Learn how to use UIAutomation to incrementally test your apps for problems while at the same time making them accessible. Find out about other ways in which you can use UIAutomation to eliminate repetitive tasks.

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2. EFFECTIVELY USING UIAUTOMATION
Alexander Repty

3. WHY AUTOMATE?

4. WHY AUTOMATE?

5. WHY AUTOMATE?

6. WHY AUTOMATE?

7. WHY AUTOMATE?
“[…] the three great virtues of a
programmer: laziness, impatience, and
hubris.”
Larry Wall, Programming Perl,1991

8. WHAT ARE AUTOMATED TESTS?

9. WHAT ARE AUTOMATED TESTS?

10. WHAT ARE AUTOMATED TESTS?
• Drive UI without any human interference

11. WHAT ARE AUTOMATED TESTS?
• Drive UI without any human interference
• A little like unit tests for GUI

12. WHAT ARE AUTOMATED TESTS?
• Drive UI without any human interference
• A little like unit tests for GUI
• Log progress (passes & fails)

13. WHAT ARE AUTOMATED TESTS?
• Drive UI without any human interference
• A little like unit tests for GUI
• Log progress (passes & fails)
• Find out quickly when something breaks

14. WHAT ELSE CAN UI AUTOMATION DO?

15. WHAT ELSE CAN UI AUTOMATION DO?
• Automate annoying tasks

16. WHAT ELSE CAN UI AUTOMATION DO?
• Automate annoying tasks
• Demo your product

17. WHAT ELSE CAN UI AUTOMATION DO?
• Automate annoying tasks
• Demo your product
• Quickly perform tasks multiple times

18. WHAT ELSE CAN UI AUTOMATION DO?
• Automate annoying tasks
• Demo your product
• Quickly perform tasks multiple times
• Screenshots and screencasts

19. WHY USE UIAUTOMATION OVER
OTHER FRAMEWORKS?

20. WHY USE UIAUTOMATION OVER
OTHER FRAMEWORKS?
• Instantly available for everyone

21. WHY USE UIAUTOMATION OVER
OTHER FRAMEWORKS?
• Instantly available for everyone
• Easy to set up and use

22. WHY USE UIAUTOMATION OVER
OTHER FRAMEWORKS?
• Instantly available for everyone
• Easy to set up and use
• Improves application accessibility

23. UIAUTOMATION EXAMPLE

24. UIAUTOMATION EXAMPLE

25. UIAUTOMATION EXAMPLE
• Not accessible yet

26. UIAUTOMATION EXAMPLE
• Not accessible yet
• Never used UIAutomation on it

27. UIAUTOMATION EXAMPLE
• Not accessible yet
• Never used UIAutomation on it
• Let’s see how quickly we can make it work

30. GENERATED CODE

31. GENERATED CODE

32. GENERATED CODE

33. GENERATED CODE

34. GENERATED CODE

35. GENERATED CODE

36. GENERATED CODE
• Hard to read

37. GENERATED CODE
• Hard to read
• Harder to edit

38. GENERATED CODE
• Hard to read
• Harder to edit
• Impossible to maintain on a large scale

39. GENERATED CODE
• Hard to read
• Harder to edit
• Impossible to maintain on a large scale
• Solution: Use Accessibility APIs!

40. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY

41. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY

42. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
• Enable accessibility

43. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
• Enable accessibility
• Assign an accessibility label

44. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
• Enable accessibility
• Assign an accessibility label
• Optional: add an accessibility hint

45. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
• Enable accessibility
• Assign an accessibility label
• Optional: add an accessibility hint
• Optional: assign accessibility traits

46. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY

47. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY

48. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY

49. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
Before:
[…].textFields()[0].tap();

50. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
Before:
[…].textFields()[0].tap();
After:
[…].textFields()["Item Title"].tap();

51. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY

52. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
Before:
[…].tapWithOptions({tapOffset:{x:0.25, y:0.33}});

53. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
Before:
[…].tapWithOptions({tapOffset:{x:0.25, y:0.33}});
After:
[…].buttons()["Fruit"].tap();

54. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY

55. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
What did I do?
! self.isAccessibilityElement = YES;

56. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
What did I do?
! self.isAccessibilityElement = YES;
! self.accessibilityLabel = item.title;

57. IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY
What did I do?
! self.isAccessibilityElement = YES;
! self.accessibilityLabel = item.title;
! self.accessibilityTraits =
(UIAccessibilityTraitButton);

58. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

59. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

60. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

61. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

62. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

63. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

64. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

65. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

66. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE
UISegmentedControl accessibility sucks.

67. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE

68. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE
• Check your view hierarchy (use logElementTree())

69. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE
• Check your view hierarchy (use logElementTree())
• Find weaknesses and accessibility flaws in your code

70. (SLIGHTLY) BETTER CODE
• Check your view hierarchy (use logElementTree())
• Find weaknesses and accessibility flaws in your code
• Write tests that last

71. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY

72. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY

73. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY

74. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY

75. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY

76. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY
• Excellent article by Matt Gemmell
http://mattgemmell.com/2010/12/19/accessibility-for-iphone-and-ipad-apps/

77. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY
• Excellent article by Matt Gemmell
http://mattgemmell.com/2010/12/19/accessibility-for-iphone-and-ipad-apps/
• Even Apple links to it

78. IMPROVE ACCESSIBILITY
• Excellent article by Matt Gemmell
http://mattgemmell.com/2010/12/19/accessibility-for-iphone-and-ipad-apps/
• Even Apple links to it
• Essential for proper automation; two birds with one stone

79. TESTING YOUR UI

80. TESTING YOUR UI

81. TESTING YOUR UI
• UIALogger (logMessage, logStart, logPass, logFail)

82. TESTING YOUR UI
• UIALogger (logMessage, logStart, logPass, logFail)
• No built-in support for assertions (TuneUp JS)

83. TESTING YOUR UI
• UIALogger (logMessage, logStart, logPass, logFail)
• No built-in support for assertions (TuneUp JS)
• Works with continuous integration systems (using Instruments CLI
command)

84. TESTING YOUR UI

85. TESTING YOUR UI

86. TESTING YOUR UI

87. TESTING YOUR UI

88. RUNNING MULTIPLE TESTS

89. RUNNING MULTIPLE TESTS

90. RUNNING MULTIPLE TESTS
• Run three separate tests

91. RUNNING MULTIPLE TESTS
• Run three separate tests
• Add & delete Spaghetti

92. RUNNING MULTIPLE TESTS
• Run three separate tests
• Add & delete Spaghetti
• Go to yesterday, add and delete a Steak

93. RUNNING MULTIPLE TESTS
• Run three separate tests
• Add & delete Spaghetti
• Go to yesterday, add and delete a Steak
• Add an item, tweet it and delete it

95. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

96. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

97. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Handle unexpected & expected alerts

98. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Handle unexpected & expected alerts
• Multitasking (deactivate app for any given duration)

99. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Handle unexpected & expected alerts
• Multitasking (deactivate app for any given duration)
• Orientation changes

100. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Handle unexpected & expected alerts
• Multitasking (deactivate app for any given duration)
• Orientation changes
• Set location

101. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Handle unexpected & expected alerts
• Multitasking (deactivate app for any given duration)
• Orientation changes
• Set location
• Gestures

102. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

103. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Take screen shots

104. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Take screen shots
• Automate screen shots for the App Store

105. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Take screen shots
• Automate screen shots for the App Store
• Even in multiple languages!

106. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Take screen shots
• Automate screen shots for the App Store
• Even in multiple languages!
• Easily reproducible screen casts (with perfect timing)

107. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO
• Take screen shots
• Automate screen shots for the App Store
• Even in multiple languages!
• Easily reproducible screen casts (with perfect timing)
• Document your test runs

108. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

109. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

110. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

111. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

112. MORE THINGS YOU CAN DO

113. WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT
UIAUTOMATION?

114. WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT
UIAUTOMATION?
• No way to set up or reset state (may have to exit on fail)

115. WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT
UIAUTOMATION?
• No way to set up or reset state (may have to exit on fail)
• Only runs via Instruments

116. WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT
UIAUTOMATION?
• No way to set up or reset state (may have to exit on fail)
• Only runs via Instruments
• Might need arcane shell scrips to integrate into CI tools

117. WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT
UIAUTOMATION?
• No way to set up or reset state (may have to exit on fail)
• Only runs via Instruments
• Might need arcane shell scrips to integrate into CI tools
• No built-in method for mock objects

118. WHAT’S NOT SO GOOD ABOUT
UIAUTOMATION?
• No way to set up or reset state (may have to exit on fail)
• Only runs via Instruments
• Might need arcane shell scrips to integrate into CI tools
• No built-in method for mock objects
• Very young, still maturing

119. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?

120. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

121. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

122. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

123. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

124. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

125. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

126. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

127. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

128. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

129. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

130. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

131. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

132. WHAT ELSE IS THERE?
Product Good Bad Ugly
Languages
Squish Commercial Eclipse
Platforms
KIF Objective-C Private API Setup
Natural
Calabash Setup Client/Server
Language

133. SUMMARY

134. SUMMARY

135. SUMMARY
• Automated testing is awesome

136. SUMMARY
• Automated testing is awesome
• Better with accessibility support

137. SUMMARY
• Automated testing is awesome
• Better with accessibility support
• Build cases to test your application’s features

138. SUMMARY
• Automated testing is awesome
• Better with accessibility support
• Build cases to test your application’s features
• Automate repetitive tasks

139. SUMMARY

140. SUMMARY
Spend less time testing,
more time doing
important stuff

141. SUMMARY
Spend less time testing,
more time doing
important stuff

142. FURTHER READING

143. FURTHER READING
• Jonathan Penn
• http://cocoamanifest.net/
• “jonathanpenn” on Twitter and Github
• Alex Vollmer
• http://alexvollmer.com
• “alexvollmer” on Twitter and Github

144. FURTHER READING

145. FURTHER READING
• Shaun Ervine - Automated Acceptance Tests with UIAutomation, Jasmine &
Jenkins
• http://shaune.com.au/automated-ui-testing-for-ios-apps-uiautomation-
jasmine-jenkins/

146. FURTHER READING
• Shaun Ervine - Automated Acceptance Tests with UIAutomation, Jasmine &
Jenkins
• http://shaune.com.au/automated-ui-testing-for-ios-apps-uiautomation-
jasmine-jenkins/
• Philipp Haussleiter - Using UIAutomation for Multilanguage iOS Applications
http://www.innoq.com/blog/phaus/2011/01/using_uiautomation_for_multila.html

147. FURTHER READING
• Shaun Ervine - Automated Acceptance Tests with UIAutomation, Jasmine &
Jenkins
• http://shaune.com.au/automated-ui-testing-for-ios-apps-uiautomation-
jasmine-jenkins/
• Philipp Haussleiter - Using UIAutomation for Multilanguage iOS Applications
http://www.innoq.com/blog/phaus/2011/01/using_uiautomation_for_multila.html
• Apple
• UI Automation Reference Library & WWDC Session Videos

148. THANK YOU!
I’d love to hear from you.
alexander.repty@mac.com
@arepty

149. PHOTO CREDITS

150. PHOTO CREDITS
• “Lazy Dog” by Hector Garcia (http://www.flickr.com/photos/torek/2467519466/)
• “There Isn’t An App For That” by Martha Soukup (http://www.flickr.com/photos/
soukup/5157648804/)
• “Titanic” by Javier Carcamo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/javic/7081573725/)
• “Tesla Motors Assembly Line” by Steve Jurvetson (http://www.flickr.com/photos/
jurvetson/6858583426/)

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