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I'm dealing with a legacy application and I have no access to its source code. It's a Windows application written in PowerBuilder.

Is it possible to do automated end-to-end testing on an application that I have no access to its source code? I intend to test mainly on the application's business functions and flows.

Carven
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  • you could use scripting tools like AutoIt (http://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/) to run tests on the application but what would you do if you find a bug ? – Amnon Apr 08 '14 at 00:09
  • Sadly, the application is maintained by a vendor, and they are not releasing their source code to us. So if I find a bug, I will have to report it to the vendor and they will send me a new patch or something. From there, I will retest the application. This is why testing it manually is really a pain and I'm looking for an automated solution. – Carven Apr 08 '14 at 00:10
  • @Amnon Is AutoIt capable of knowing when there is a bug or something that I had asserted in a test script that didn't return correctly? Or Is AutoIt just a macro sort of application? – Carven Apr 08 '14 at 00:12
  • last time I used AutoIt was years ago, but already back then it was quite powerful and you'd probably find that you can easily use it's language and functions to detect when a test does not produce the expected result and take the appropriate action. – Amnon Apr 08 '14 at 00:19

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HP Quick Test Pro does support automation of PowerBuilder application and you don't need access to source code as far as I know/remember. In a previous company I worked for we were able to create a portfolio of end-to-end tests. But honestly I would really recommend you to think carefully before investing in that because it does cost a lot of development and maintenance effort and you still ave to do manual/exploratory tests anyway because the tool won't see everything. So if I had to make the choice again, I would decide to not automate and do regular manual tests campaigns.

Laurent Bristiel
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