Web Testing Tools Gain Mind Share

In what many say is a sign of a maturing industry, several new products designed to debug, stress-test and monitor Web-based applications will be in the spotlight this week.

Among the expected announcements at the Software Test Automation Conference in San Jose, Calif., is the release of Functional Testing Tool, a code name for a product from Atesto Technologies Inc.

With Functional Testing Tool, or FTT, site administrators can test Web applications for the integrity of text placement, object links, hyperlinks and pop-up windows. Where previous tools gave only the back-end log reports of the end-user experience, the software essentially emulates the end-user viewpoint firsthand.

FTT is the third component of the Fremont, Calif., vendors product suite, which includes server load balancing and site monitoring tools. Scripts written for FTT are compatible with the other components and vice versa.

Atesto also plans to make news on the wireless front this spring.

"We want to provide the whole tool set," said Tarun Kotal, Atestos chief technology officer and co-founder. "We want to make our platform available to anyone who wants to build applications on top of this."

IT managers know that testing should be a fundamental portion of any application development process.

"Any time you build software, on the Web or anywhere, it needs to be tested. Thats obviously something that should be done to make sure results that are put into a Web site are correct," said Bill Conati, IS manager for Maax Spas Arizona Inc., based in Chandler, Ariz., and an eWeek Corporate Partner. However, Conati said, most of the current offerings fall short in the testing of site security.

Also this week, Mercury Interactive Corp., of Sunnyvale, Calif., will demonstrate the 7.0 versions of its core WinRunner and LoadRunner products. WinRunner features Wireless Application Protocol and wireless application testing, transaction verification, and a simpler test creation process; LoadRunner adds improved transaction debugging, Enterprise JavaBeans testing and new Extensible Markup Language data testing features.

OC Systems Inc., of Fairfax, Va., will announce a Java version of its Aprobe suite as part of its new version, 4.0. Future versions will include the ability to remotely debug software by sending end users a custom-built module via e-mail or FTP, a company spokeswoman said. The new version is part of the companys effort to target developers, not just technical support professionals, she said.