- Power-Up Your Test Suite With OLE Automation discusses using OLE Automation and the combination of Ruby and WIN32OLE for test automation of native Windows applications like Excel, Internet Explorer, and mainframe terminal emulators. - OLE Automation allows automation of tasks on Windows applications through Microsoft's Automation interface when other popular options are unavailable. It provides access to an application's functionality through objects, properties, methods. - Specific examples are provided for automating Excel workbooks and worksheets, controlling a mainframe terminal emulator, and integrating the automation into Cucumber scenarios. The presentation aims to demonstrate how OLE Automation can help "power up" a test suite.

1. Power-Up Your
Test Suite With
OLE Automation
Joshua Russell

2. • Application Architect
• Huntington Bank
About Me
2

3. Web Desktop Mobile
Mainframe Database Services
Test Automation
3

4. How Do You “Power-Up” A Test Suite?
4

5. 5

6. 6

7. Test Suite Toolbox
7

8. Useful Tool: OLE Automation
8
Desktop
Mainframe

9. Desktop Applications
9

10. 10

11. Mainframe Applications
11

12. Task
Automation
Test
Automation
12

13. Automate Windows applications
Possible solution when popular options are
unavailable
Several names
OLE Automation
13

14. • Created by Microsoft
• Based on a subset of COM
• Still included in “OLE”
• Intended for use by scripting languages
What is OLE Automation?
14
C C++ C#
Visual
Basic
Java
VBScript Perl PHP Python Ruby

15. Clients and Servers
15
Automation
Server
Automation
Client

16. Automation Server
16

17. Automation Client
17

18. The Object Model
18

19. Ruby Stuff
19

20. Ruby and WIN32OLE
20

21. require ‘win32ole’
WIN32OLE.new ‘Program.ID’
WIN32OLE Basics
21

22. The Program ID
22
Program ID

23. • Object::methods
• Not helpful
Ruby
Methods
• WIN32OLE::ole_methods
• WIN32OLE::ole_put_methods
• Very informative
OLE
Methods
Ruby Methods vs OLE Methods
23

24. Mainframe Automation
24

25. OLE Automation and Mainframe
Quick3270 Extra! Passport
25

26. • Control the terminal emulator application
Application
• Open, close, and manage sessions
Sessions
• Read, write, and find text
• Send key strokes
Screens
Mainframe Application Functionality
26

27. TE3270
x3270
Quick
3270
Extra!
Virtel
Web
Access
Passport
TE3270
27

28. TE3270: Page Object Pattern
28

29. TE3270 Example
29

30. Cucumber Steps
30

31. TE3270 and Cucumber Scenarios
31

32. Mainframe
32

33. Enrollment
33

34. Excel Automation
34

35. Launch Excel
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require ‘win32ole’
excel = WIN32OLE.new ‘Excel.Application’
excel.Visible = true

36. Workbooks
36
excel.Workbooks.Add
excel.Workbooks.Open(‘c:qa_highwayrecords.xlsx’)

37. Worksheets
37
workbook.Worksheets(1)workbook.Worksheets(‘Customers’)workbook.Worksheets(2)workbook.Worksheets(‘Orders’)workbook.Worksheets.Add

38. Data (rows)
38
worksheet.Rows(2)
worksheet.Rows(6)

39. Data (columns)
39
worksheet.Columns(2)
worksheet.Columns(1)

40. Data (cells)
40
worksheet.Cells(4, 1)
worksheet.Cells(8, 2)
worksheet.Cells(11, 3)
cell.Value
cell.Value = ‘$50.49’

41. Shut It Down
41
workbook.Close
excel.Workbooks.Close

42. Shut It Down
42
excel.Quit

43. More Cool Stuff
43

44. Further Reading
Distributed
COM
Event Handling
iOS
implementation
44

45. Resources (Background)
• Microsoft – “Automation”:
– https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/mfc/automation
• Microsoft – “Component Object Model (COM)”:
– https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/windows/desktop/ms680573(v=vs.85).aspx
• Microsoft – “OLE in MFC”:
– https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cpp/mfc/ole-in-mfc
• Wikipedia – “OLE Automation”:
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OLE_Automation
• Wikipedia – “Component Object Model”:
– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Component_Object_Model
45

46. Resources (Microsoft)
• Excel Object Model:
– https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/wss56bz7.aspx
• PowerPoint Object Model:
– https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vba/powerpoint-
vba/articles/object-model-powerpoint-vba-reference
• Internet Explorer Object Model:
– https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms970456.aspx
46

47. Resources (Mainframe)
• Mainframe OLE Automation (EXTRA!/PASSPORT):
– http://docs.attachmate.com/extra/x-treme/apis/com/
• TE3270 gem:
– https://github.com/cheezy/te3270
• TE3270 gem (modified for PASSPORT):
– https://github.com/RussellJoshuaA/te3270
47

48. Resources
• Joshua Russell on GitHub:
– https://github.com/RussellJoshuaA
• This presentation on GitHub:
– https://github.com/RussellJoshuaA/ruby_win32ole_presentation/
48

49. Consider using OLE
• Task Automation
• Acceptance Testing
Applications on Windows
• Microsoft Office
• Mainframe Terminal Emulators
Ruby and WIN32OLE
Conclusion
49

51. Appendix

52. • COM is used to create software components that can interact
• COM is a standard which specifies an object model and
programming requirements that enable COM objects to
interact with other objects
• COM is the foundation for OLE, ActiveX, and other
technologies
Component Object Model
52

53. • A COM object is one which provides access to its data
exclusively through one or more sets of interfaces
• COM objects can be created with a variety of programming
languages
COM Object
53

54. • COM makes a fundamental distinction between interface
definitions and their implementations
• An interface is a group of related function prototypes whose
usage is defined but whose implementation is not
• An interface implementation is the code that carries out the
actions specified in an interface definition
COM Interfaces
54

55. • “OLE” was originally an acronym for Object Linking and
Embedding. Now it’s just “OLE”.
• OLE is a mechanism for manipulating documents created by
multiple applications
What is OLE?
55

56. • OLE incorporates many concepts:
– Linking and Embedding
– In-Place Activation (Visual Editing)
– Automation
– Compound Files
– Uniform Data Transfer
– Drag and Drop
– Component Object Model
OLE is made of stuff
56

57. • Power-Up Your Test Suite with OLE Automation
– For test automation, every platform is a challenge that requires a
unique solution. For many native applications in a Windows
environment, the appropriate automation solution is OLE
Automation. From testing desktop applications & stored
procedures to data management & metrics, the combination of
Ruby and WIN32OLE can automate tests on native Windows
apps. The audience will learn the capabilities and limitations of
automation using Microsoft’s Automation interface, with
examples in Excel, Internet Explorer, and PASSPORT terminal
emulator. For those staying through the End Credits, we’ll have a
special bonus scene!
Abstract
57

58. Change History
Author Date Comment
Joshua Russell 2018-02-26 Updated for QA or the Highway
58