheikh, Ayaz R. (Department: 2781)
Error detection/correction and fault detection/recovery
Data processing system error or fault handling
Reliability and availability
C714S038110, C714S032000, C714S033000, C714S036000, C714S037000, C714S039000, C717S152000, C717S152000, C717S152000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C707S793000, C703S022000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06195765
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates in general to the field of computer systems and software, and more particularly to a system and method for testing an application program.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Business and other application programs execute in a wide variety of operating environments. Before deploying an application program into the operating environment in which the application programs is intended to execute, it is often desirable to test the application program to determine its suitability for the operating environment and to discover any problems associated with the application program before any undesirable physical, economic, or other damage may occur. For example, it might be desirable to test an application program that acts upon or using dates expressed in a format having a two-digit calendar year, and for which conversion to a format having a four-digit year is performed, due to potential ambiguities associated with dates on and after Jan. 1, 2000 and potential problems that may arise because of these ambiguities.
As the number and complexity of application programs and operating environments continue to increase, along with the potential damage that defects and problems associated with application programs may cause in some circumstances, techniques for testing application programs have become increasingly important. A known technique for testing an application program includes generating a simulation of the operating environment in which the application program is intended to execute, executing the application program within the simulated operating environment, recording the testing results, and discarding the simulated operating environment. If the application program is to be tested within a different operating environment, a simulation of this different operating environment must be generated and the application program retested. Although such techniques may be acceptable in some circumstances, they are often inadequate in cases in which a large number of application programs are to be tested in a large number of operating environments, due to the time and costs associated with generating the simulated operating environments. Moreover, multiple users are often unable to concurrently access a particular simulated operating environment, resulting in additional delays and costs. These and other disadvantages make previous techniques for testing application programs inadequate for many purposes.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to the present invention, disadvantages and problems associated with testing application programs have been substantially reduced or eliminated.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system for testing an application program includes a normal operating environment for the application program within which the application program is intended to execute when not being tested. A shared database stores the application program and provides a plurality of users with access to the application program. A testing service coupled to the normal operating environment and the shared database supports a base copy of the normal operating environment that simulates the normal operating environment and is coupled to the normal operating environment. The testing service also supports a first modified version of the normal operating environment that is isolated from the normal operating environment and differs from the base copy with respect to a first testing variable. The testing service executes the application program within the first modified version of the normal operating environment to test the application program in response to at least one of the users selecting the first modified version.
The system and method of the present invention provide a number of important technical advantages. Unlike prior techniques for testing application programs, the system and method of the present invention allows multiple users to concurrently access the shared resources of the testing service and the shared database using a user-friendly user interface. Each user may select a particular application program to be tested and may select a particular modified version of the normal operating environment in which to test the selected application program, regardless of the simultaneous testing activities of other users. The system and method of the present invention isolate the modified versions of the normal operating environment, in which the application programs are tested, from the normal operating environment to prevent testing from modifying or otherwise undesirably affecting the normal testing environment. In addition, the system and method of the present invention allow users to relatively easily generate new testing configurations and new modified versions of the normal operating environment, providing an important technical advantage over previous techniques for testing application programs. Other important technical advantages are readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following figures, description, and claims.
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Ferguson Brian J.
Kislanko J. Paul
Turriff J. Leslie
Backer Firmin
Baker & Botts L.L.P.
Electronic Data Systems Corporation
Griebenow L. Joy
Sheikh Ayaz R.
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