Explain the concept of object repository & how QTP recognizes objects?

Just like its Winrunner counterpart, the quick test professional also comes with an object repository which is the first aspect of this article that we are going to discuss in this article and the second aspect to be discussed is regarding the identification of the objects by the quick test professional. 

What is a Object Repository?

- Just like we have a store room and other storage places in our house, the same way the quick test professional consists of a storage place where the information regarding the objects can be stored and this storage place is called the “object repository”. 

- During the process of the identification of the objects, the presence of an interface is necessary between the application under test and test scripts in order for proper identification of the objects. 

- This interface is provided by none other than the object repository itself. 

- An object can be identified as a run time entity with some characteristic properties as well as structure. 

- Few examples of software objects are:

1. Windows
2. Web pages
3. Edit boxes
4. Buttons
5. Check boxes and so on.

What kind of objects QTP recognizes?

Quick test professional recognizes 4 types of objects as mentioned below:

1. Run time objects

These are the objects that are present in the application under test or AUT such as links, check boxes, buttons etc.

2. Test objects

-Run time objects cannot be operated up on directly rather there references are created which are nothing but the test objects such as web button, link, win edit and so on. 

-These test objects are referenced by different names in different environments.

3. Utility Objects

- These are the objects that are reserved by the quick test professional for the purpose of testing as well as test reporting. 

- One such example is the reporter object for displaying the test results.

4. User defined objects (also known as the automation objects)

- In most of the cases objects are required that can perform some specific operations i.e., the user defined operations. 

- Such objects are referred to as the user defined objects.

How QTP recognizes objects?

- For every action that is performed on an object, a local repository is created by the quick test professional automatically while the recording is in progress.

- The local object repository is different from the global object repository in the respect that it cannot be shared among the tests.

- Additional objects can be added to this repository by the user as well as the existing ones can be modified. 

- Global object repository is more commonly known as the shared repository. 

Now let us focus up on the second aspect of the quick test professional i.e., the identification of the objects. 

- Quick test professional has got two major mechanisms for accomplishing this task as stated below:

1. Usual object identification mechanism

- In this mechanism, the learned description of the object i.e., the one provided by user is followed throughout the identification process for identifying the object. 

2. The smart identification mechanism

- This mechanism is smarter than the former one, more flexible but far complex. 

- It comes into play when the first one fails. 

- It rejects the description that was used in the first mechanism and prepares a list of objects that resembles properties defined by the quick test professional. - For the smart identification process to work properly it is required that it should be configured properly.