Flow Template Designer
The Flow Template Designer is a drag-and-drop supported visual interface that allows creating and customizing test flows simply and efficiently.
The Flow Template Designer is accessible from the Test Assets page by clicking the Create button and selecting one of the Test Flow Template menu items or by editing an existing Flow Template.
Designer Layout
The main areas of the Message Template Designer are illustrated by the picture below.
The following table describes the interface areas highlighted by the red dots.
| # | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flow Name Field | The field is an input area to provide a name for the Flow Template. Click on the "Test Flow Name” text and start typing to name the Flow Template. |
| 2 | Editor Menu | The menu exposes certain operations, such as saving the test flow, redo and undo operation, and editing certain test flow attributes. |
| 3 | Action List | A list of Actions that can be added to the test flow by dragging and dropping them onto the Workspace. |
| 4 | Asset List | The Assets tab lists all Message Templates that can be dragged and dropped onto Send Actions within the test flow. |
| 5 | Workspace | The Workspace visualises the Actions and provides basic editing capabilities. |
| 6 | Order Handle | Action can be reorganized by dragging them by the handle. |
| 7 | Action Details Button | The button allows expanding and collapsing of specific actions to see more details or additional configuration options. |
| 8 | Action Settings Button | The button opens or closes the properties panel of the Action. |
| 9 | Delete Action Button | Removes the Action from the test flow. |
| 10 | Action Properties Panel | The panel allows configuring Actions. It is only visible when an Action is selected. |
Actions
Actions are the building blocks of a Test Flow Template and represent a step to be executed during a test run, for example: connecting to a target, sending test cases, receiving data, and disconnecting from the target.
You can add Actions to the test flow by dragging and dropping them onto the Workspace. The Test Flow Designer allows defining any number of actions in any order, even in orders that do not make sense. It is the responsibility of the user to implement a sensible test flow.
Connect Action
The action instructs GUARDARA to establish a connection to the test target. This action is usually the first one within a Test Flow Template. It is up to the Driver's implementation how the connection to the target is established, thus may differ from Driver to Driver.
Send Action
The Send Action allows sending test cases to the target based on the assigned Message Template. You can assign a Message Template to a Send Action by dragging a Message Template from the Asset List and dropping it onto the Send Action.
Receive Action
The Receive Action allows receiving data from the test target. The action also allows you to assign Response Processing Rules that perform certain operations on the data received.
Callback Action
The Callback Action allows experienced users to execute arbitrary Python code during the test to perform operations unavailable via the user interface. You can learn how to implement Callbacks in the Developer's Guide.
Disconnect Action
The action instructs GUARDARA to disconnect from the test target. This action is usually the last one within a Test Flow Template. It is up to the Driver's implementation how the connection to the target is terminated, thus may differ from Driver to Driver.
Authenticate Action
There is an Action that is not visible in the Action List by default called "Authenticate". It allows easy authentication of any following Send Actions working with Message Templates that implement HTTP requests. This action is only visible if Web Test Flow is enabled in the Flow Configuration accessible from the View > Flow Configuration editor menu.
When using the Authenticate Action, any Send actions after the Authenticate Action is expected to be assigned a Message Template that models a structurally sound HTTP request. The Authenticate Action then performs the requested authentication and updates the generated HTTP requests accordingly.
Action Properties
Certain Actions have properties configurable via the Action Properties Panel. The following table summarises the most common Action properties.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Action on Monitor | The Engine only considers this property if a test target within a Project has at least one monitor configured. The option selected determines the action to take if a monitor signals an issue. Please note a finding is always created in the report. |
| Action on Timeout | The option selected specifies the action to be taken if the action times out. |
| Connection Error | The option selected specifies the action to be taken if a connection error is detected. |
| Action Timeout | The action timeout in milliseconds. If the Action does not complete successfully within this period, an event will be raised and handled according to the Action on Timeout property’s value. |
| Retry on Timeout | If Retry on Timeout is enabled, the Action will be repeated as per the configuration. The configuration only applies to the Action it was configured for. |
Flow Configuration
Variable Collection Assignment
You can assign a Variable Collection and a Condition Group Collection to the Message Template using the configuration panel of the Test Flow Designer accessible from View > Flow Configuration of the editor menu.
Web Test Flow
By turning on the Web Test flow switch, you can tell GUARDARA that you are working with web-based applications. When enabled, the user interface makes the Authenticate Action available. The Always Reconnect option is also turned off, assuming that the HTTP driver will be used, which can handle keep-alive connections out of the box.
Test Flow Mode
Indicates whether the test flow models the behaviour of a client or a server application. This configuration may impact how some Engine Drivers behave. In addition, the Performance Baselining and Analysis feature is only available in Client-mode.
Always Reconnect
A new connection is created with every Connect Actionwhen this option is enabled. When disabled, the Connect action will not attempt to connect to the target if the connection is still alive.