Monday 25 November 2013

Robotium for Testing Android Application


BLACK BOX TESTING WITH ROBOTIUM ON APK FILES
       

       Requirements:            
   
        1) Android application apk file for Testing. 
             Ex: ApplicationToTest.apk
        2) Eclipse for building Test project
        3) ADT (Android Development Tools)
        4) SDK (Software Development Kit)
        5) JDK (Java Development Kit)
        6) robotium-­‐solo-­‐1.7.1.jar

       Prerequisites for creating test project:     
     
        * Install eclipse, ADT, SDK, JDK to your system.  
     
        * After installation give proper path in environmental variable

                 [For more help go to: http://developer.android.com/guide       /index.html ]
                [To download the robotium-­‐solo-­‐1.7.1.jar and Javadoc:
http://code.google.com/p/robotium/downloads/list ]

NOTE: In this example the application apk file has the following package name: “com.Example.ApplicationToTest” and the apk name is: ApplicationToTest.apk

 
      STEP 1: CREATE TEST PROJECT IN ECLIPSE
             Create the test project by:
             File -> New -> Project -> Android -> Android Test Project
             
             The window below will open:

     Fill all the following fields to create the test project:

       * Test Project Name: ExampleApplicationTesting

       * Test Target: Click on “This Project “

       * Build Target: If the application was developed using SDK version7          then select Android 2.1 – update1. If it was developed by SDK version 8 then select Android 2.2

       * Properties: Application name: ApplicationTesting

       * Package name: com.Example.ApplicationTesting

       * Min SDK version: Default value will be there according to Build Target selection
      Then click on “finish”
      A new project with the name: ExampleApplicationTesting is created.

   STEP 2: DO THE FOLLOWING CHANGES IN “AndroidManifest.xml” 

Open package “ExampleApplicationTesting” there you will find the file AndroidManifest.xml

     Open the AndroidManifest.xml

         Change:     

<instrumentation android:targetPackage="com.Example.ApplicationTesting"
To:
<instrumentation android:targetPackage="com.Example.ApplicationToTest"

    If you do not know the exact package name then type this in the DOS prompt
> launch the emulator
> adb install testapplication.apk
> adb logcat
Run the application once and you will get the exact package name

     STEP 3: CREATE SAMPLE TEST CASE 
Select the package and right click it and select: New -> Class



       Use the class name: ExampleTest and click on “finish”
      
    Now the editor should look like:
  
   Copy this code into the editor:

        import com.jayway.android.robotium.solo.Solo;

        import android.test.ActivityInstrumentationTestCase2;

       @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
        public class ExampleTest extends ActivityInstrumentationTestCase2 {


        private static final String TARGET_PACKAGE_ID = "                         com.Example.ApplicationToTest ";
       private static final String LAUNCHER_ACTIVITY_FULL_CLASSNAME = "
       com.Example.ApplicationToTest.MainMenuSettings";

       private static Class<?> launcherActivityClass;
       static{
       try {
       launcherActivityClass =                      Class.forName(LAUNCHER_ACTIVITY_FULL_CLASSNAME);
      } catch (ClassNotFoundException e) {
     throw new RuntimeException(e);
     }
     }

        @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
         public ExampleTest() throws ClassNotFoundException {
         super(TARGET_PACKAGE_ID, launcherActivityClass);
         }

        private Solo solo;

       @Override
        protected void setUp() throws Exception {
        solo = new Solo(getInstrumentation(), getActivity());
        }

        public void testCanOpenSettings(){
        solo.pressMenuItem(0);

       }


        @Override
       public void tearDown() throws Exception {

       try {
       solo.finalize();
       } catch (Throwable e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
      }
       getActivity().finish();
        super.tearDown();

        }




NOTE:
private static final String TARGET_PACKAGE_ID = " com.Example.ApplicationToTest ";
private static final String LAUNCHER_ACTIVITY_FULL_CLASSNAME = "
com.Example.ApplicationToTest.MainMenuSettings";

In this example the " com.Example.ApplicationToTest “ is the package name.
“MainMenuSettings” is the launcher activity name. It should look like this:
private static final String LAUNCHER_ACTIVITY_FULL_CLASSNAME =packagename.launchername


If you do not know the exact package and launcher names follow these steps in the DOS prompt
> launch the emulator
> adb install testapplication.apk
> adb logcat
The exact package name and launcher name will be printed



Add the latest version of the robotium jar file to the project.

