Technology Comparison
Through its future-proof technology which reduces the TCO, M-eux Test enables companies to set up an extremely efficient and low cost mobile testing strategy.
| Key Features | Jamo Solutions M-eux Test | Bitmap and OCR-based Competitors | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Write Rich Test Scripts | Support for Web, Native and Hybrid applications | M-eux Test provides full support for web, native and hybrid applications. | Most bitmap and OCR-based competitors offer (limited) support for web, native and hybrid applications. |
| Unlimited access to all User Interface objects | M-eux Test is able to recognize and access all objects of your application’s User Interface. | Examples of objects which bitmap or OCR-based technologies cannot access: - Objects currently not visible (e.g. scrolling needed) - Multiple objects with the same labels/icon - Image-based buttons - Objects with dynamic properties |
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| Align with existing best practices | M-eux Test allows you to write test scripts just like you write them today – through a rich and complete object repository. Scripts are readable and easy to maintain. | Bitmap and OCR-based competitors often require you to write scripts in an unnatural manner, requiring you to input the exact coordinates of buttons on the screen. This results in unreadable and error-prone test scripts. | |
| Access device diagnostic information | M-eux Test gives you full access to device diagnostic information such as CPU and memory consumption. | Bitmap or OCR-based competitors do not provide you with diagnostic information. | |
| No need for recompiling your application | M-eux Test ships with ‘Testable Creators’[1] which instrument your applications without the need for recompilation. | Bitmap or OCR-based competition does not require recompiling your application. | |
| Cover phone-specific actions | M-eux Test allows you to cover phone-specific actions in your tests, such as intercepting phone calls or sending SMS and e-mail messages. | Most bitmap and OCR-based solutions do not provide you with in-depth access to the phone features. | |
| No jail breaking or rooting required | By working at the application level, M-eux avoids the need for rooting or jail breaking your phone. | Most bitmap and OCR-based solutions work at the OS level and require either jail breaking or rooting your device. In many countries, such actions are not permitted by law. | |
| Minimize Maintenance Cost | Reusable script across landscape/portrait orientations, device models and screen sizes | Because M-eux Test uses the object tree to access objects instead of using the location of the objects on the screen, scripts written with M-eux test are reusable across screen orientations, device models and screen sizes. | Most bitmap and OCR-based competitors use the exact location of an object when automating mobile devices. When the orientation of a device changes or the screen size changes, the coordinates of the objects change. This requires testers to either: - Rewrite scripts for different orientations. - Inject complex and error-prone ‘search’ conditions. |
| Reusable script across operating system (OS) versions | Scripts written using M-eux Test can easily be upgraded from one OS version to another. As an example, Jamo Solutions was the first to announce formal support for iOS 7 with an easy and clear upgrade path for iOS 6-based scripts. | When the look and feel of an operation system changes, such as from iOS 6 to iOS 7, significant changes are often required in bitmap and OCR-based technologies. This results in delayed availability of these tools for new technologies, and additional maintenance costs for customers using these technologies. | |
| ROI | Minimize Total Cost of Ownership | Scripts written using M-eux Test are robust and require little maintenance as the UI of your application evolves. Upgrades to new OS versions, such as iOS 7, are largely transparent. Scripts can easily be shared across multiple devices and screen sizes.M-eux Test is flexible and allows you to easily scale your testing infrastructure as the popularity of your application increases. | Although Bitmap and OCR-based tools can get you started quickly, the cost of maintaining these scripts is high as any minor change in your application will cause the need for extensive changes in your script. Upgrades to new OS versions may require a complete rewrite.If you need to execute your on multiple devices, you will need to maintain various copies of the same script, multiplying the cost of your mobile automation strategy. |
| Faster Time To Market | Just like M-eux Test is able to provide low maintenance cost through reusability, M-eux Test provides organizations with a fast time to market for their application by providing organizations with reusable testing scripts, eliminating the need to create and maintain a separate script for each mobile device under test. | Just like bitmap-based mobile testing platforms increase the total cost of ownership by requiring you to script your test cases for each mobile platform, they increase the time to market of organizations due to the additional overhead involved. |
Table 1. Comparison of Jamo Solutions M-eux Test with Bitmap and OCR based Tools
Leverage existing investments in testing products and processes
Testing software is a large and complex field. Most companies already have existing investments in software testing. M-eux Test integrates with most leading application platforms, allowing enterprises to kick-start their mobile application testing without the need for expensive retraining on new technologies.
M-eux test integrates with existing automated functional testing, performance testing and quality management products.
Automated Functional Testing allows individual testers to record, replay and fine-tune test scenarios. M-eux Test extends the functionality of HP Unified Functional Testing (UFT), formerly known as HP Quick Test Professional (QTP), Microsoft Visual Studio (VS) and Test Manager (MTM) and Eclipse.
Performance Testing and Monitoring software allows testers to monitor the performance of the applications. This includes both the performance of the application on the device (for example, memory and battery consumption) as well as the performance of the application as its popularity increases (load testing). M-eux Test extends the functionality of HP Load Runner and Microsoft Visual Studio. Through integration with products such as Shunra, we allow customers to simulate the performance of devices on different networks and carriers.
Continuous Integration, Quality Management and Application Lifecycle Management software allows development managers to monitor the quality of releases over time. Typically, these products execute a series of tests after each build and provide insight of the pass rates over time. M-eux Test extends the functionality of HP Quality Center (QC) and Microsoft Team Foundation Server (TFS).