Automated UI Interaction Coverage via DOM CSS Selector Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current UI testing methods lack an objective and quantitative approach to determine if all functionality of a user interface is adequately tested, making it difficult to ensure comprehensive interaction coverage.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that identifies and records interactive elements on a user interface using a document object model, generates CSS selectors, and merges test coverage results to provide a human-readable report on interaction coverage, ensuring that all interactive elements are tested and their coverage is displayed to the user.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If comprehensive UI testing is performed by testing all clickable links and text fields, then test coverage is improved, but test suite complexity and time consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual, mechanical test creation and tracking with automated computational systems. The system automatically generates CSS selectors from DOM representations, executes tests, and calculates coverage metrics programmatically, eliminating the need for manual test suite management and coverage analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates simplified representations (copies) of UI elements through CSS selectors that capture the essential identifying characteristics of each interactive element without requiring complete test specifications. These selectors serve as compact proxies for the actual UI elements, enabling automated tracking and coverage calculation.
2Reliability
If all possible combinations of text fields and interactive elements are tested, then functional completeness is improved, but testing time and resource consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism that automatically measures test coverage by comparing executed tests against the complete set of identified interactive elements. The system provides real-time coverage metrics that feedback to testers, enabling them to assess functional completeness without exhaustively testing all possible combinations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from exhaustive functional testing to coverage metric calculation. Instead of verifying every possible function through execution, the system measures coverage by identifying interactive elements through DOM parsing and comparing them against test execution records, significantly reducing testing time while maintaining accountability.
3Measurement precision
If detailed tracking of each interactive element is implemented, then test coverage measurement precision is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex manual tracking systems with automated DOM-based identification. The system programmatically generates CSS selectors from the document object model representation, automatically tracking each interactive element through its unique selector string, thereby achieving precise measurement without manual intervention or complex tracking infrastructure.
4Loss of information
If comprehensive test results are provided for all interactive elements, then information completeness is improved, but data processing and display complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential coverage information from complete test results. By focusing on whether each CSS selector (interactive element) was executed, the system separates critical coverage data from extraneous test execution details, providing comprehensive information about what was tested without overwhelming users with unnecessary data processing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for interactive test coverage are disclosed. An example embodiment receives a document object model representation of a user interface page and determines at least one visible and interactive element in the document object model. If there are multiple visible interactive elements, an example embodiment creates a CSS selector for each element. A CSS selector identifies the element by information including ancestry tags from a root node to a leaf node. In one embodiment, a determination is made regarding whether the current CSS selector is similar to previously-stored CSS selectors. An example embodiment stores the CSS selector when no previously-stored CSS selectors are similar. A user interface test is executed and a determination is made as to whether the elements represented by the stored CSS selectors were invoked by the test. Results from the test execution can be displayed to a user via a user interface display.