Right click on “ExampleApplicationTesting” project -> Build path -> Configure Build Path


     Then select Add External Jars -> select robotium jar file -> Open -> OK

   


STEP 4: The apk file has to have the same certificate signature that your test project has 


Signature: 

The signature will identify the author of the android application. Signature means it contains the
information like first name and last name of the developer, Name of the organizational unit,
organization, city, state, two-­‐letter country code.

Standard tools like Keytool and Jarsigner are used to generate keys and sign applications.

[For more help: http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/app-­‐signing.html ]

    IMPORTANT STEPS: 
     * If you know the certificate signature then you need to use the same       signature in your test project
     * If you do not know the certificate signature then you need to delete the certificate signature and you should use the same android debug key signature in both the application and the test project
     * If the application is unsigned then you need to sign the application apk with the android debug key

      If the application is signed then you can use the following bash script:
      http://robotium.googlecode
              Or
             -­‐-­‐ Un-­‐zip the apk file
              -­‐-­‐ Delete the META-­‐INF folder
             -­‐-­‐ Re-­‐zip the apk file
             -­‐-­‐ In Dos prompt /Command prompt
      > jarsigner -keystore ~/.android/debug.keystore -storepass android -keypass android ApplicationToTest.apk androiddebugkey
      > zipalign 4 ApplicationToTest.apk TempApplicationToTest.apk
Then rename TempApplicationToTest.apk to ApplicationToTest.apk


If it is an unsigned application then: 
-­‐-­‐ In Dos prompt /Command prompt

    > jarsigner -keystore ~/.android/debug.keystore -storepass android -keypass android ApplicationToTest.apk androiddebugkey
     > zipalign 4 ApplicationToTest.apk TempApplicationToTest.apk
Then rename TempApplicationToTest.apk to ApplicationToTest.apk
[For more help: http://developer.android.com/guide/publishing/app-­‐signing.html }




         STEP 5: RUN THE EXAMPLE TEST CASES 

Right click on the test project -> Run As -> Android JUnit Test





STEP 6: RUNNING TEST CASES ON THE EMULATOR/DEVICE WHEN NOT USING ECLIPSE 

      * Use adb to Install the application apk:
                  > adb install ApplicationToTest.apk

      * Use adb to install the test project apk:
                  > adb install ExampleTesting.apk

      * Run the test cases:
                  > adb shell am instrument -­w com.Example.ApplicationTesting/android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner

Thursday 21 November 2013

Embedded system Characteristics


Embedded system Characteristics

Embedded systems are designed to do some specific task, rather than be a general-purpose computer for multiple tasks. Some also have real-time performance constraints that must be met, for reasons such as safety and usability; others may have low or no performance requirements, allowing the system hardware to be simplified to reduce costs.
Embedded systems are not always standalone devices. Many embedded systems consist of small, computerized parts within a larger device that serves a more general purpose. For example, the Gibson Robot Guitar features an embedded system for tuning the strings, but the overall purpose of the Robot Guitar is, of course, to play music. Similarly, an embedded system in an automobile provides a specific function as a subsystem of the car itself.


User interface

The program instructions written for embedded systems are referred to as firmware, and are stored in read-only memory or Flash memorychips. They run with limited computer hardware resources: little memory, small or non-existent keyboard or screen.



Embedded systems range from no user interface at all — dedicated only to one task — to complex graphical user interfaces that resemble modern computer desktop operating systems. Simple embedded devices use buttonsLEDs, graphic or character LCDs (for example popularHD44780 LCD) with a simple menu system.
More sophisticated devices which use a graphical screen with touch sensing or screen-edge buttons provide flexibility while minimizing space used: the meaning of the buttons can change with the screen, and selection involves the natural behavior of pointing at what's desired.Handheld systems often have a screen with a "joystick button" for a pointing device.
Some systems provide user interface remotely with the help of a serial (e.g. RS-232USBI²C, etc.) or network (e.g. Ethernet) connection. This approach gives several advantages: extends the capabilities of embedded system, avoids the cost of a display, simplifies BSP, allows us to build rich user interface on the PC. A good example of this is the combination of an embedded web server running on an embedded device (such as an IP camera) or a network routers. The user interface is displayed in a web browser on a PC connected to the device, therefore needing no bespoke software to be installed.

Processors in embedded systems

Embedded processors can be broken into two broad categories. Ordinary microprocessors (μP) use separate integrated circuits for memory and peripherals. Microcontrollers (μC) have many more peripherals on chip, reducing power consumption, size and cost. In contrast to the personal computer market, many different basic CPU architectures are used, since software is custom-developed for an application and is not a commodity product installed by the end user. Both Von Neumann as well as various degrees of Harvard architectures are used. RISC as well as non-RISC processors are found. Word lengths vary from 4-bit to 64-bits and beyond, although the most typical remain 8/16-bit. Most architectures come in a large number of different variants and shapes, many of which are also manufactured by several different companies.

