Difference Handling Overview

Differences in PROIV Assure refer to any variations discovered during a Test Run between Recordings and the actual PROIV Session that the Recording is driving. For example, if a screen contains new fields that are not in the Recording's version of that screen, then a Difference is logged against the Recording (not the Test or the Suite). This Difference can then be handled by PROIV Assure. Differences can be due to a variety of reasons, some of which cannot be handled by PROIV Assure, e.g. major changes in the application that require new Recordings or software bugs that require fixing. Differences that can be managed by PROIV Assure are those that involve variable data (e.g. dates and user IDs), or when there has been a small modification to the application that changes some data, but does not necessitate a full re-recording (the latter situation can also be managed by Baselining).

The Difference Handling window enables you to maintain the Differences that you have previously handled against the Test Runs. It lists all of the Differences found against a Recording, and therefore acts a useful reference tool for you to view what Differences have been handled and how they have been handled.

In contrast, the Comparison Results window (in the Tests or Suites views) only displays the unhandled Differences for that Test Run, if the Differences have been handled, they are not displayed following a subsequent Test Run. However, you can view the handled Differences via the Handlers on the Comparison Results window. Click here to view a screenshot of the handled Differences in a Test Run.

Difference Handling rules are automatically applied to the multiple Tests or Suites that reference the Recording. There is also a facility to unhandle all of the Differences held against a Test or Suite. This is useful if you want to 'rollback' the handling for a group of Differences, if you decide that you do not want them managed in that way.

Note: Differences are stored against Recordings and not the Suites or Tests. Next time the Recordings are run, the Difference Rules are checked against any Differences found and if they met the rules, they are not reported as Differences.

Difference Handling rules can take one of the following formats:

Unhandled - this option removes the handling on the Difference.
Ignore – this option ignores the Difference and does not report it regardless of the value.
RegEx – this option enables you enter a Regular Expression. This can be as restrictive or unrestrictive as you require. You could for example, handle an original value of "1234" against an actual value of "5678" in a variety of ways, you could create a Regular Expression which:
Matches only 1234 and 5678
Matches numbers between 1234 and 5678
Matches any 4-figure numbers
Matches any 4-character strings
Matches any numbers

Click here to view a list of Regular Expressions web resources.

AdHoc Rule – this option enables you to set up rules based on PROIV standards such as DATE and NumericPIC, and then generate a Regular Expression from them.
Saved Rule – this option enables you to save a set of Ad Hoc Rules or Regular Expressions for re-use in Difference Handling. Only appropriate rules that match the Difference are offered to the user.

All options (except Ignore) enable you to test your Regular Expression. For it to successfully handle the Difference it must match both the expected and actual values, otherwise the Regular Expression will fail.

Section links:

Maintaining the Difference Rules for a Recording explains how to modify Difference Rules held against Recording.

Handling Differences in a Test Run explains how to handle Differences in a Test Run.

Viewing the Location of a Difference explains how to view the actual location of a Difference in a Test Run (a read-only view of the comparison between the Run Recording and the original Recording, which enables you to quickly identify the nature of the difference).

Tests and Test Suite Overview provides an overview of how to create Tests and Suites and how to run Tests.

Regular Expressions Resources provides a list of internet resources, which may be of help in learning more about Regular Expressions.

Test Results Overview provides an overview of the Comparison Results window and explores the functionality that it offers. It is a very important area in PROIV Assure as it enables you to view and handle Differences for a selected Recording and for all the Differences in a Test or Suite, you can also view the Difference Handlers for a selected Recording and change Difference Handling if required, and also investigate the details of any Unused Rules for the selected Recording.

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Topic ID: 780028