nick@lfcs.ed.ac.uk (Nick Rothwell) (10/30/89)
In article <1088@polari.UUCP>, 6sigma@polari (Brian Matthews) writes: >In article <1083@diemen.cc.utas.oz> ben@tasis.utas.oz.au@munnari.oz (Ben Lian) writes: >|In article <35975@apple.Apple.COM> chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach) writes: >|>Actually, from talking to people I know at Microsoft, that *have* a Desk >|>Accessory called "monkey" that will type in random keystrokes and mouse >|>movements. It is part of their testing procedure > >I don't know what Microsoft is using, but I have an ancient DA called >Monkey that does this, so it wouldn't surprise me any if Microsoft has >the same thing. Probably their *only* testing procedure, given the quality of those MicroSoft applications I've had to use.... In the case of Word, I bet they let it write the code as well.... Nick. (flame off... :-)) -- Nick Rothwell, Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science, Edinburgh. nick@lfcs.ed.ac.uk <Atlantic Ocean>!mcvax!ukc!lfcs!nick ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ Fais que ton reve soit plus long que la nuit.
wrs@apple.com (Walter Smith) (10/31/89)
Monkey is a real DA that has been around practically forever. The very first low-memory global (0x100) is called MonkeyLives; it is a flag to let apps know that Monkey is running so they can refuse to do destructive things like replacing the Finder with a MacPaint document (which is the sort of thing Monkey tries to do surprisingly often). I can personally attest that in a user-interface-intensive program Monkey finds bugs like nothing else I know, precisely because of its randomness. As IM says, it just spits random keys and mouse clicks into the app and waits for it to crash, so it gets into situations that no sane human, tester or otherwise, would ever try--it just wouldn't occur to them. - Walt -- Walter Smith wrs@apple.com, apple!wrs Apple Computer, Inc. (408) 974-5892 My corporation disavows any knowledge of my activities on the network.
jrk@sys.uea.ac.uk (Richard Kennaway CMP RA) (10/31/89)
In article <4970@internal.Apple.COM> wrs@apple.com (Walter Smith) writes: >Monkey is a real DA that has been around practically forever. >I can personally attest that in a user-interface-intensive program >Monkey finds bugs like nothing else I know, precisely because of its >randomness. As IM says, it just spits random keys and mouse clicks into >the app and waits for it to crash, so it gets into situations that no sane >human, tester or otherwise, would ever try--it just wouldn't occur to them. Sounds good (but dangerous!). Where can I get it? -- Richard Kennaway SYS, University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K. Janet: kennaway@sys.uea.ac.uk uucp: ...mcvax!ukc!uea-sys!jrk
tdrinkar@cosmos.acs.calpoly.edu (Terrell Drinkard) (11/01/89)
In article <4970@internal.Apple.COM> wrs@apple.com (Walter Smith) writes: >Monkey is a real DA that has been around practically forever. The very >first low-memory global (0x100) is called MonkeyLives; it is a flag to let >apps know that Monkey is running so they can refuse to do destructive >things like replacing the Finder with a MacPaint document (which is the >sort of thing Monkey tries to do surprisingly often). > >I can personally attest that in a user-interface-intensive program >Monkey finds bugs like nothing else I know, precisely because of its >randomness. As IM says, it just spits random keys and mouse clicks into >the app and waits for it to crash, so it gets into situations that no sane >human, tester or otherwise, would ever try--it just wouldn't occur to them. > >- Walt Is there anyone out there who could mail me a copy of Monkey? I would love to use it to test my new application. Any Aeronautical Engineering types out there? It does single point thermodynamic analysis of modified turbine engine cycles. Ever wondered what a turbofan with intercooling and a regenerator would do? This one will do it. I'm looking for a couple of beta testers also. Any volunteers? Terry Disclaimer et la Signaturo: Hell no, I'm not responsible for what I say! If everyone were responsible for what they said, we'd have had a balanced budget in 1984.
baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve Baumgarten) (11/01/89)
In article <883@castle.ed.ac.uk> nick@lfcs.ed.ac.uk (Nick Rothwell) writes: >>I don't know what Microsoft is using, but I have an ancient DA called >>Monkey that does this, so it wouldn't surprise me any if Microsoft has >>the same thing. > >Probably their *only* testing procedure, given the quality of those >MicroSoft applications I've had to use.... > >In the case of Word, I bet they let it write the code as well.... Now be fair -- they don't let the monkey write the code, just design the user interface.... [ There, I feel much better now. :-) ] -- Steve Baumgarten | "New York... when civilization falls apart, Davis Polk & Wardwell | remember, we were way ahead of you." baumgart@esquire.dpw.com | cmcl2!esquire!baumgart | - David Letterman
vallon@sbcs.sunysb.edu (Justin Vallon) (11/01/89)
In article <4970@internal.Apple.COM> wrs@apple.com (Walter Smith) writes: >Monkey is a real DA that has been around practically forever. The very Does Monkey still work? I seem to remember throwing it out because it crashed (not the program, but it didn't even get to the seed dialog). Guess it was something else. Where can I get Monkey (assuming it is public domain/shareware/available-to-anybody-who-has-ever-bought-a-mac license)? >randomness. As IM says, it just spits random keys and mouse clicks into Really? Where does IM say anything about Monkey? I've never seen anything, but I read with my eyes closed :-) >-- >Walter Smith wrs@apple.com, apple!wrs >Apple Computer, Inc. (408) 974-5892 >My corporation disavows any knowledge of my activities on the network. -Justin Vallon vallon@sbcs.sunysb.edu