Numerous microcontrollers have been developed for embedded systems use. General-purpose microprocessors are also used in embedded systems, but generally require more support circuitry than microcontrollers.

Ready made computer boards

PC/104 and PC/104+ are examples of standards for ready made computer boards intended for small, low-volume embedded and ruggedized systems, mostly x86-based. These are often physically small compared to a standard PC, although still quite large compared to most simple (8/16-bit) embedded systems. They often use MSDOSLinuxNetBSD, or an embedded real-time operating system such as MicroC/OS-II,QNX or VxWorks. Sometimes these boards use non-x86 processors.

In certain applications, where small size or power efficiency are not primary concerns, the components used may be compatible with those used in general purpose x86 personal computers. Boards such as the VIA EPIA range help to bridge the gap by being PC-compatible but highly integrated, physically smaller or have other attributes making them attractive to embedded engineers. The advantage of this approach is that low-cost commodity components may be used along with the same software development tools used for general software development. Systems built in this way are still regarded as embedded since they are integrated into larger devices and fulfill a single role. Examples of devices that may adopt this approach are ATMs and arcade machines, which contain code specific to the application.
However, most ready-made embedded systems boards are not PC-centered and do not use the ISA or PCI busses. When a System-on-a-chip processor is involved, there may be little benefit to having a standarized bus connecting discrete components, and the environment for both hardware and software tools may be very different.
One common design style uses a small system module, perhaps the size of a business card, holding high density BGA chips such as an ARM-based System-on-a-chip processor and peripherals, external flash memory for storage, and DRAM for runtime memory. The module vendor will usually provide boot software and make sure there is a selection of operating systems, usually including Linux and some real time choices. These modules can be manufactured in high volume, by organizations familiar with their specialized testing issues, and combined with much lower volume custom mainboards with application-specific external peripherals.

ASIC and FPGA solutions

A common array of n configuration for very-high-volume embedded systems is the system on a chip (SoC) which contains a complete system consisting of multiple processors, multipliers, caches and interfaces on a single chip. SoCs can be implemented as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or using a field-programmable gate array (FPGA).

Peripherals


Embedded Systems talk with the outside world via peripherals, such as:

Tools

As with other software, embedded system designers use compilersassemblers, and debuggers to develop embedded system software. However, they may also use some more specific tools:

  • In circuit debuggers or emulators (see next section).
  • Utilities to add a checksum or CRC to a program, so the embedded system can check if the program is valid.
  • For systems using digital signal processing, developers may use a math workbench such as Scilab / ScicosMATLAB / SimulinkEICASLABMathCadMathematica,or FlowStone DSP to simulate the mathematics. They might also use libraries for both the host and target which eliminates developing DSP routines as done in DSPnano RTOS and Unison Operating System.
  • A model based development tool like VisSim lets you create and simulate graphical data flow and UML State chart diagrams of components like digital filters, motor controllers, communication protocol decoding and multi-rate tasks. Interrupt handlers can also be created graphically. After simulation, you can automatically generate C-code to the VisSimRTOS which handles the main control task and preemption of background tasks, as well as automatic setup and programming of on-chip peripherals.
  • Custom compilers and linkers may be used to optimize specialized hardware.
  • An embedded system may have its own special language or design tool, or add enhancements to an existing language such as Forth or Basic.
  • Another alternative is to add a real-time operating system or embedded operating system, which may have DSP capabilities like DSPnano RTOS.
  • Modeling and code generating tools often based on state machines
Software tools can come from several sources:
  • Software companies that specialize in the embedded market
  • Ported from the GNU software development tools
  • Sometimes, development tools for a personal computer can be used if the embedded processor is a close relative to a common PC processor
As the complexity of embedded systems grows, higher level tools and operating systems are migrating into machinery where it makes sense. For example, cellphonespersonal digital assistants and other consumer computers often need significant software that is purchased or provided by a person other than the manufacturer of the electronics. In these systems, an open programming environment such as LinuxNetBSDOSGi or Embedded Java is required so that the third-party software provider can sell to a large market.

