The Keynote Internet Testing Environment is a highly flexible and efficient framework for testing the integrity of web services. Although KITE does not perform load testing, it allows a software engineer to craft detailed test scenarios without having to dedicate significant time to programming. With its easy to use transaction builder, engineers can step through a web application as a real user would, recording their interaction with the server. This interaction, or “transaction” as it is called in KITE, can later be automatically invoked for testing purposes.
When a transaction script runs, the software produces a detailed summary of the interaction. This summary includes crucial performance information, such as response times for individual web components. The download times of every image, HTML file, and script are recorded. The results of the interaction can be viewed in a variety of representations, including graphs that make bottlenecks and problem areas clear. As well as recording response times, KITE also performs basic validation. Engineers can insert a validation string in the transaction script, which is then used to test for the presence of an error code, or the absence of necessary content.
In addition to running from the desktop, KITE users may also upload their transaction scripts to the Keynote Global Infrastructure. Keynote maintains test servers across the globe, allowing KITE users to perform realistic tests that reflect actual production circumstances. This produces an added level of realism in the quality assurance environment that is hard to generate with other testing software. In addition to the realistic conditions that this produces, the Keynote servers may also be configured to launch tests on a regular basis.
KITE is an ideal choice for engineers that are developing sophisticated web applications. The transaction recorder allows engineers to rapidly prototype a wide range of test scenarios. In a complicated application environment, this can be a crucial requirement. Combine the ease of test development with KITE’s validation abilities, and engineers have an easy way to maintain application integrity at all stages of development.
KITE is easily one of the most affordable testing solutions on the market. The desktop testing solution is freely available, and engineers are also entitled to free use of 5 Keynote online testing centers. Through the paid service, quality assurance testers are given access to over 2400 measurement computers distributed across 240 locations worldwide.