Session Classes for Modular Automation Script Generation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for generating test automation scripts are complex, time-consuming, and produce verbose, non-modular, and difficult-to-maintain scripts, especially when dealing with user interfaces like GUIs, while keyword-driven methods require a comprehensive set of keywords upfront and are less intuitive.
Innovation Solution
A script generation method using session classes that captures both actions and metaactions via a user interface, allowing for the creation of modular, reusable, and readable scripts by defining metaactions as procedures that can be invoked to perform sequences of command-level actions, enabling efficient and intuitive automation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the capture-generate method is used to create automation scripts, then the script generation process is fast and simple, but the generated scripts are verbose, difficult to maintain, and lack modularity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments automation scripts into modular components including session classes, actions, and metaactions. Each session class represents a reusable template for a specific type of interaction session, allowing scripts to be constructed from standardized building blocks rather than captured as monolithic sequences of low-level commands.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces session classes as intermediary templates between the capture-generate process and the final script. These session classes act as mediators that structure captured actions into organized, maintainable formats with defined metadata, reducing the verbosity and complexity of generated scripts.
2Device complexity
If keyword-driven method is used to create automation scripts, then the scripts are more modular and maintainable, but the method requires a comprehensive set of keywords upfront and is less intuitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary structuring by capturing actions during actual session execution and automatically organizing them into session class templates. This eliminates the need for users to pre-define comprehensive keyword sets, as the session classes are generated or selected based on the actual interaction patterns observed during capture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates reusable session class templates that can be copied and applied to multiple similar automation tasks. Instead of requiring users to define keywords for every possible scenario, the system captures real session patterns and creates templates that can be reused across different scripts, maintaining modularity without sacrificing intuitiveness.
3Reliability
If conventional capture-generate method is used, then the automation script captures all low-level actions, but the script lacks overall structure and reusability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments captured actions into structured components organized within session classes. Each session class contains relevant actions grouped by their functional purpose, along with metadata that enables identification and reuse. This segmentation maintains complete action capture while organizing it into reusable templates.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates session classes that serve multiple functions: they capture complete action sequences for reliability, organize them for structure, and enable reuse across different scripts through templating. The same session class template can be applied to multiple similar automation scenarios, providing versatility while maintaining action completeness.
Data Source
AI summary
A script including a plurality of actions to process in a session associated with a system is generated via a user interface, where the script includes both actions and metaactions. The actions correspond to commands associated with the session to be executed on the system, and the metaactions correspond to a selected plurality of the commands. The script is generated by receiving the actions and the metaactions to process on the system via the user interface associated with the session for interfacing with the system, capturing the actions and the metaactions, and saving the captured actions and metaactions to generate the script.