Debugging

Embedded debugging may be performed at different levels, depending on the facilities available. From simplest to most sophisticated they can be roughly grouped into the following areas:

  • Interactive resident debugging, using the simple shell provided by the embedded operating system (e.g. Forth and Basic)
  • External debugging using logging or serial port output to trace operation using either a monitor in flash or using a debug server like the Remedy Debugger which even works for heterogeneous multicore systems.
  • An in-circuit debugger (ICD), a hardware device that connects to the microprocessor via a JTAG or Nexus interface. This allows the operation of the microprocessor to be controlled externally, but is typically restricted to specific debugging capabilities in the processor.
  • An in-circuit emulator (ICE) replaces the microprocessor with a simulated equivalent, providing full control over all aspects of the microprocessor.
  • A complete emulator provides a simulation of all aspects of the hardware, allowing all of it to be controlled and modified, and allowing debugging on a normal PC. The downsides are expense and slow operation, in some cases up to 100X slower than the final system.
  • For SoC designs, the typical approach is to verify and debug the design on an FPGA prototype board. Tools such as Certus are used to insert probes in the FPGA RTL that make signals available for observation. This is used to debug hardware, firmware and software interactions across multiple FPGA with capabilities similar to a logic analyzer.
Unless restricted to external debugging, the programmer can typically load and run software through the tools, view the code running in the processor, and start or stop its operation. The view of the code may be as HLL source-codeassembly code or mixture of both.
Because an embedded system is often composed of a wide variety of elements, the debugging strategy may vary. For instance, debugging a software- (and microprocessor-) centric embedded system is different from debugging an embedded system where most of the processing is performed by peripherals (DSP, FPGA, co-processor). An increasing number of embedded systems today use more than one single processor core. A common problem with multi-core development is the proper synchronization of software execution. In such a case, the embedded system design may wish to check the data traffic on the busses between the processor cores, which requires very low-level debugging, at signal/bus level, with a logic analyzer, for instance.

Tracing

Real-time operating systems (RTOS) often supports tracing of operating system events. A graphical view is presented by a host PC tool, based on a recording of the system behavior. The trace recording can be performed in software, by the RTOS, or by special tracing hardware. RTOS tracing allows developers to understand timing and performance issues of the software system and gives a good understanding of the high-level system behavior. Commercial tools like RTXC Quadros or IAR Systems exist.

Reliability

Embedded systems often reside in machines that are expected to run continuously for years without errors, and in some cases recover by themselves if an error occurs. Therefore the software is usually developed and tested more carefully than that for personal computers, and unreliable mechanical moving parts such as disk drives, switches or buttons are avoided.

Specific reliability issues may include:
  • The system cannot safely be shut down for repair, or it is too inaccessible to repair. Examples include space systems, undersea cables, navigational beacons, bore-hole systems, and automobiles.
  • The system must be kept running for safety reasons. "Limp modes" are less tolerable. Often backups are selected by an operator. Examples include aircraft navigation, reactor control systems, safety-critical chemical factory controls, train signals.
  • The system will lose large amounts of money when shut down: Telephone switches, factory controls, bridge and elevator controls, funds transfer and market making, automated sales and service.
A variety of techniques are used, sometimes in combination, to recover from errors—both software bugs such as memory leaks, and also soft errors in the hardware:
  • watchdog timer that resets the computer unless the software periodically notifies the watchdog
  • subsystems with redundant spares that can be switched over to
  • software "limp modes" that provide partial function
  • Designing with a Trusted Computing Base (TCB) architecture ensures a highly secure & reliable system environment
  • Hypervisor designed for embedded systems, is able to provide secure encapsulation for any subsystem component, so that a compromised software component cannot interfere with other subsystems, or privileged-level system software. This encapsulation keeps faults from propagating from one subsystem to another, improving reliability. This may also allow a subsystem to be automatically shut down and restarted on fault detection.
  • Immunity Aware Programming

High vs low volume

For high volume systems such as portable music players or mobile phones, minimizing cost is usually the primary design consideration. Engineers typically select hardware that is just “good enough” to implement the necessary functions.

For low-volume or prototype embedded systems, general purpose computers may be adapted by limiting the programs or by replacing the operating system with a real-time operating system.

Embedded software architectures


Embedded software architectures

There are several different types of software architecture in common use.

Simple control loop

In this design, the software simply has a loop. The loop calls subroutines, each of which manages a part of the hardware or software.

Interrupt controlled system

Some embedded systems are predominantly interrupt controlled. This means that tasks performed by the system are triggered by different kinds of events. An interrupt could be generated for example by a timer in a predefined frequency, or by a serial port controller receiving a byte.

