Web Page Element Testing via Spatial Hit Tests

Solution Overview

Problem

The complexity of modern web pages makes traditional testing methods inefficient and resource-intensive, as they often fail to accurately emulate human user interactions, leading to inaccurate results and excessive resource consumption.

Innovation Solution

A system and method for identifying and testing only the visually perceptible elements on a web page by using spatial display properties and hit tests to filter out non-manipulable elements, allowing for more efficient and accurate testing that replicates human behavior.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional automated testing methods are used to test all web page elements, then testing coverage is improved, but resource consumption and time increase excessively

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetesting coverageVSAvoidtesting time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and identifies only the visually perceptible elements from the complete set of web page elements using spatial display properties and hit tests. This extraction process separates the relevant testable elements (those visible and manipulable by users) from irrelevant elements (hidden, non-rendered, or non-manipulable elements), thereby reducing the testing scope to only necessary elements while maintaining adequate testing coverage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of performing exhaustive testing on all elements, the patent applies partial action by testing only the subset of elements that are visually perceptible and manipulable. This partial testing approach is sufficient to ensure quality for user-interactable elements without the excessive resource consumption of complete element testing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Reliability

If traditional automated testing methods are used to test all web page elements, then testing coverage is improved, but resource consumption increases excessively

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetesting coverageVSAvoidcomputational resources

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts and identifies only the visually perceptible elements from the complete set of web page elements using spatial display properties and hit tests. This extraction process separates the relevant testable elements (those visible and manipulable by users) from irrelevant elements (hidden, non-rendered, or non-manipulable elements), thereby reducing the testing scope to only necessary elements while maintaining adequate testing coverage

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

Instead of performing exhaustive testing on all elements, the patent applies partial action by testing only the subset of elements that are visually perceptible and manipulable. This partial testing approach is sufficient to ensure quality for user-interactable elements without the excessive resource consumption of complete element testing

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

3Reliability

If traditional automated testing methods are used, then all elements are tested, but the testing does not accurately emulate human user behavior

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetesting accuracyVSAvoidtesting system complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces spatial display properties and hit tests as intermediary mechanisms to bridge the gap between automated testing and human user behavior. These intermediaries filter web page elements based on their visual perceptibility and manipulability characteristics, allowing the testing system to focus on elements that users can actually see and interact with, thereby emulating human behavior more accurately

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces traditional mechanical element-by-element testing approaches with a spatial-based filtering system. Instead of systematically testing all elements regardless of their user interaction potential, the system uses spatial display properties and coordinate-based hit tests to identify and test only those elements that are visually perceptible and manipulable, substituting the mechanical testing process with a spatial intelligence approach

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS10296563B2Automated testing of perceptible web page elements

Publication Date: 2019.05.21 SALESFORCE INC

AI summary

Methods and systems are provided for testing graphical elements within a graphical user interface associated with a computer file, such as a web page. One exemplary method involves a computing device coupled to a communications network identifying a visible subset of graphical elements within a graphical user interface associated with a computer file available over the network and identifying a testable subset of the visible subset. To identify the testable subset the computing device obtains spatial display properties for each graphical element of the visible subset, performs a hit test for the respective graphical element using the spatial display properties, and retains the respective graphical element in the testable subset based on a result of the hit test corresponding to the respective graphical element. The testable subset thereby includes graphical elements that are perceptible to human users, and conversely, excludes imperceptible graphical elements.