QTP vs WinRunner 

Both WinRunner and QTP are programs that have been developed by HP’s software division mainly for testing purposes. WinRunner is software that is tasked to perform Graphic User Interface (GUI) testing and is also allowed to record and play back user interface interactions as test scripts. QTP, on the other hand, refers to Quick Test Professional, which is a product that has been developed for the provision of regression and functional test automation on different software environments. Software quality assurance testing also heavily relies on QTP. Both WinRunner and QTP come with functional differences relating to the tasks they perform and these are elaborated in detail below.

When it comes to the environment that is supported by both WinRunner and QTP, these two differ greatly. WinRunner supports an environment that has Powerbuilder, Delphi, Centura, Stingray, Forte, and SmallTalk. The environment that QTP works on includes .NET framework, Flash and XML web services.

The user model is also an issue of difference. This deals with the way in which users interact with the application.  With WinRunner users will interact with a focus on the test script, looking at requirements that have familiarity with the programming and searching for one that is very powerful. In QTP, users interact with applications using synchronized test scripts and an active screen. QTP also has an easy interface due to its GUI; however, there is a mode for experts to work with too. This makes QTP seem easy to use but it is also very powerful.

When it comes to the script recording modes, WinRunner is context sensitive and therefore uses a flat object hierarchy. Also WinRunner is analog and therefore captures any input inserted to it, be it keyboard input, a mouse path, or even a mouse click. QTP, on the other, uses a multi-level object hierarchy. Also, QTP is low-level and therefore only sues mouse coordinates.

WinRunner offers a programmatic representation when creating scripts. It uses TSL which is similar to C language. TSL is a procedural language and uses objects from a GUI map. QTP on the other hand creates scripts in two modes. One of these can be icon based while the other can be a programmatic representation.  QTP uses VB script, which is an object-oriented language similar to VB. All the objects used come from the object repository.

In object storage and operations, WinRunner stores its content in a flat hierarchy and this can be viewed using a GUI spy.  The content is also stored in a GUI Map. For any new objects, a temporary GUI Map is developed by WinRunner to hold new objects. QTP on the other hand uses a multilevel object hierarchy for storage of its content. Just as in WinRunner it can be viewed using an object spy and is stored in the object repository. Content is automatically stored in the object repository.

Other areas of difference include transaction measurement that is handled by TSL programming in WinRunner, while in QTP it is done by VBScript programming. Any data-driven operations create iterations automatically in WinRunner. QTP on the other hand creates iterations automatically and programmatically for any data-driven operations. Finally, WinRunner handles exceptions using the exception editor while QTP uses Rec.

Summary

WinRunner and QTP were developed by HP

WinRunner users interact with a focus on the test script

QTP users interact with applications using synchronized test scripts and active screens

WinRunner uses TSL while QTP uses VBScript

WinRunner in object storage operations stores the objects in a flat hierarchy while QTP stores objects in a multilevel hierarchy

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