These kinds of systems are used if event handlers need low latency and the event handlers are short and simple.
Usually these kinds of systems run a simple task in a main loop also, but this task is not very sensitive to unexpected delays.
Sometimes the interrupt handler will add longer tasks to a queue structure. Later, after the interrupt handler has finished, these tasks are executed by the main loop. This method brings the system close to a multitasking kernel with discrete processes.

Cooperative multitasking

A nonpreemptive multitasking system is very similar to the simple control loop scheme, except that the loop is hidden in an API. The programmer defines a series of tasks, and each task gets its own environment to “run” in. When a task is idle, it calls an idle routine, usually called “pause”, “wait”, “yield”, “nop” (stands for no operation), etc.

The advantages and disadvantages are to the control loop, except that adding new software is easier, by simply writing a new task, or adding to the queue

Preemptive multitasking or multi-threading

In this type of system, a low-level piece of code switches between tasks or threads based on a timer (connected to an interrupt). This is the level at which the system is generally considered to have an "operating system" kernel. Depending on how much functionality is required, it introduces more or less of the complexities of managing multiple tasks running conceptually in parallel.

As any code can potentially damage the data of another task (except in larger systems using an MMU) programs must be carefully designed and tested, and access to shared data must be controlled by some synchronization strategy, such as message queuessemaphores or a non-blocking synchronization scheme.
Because of these complexities, it is common for organizations to use a real-time operating system (RTOS), allowing the application programmers to concentrate on device functionality rather than operating system services, at least for large systems; smaller systems often cannot afford the overhead associated with a generic real time system, due to limitations regarding memory size, performance, or battery life. The choice that an RTOS is required brings in its own issues however as the selection must be done prior to starting to the application development process. This timing forces developers to choose the embedded operating system for their device based upon current requirements and so restricts future options to a large extent.The restriction of future options becomes more of an issue as product life decreases. Additionally the level of complexity is continuously growing as devices are required to manage many variables such as serial, USB, TCP/IP, Bluetooth, Wireless LAN, trunk radio, multiple channels, data and voice, enhanced graphics, multiple states, multiple threads, numerous wait states and so on. These trends are leading to the uptake of embedded middleware in addition to a real time operating system.

Microkernels and exokernels

A microkernel is a logical step up from a real-time OS. The usual arrangement is that the operating system kernel allocates memory and switches the CPU to different threads of execution. User mode processes implement major functions such as file systems, network interfaces, etc.

In general, microkernels succeed when the task switching and intertask communication is fast, and fail when they are slow.
Exokernels communicate efficiently by normal subroutine calls. The hardware, and all the software in the system are available to, and extensible by application programmers.

Monolithic kernels

In this case, a relatively large kernel with sophisticated capabilities is adapted to suit an embedded environment. This gives programmers an environment similar to a desktop operating system like Linux or Microsoft Windows, and is therefore very productive for development; on the downside, it requires considerably more hardware resources, is often more expensive, and because of the complexity of these kernels can be less predictable and reliable.

Common examples of embedded monolithic kernels are Embedded Linux and Windows CE.
Despite the increased cost in hardware, this type of embedded system is increasing in popularity, especially on the more powerful embedded devices such as Wireless Routers and GPS Navigation Systems. Here are some of the reasons:
  • Ports to common embedded chip sets are available.
  • They permit re-use of publicly available code for Device DriversWeb ServersFirewalls, and other code.
  • Development systems can start out with broad feature-sets, and then the distribution can be configured to exclude unneeded functionality, and save the expense of the memory that it would consume.
  • Many engineers believe that running application code in user mode is more reliable, easier to debug and that therefore the development process is easier and the code more portable.
  • Many embedded systems lack the tight real time requirements of a control system. Although a system such as Embedded Linux may be fast enough in order to respond to many other applications.
  • Features requiring faster response than can be guaranteed can often be placed in hardware.

Exotic custom operating systems

A small fraction of embedded systems require safe, timely, reliable or efficient behavior unobtainable with any of the above architectures. In this case an organization builds a system to suit. In some cases, the system may be partitioned into a "mechanism controller" using special techniques, and a "display controller" with a conventional operating system. A communication system passes data between the two.

Additional software components

In addition to the core operating system, many embedded systems have additional upper-layer software components. These components consist of networking protocol stacks like CAN,TCP/IPFTPHTTP, and HTTPS, and also included storage capabilities like FAT and flash memory management systems. If the embedded device has audio and video capabilities, then the appropriate drivers and codecs will be present in the system. In the case of the monolithic kernels, many of these software layers are included. In the RTOS category, the availability of the additional software components depends upon the commercial offering.