What are different types of functions available in WinRunner?

Functions form a very important aspect of the winrunnner. When you work with the winrunner you are provided with functions from all the categories. 

Some of the functions are there which are suppose to work only when the applications have been developed in specific environments like those mentioned below:

1. Visual basic
2. Power builder and so on.

What is a Function?

- The availability of a specific function can be checked by clicking up on the availability button available at the top of the help screen for that particular function. 

- The loadrunner GUI vusers types make use of the winrunner for the creation of the system load.

- This makes it possible to make use of any of the categories. 

- The standard functions can be used apart from the loadrunner functions in loadrunner scenario scripts on UNIX platform only.

- There are certain TSL functions that have the support for both the Xrunner and winrunner. 

- The winrunner provides 4 major types of TSL functions as stated below and a different and unique requirement is addressed by each of them:

1. Context sensitive functions: These functions hold the responsibility for performing the operations on GUI objects.

2. Analog functions: These functions hold the responsibility for carrying out some user like events like mouse and key board input.

3. Customization functions: These functions hold the responsibility for configuring the settings of the testing tool according to one’s requirement. 

4. Standard functions: These functions hold the responsibility for performing the basic programming language operations.

Context Sensitive Functions

- The actions taking place on the software system or application which is under test can be depicted by these functions in terms of the GUI objects like buttons, lists and windows and so on. 

- These functions are available for the following platforms:

      a)   Winrunner

      b)   Load runner GUI vusers

   - Parameters that make a reference to the logical name of some object are involved in most of the context sensitive functions. 

   - However, it should be checked that the logical name of an object has been given a place with the physical description. 

    - What happens during recording is that the logical name is automatically put to use by the system. 

   - In some cases the function is expected to work with the physical description of the object as well.

    Analog Functions

   - Operations are recorded and executed at the screen coordinates of the screen as specified in the test script. 

   - When the winrunner recording is done in this mode, these functions come in to play for depicting the following:

a)     Mouse clicks

b)     Key board input

c)     Exact coordinates travelled by the mouse

- The purpose of these functions is to run and retrace the mouse tracks and submit the exact input that was recorded by the user. 

- There are some other particular operations that are supported by analog functions:

a)   Synchronization

b)   Verification

c)   Text manipulation etc.

- The analog functions are available for the same platforms as for the context sensitive functions.

Customization Functions

- With these functions, the testing tools you are using can be enhanced further to suit better with your testing style and other specific needs. 

- One particular example for this function is the function using which functions can be added to the function generator and custom GUI check points can be created. 

- These are only available for winrunner.

Standard Functions

- These functions are for general elements of the programming language like:

a)   Basic input and out put

b)   Control flow

c)   Mathematical functions

d)   Array functions and so on.

- Unlike other function the standard functions are available for all the products of mercury interactive.