Hello people,
I want to test the functionality of my web app (actually a mobile app). I read some articles about HTTPUnit, and how it can be used instead of a browser to send ur requests from ur program, and checks the replies (it even comes with helpful functionality like parsing HTML tables and so on).
Now, I assume automated tests are supposed to be helping us developers from making repetetive long tasks, so instead of sitting and typing on the brwoser the input and manually checking the output, let the computer do it.
However (My question) how can I chose the Input/output pairs that will make sure most of my webb app is functionning well, just check all "the pages" that the cleint might request? The application is database driven, and there are endless no of states that it could be in, so to make many input /output sequence, I might just make an other program that is getting the data from t�he database, and checking it aainst the reply returned (and parsed) from the HTTP request via my HTTPUnit program??? Now how do u make sure this new program is well functionning? If u r not supposed to make sucha program that is able to generate many input /output pairs, and u find them manually (BTW what is the approach in here) then why would u need to make a test program at all, u can just make them manually (it is shorter for u to sit and type the input and expect the output, then to make a program that parses ur own data format and checks the output???
Please help, what did I miss? writting automated functional tests with a big number of pairs (input and output) seems to be an extra overhead for me? (apart from "documenting" or haveing a prove that the application has been tested

)
Thank you very much :roll: