Installing Application Testing Tools

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

After setting up the test lab, gather and install application testing tools. Be sure to install any testing tools that you use to automate tests, such as scripts and batch files, as well as the tools in the Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit that are used to apply application compatibility fixes.

Testing Tools

Some testing tools gather or define test data, others run tests, and still others monitor what happens to files and the registry when tests run. The following types of tools automate various steps in the testing process:

  • Test automation tools, such as record and playback tools, or test case generators

  • Custom scripts, such as installation scripts

  • Data extraction tools, such as data warehouse tools

  • Test databases, such as those created for regression testing

  • Comparison and monitoring tools, such as tools that track file and registry changes

Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit

The Windows Application Compatibility Toolkit, provided by Microsoft, contains Windows Application Verifier, a tool that helps uncover heap problems and other problems that are difficult to locate, and Compatibility Administrator, a tool that applies application compatibility fixes to an application when it runs in order to resolve compatibility problems. The application compatibility fixes help resolve compatibility problems when you do not have access to the source code or when you do not have sufficient time to debug, modify, and implement code changes. Because application compatibility fixes do not modify source code, you must apply them whenever you install an application on a workstation.