NAME

X11::GUITest - Provides GUI testing/interaction routines.

Developed by Dennis K. Paulsen

VERSION

0.25

Updates are made available at the following sites:

ttp://sourceforge.net/projects/x11guitest 
http://www.cpan.org

Please consult 'docs/Changes' for the list of changes between module revisions.

DESCRIPTION

This Perl package is intended to facilitate the testing of GUI applications by means of user emulation. It can be used to test/interact with GUI applications; which have been built upon the X library or toolkits (i.e., GTK+, Xt, Qt, Motif, etc.) that "wrap" the X library's functionality.

A basic recorder (x11guirecord) is also available, and can be found in the source code respository.

DEPENDENCIES

An X server with the XTest extensions enabled. This seems to be the norm. If it is not enabled, it usually can be by modifying the X server configuration (i.e., XF86Config).

The standard DISPLAY environment variable is utilized to determine the host, display, and screen to work with. By default it is usually set to ":0.0" for the localhost. However, by altering this variable one can interact with applications under a remote host's X server. To change this from a terminal window, one can utilize the following basic syntax: export DISPLAY=<hostname-or-ipaddress>:<display>.<screen> Please note that under most circumstances, xhost will need to be executed properly on the remote host as well.

There is a known incompatibility between the XTest and Xinerama extensions, which causes the XTestFakeMotionEvent() function to misbehave. When the Xinerama (X server) extension is turned on, this (Perl) extension has been modified to allow one to invoke an alternative function. See Makefile.PL for details.

INSTALLATION

perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install

# If you'd like to install the recorder, use these steps:
cd recorder
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
make install
x11guirecord --help

SYNOPSIS

For additional examples, please look under the 'eg/' sub-directory from the installation folder.

use X11::GUITest qw/
  StartApp
  WaitWindowViewable
  SendKeys
/;

# Start gedit application
StartApp('gedit');

# Wait for application window to come up and become viewable. 
my ($GEditWinId) = WaitWindowViewable('gedit');
if (!$GEditWinId) {
  die("Couldn't find gedit window in time!");
}

# Send text to it
SendKeys("Hello, how are you?\n");

# Close Application (Alt-f, q).
SendKeys('%(f)q');

# Handle gedit's Question window if it comes up when closing.  Wait
# at most 5 seconds for it.
if (WaitWindowViewable('Question', undef, 5)) {
  # DoN't Save (Alt-n)
  SendKeys('%(n)');
}

FUNCTIONS

Parameters enclosed within [] are optional.

If there are multiple optional parameters available for a function and you would like to specify the last one, for example, you can utilize undef for those parameters you don't specify.

REGEX in the documentation below denotes an item that is treated as a regular expression. For example, the regex "^OK$" would look for an exact match for the word OK.

FindWindowLike TITLEREGEX [, WINDOWIDSTARTUNDER]

Finds the window Ids of the windows matching the specified title regex. Optionally one can specify the window to start under; which would allow one to constrain the search to child windows of that window.

An array of window Ids is returned for the matches found. An empty array is returned if no matches were found.

my @WindowIds = FindWindowLike('gedit');
# Only worry about first window found
my ($WindowId) = FindWindowLike('gedit');
WaitWindowLike TITLEREGEX [, WINDOWIDSTARTUNDER] [, MAXWAITINSECONDS]

Waits for a window to come up that matches the specified title regex. Optionally one can specify the window to start under; which would allow one to constrain the search to child windows of that window.

One can optionally specify an alternative wait amount in seconds. A window will keep being looked for that matches the specified title regex until this amount of time has been reached. The default amount is defined in the DEF_WAIT constant available through the :CONST export tag.

If a window is going to be manipulated by input, WaitWindowViewable is the more robust solution to utilize.

An array of window Ids is returned for the matches found. An empty array is returned if no matches were found.

my @WindowIds = WaitWindowLike('gedit');
# Only worry about first window found
my ($WindowId) = WaitWindowLike('gedit');

WaitWindowLike('gedit') or die("gedit window not found!");
WaitWindowViewable TITLEREGEX [, WINDOWIDSTARTUNDER] [, MAXWAITINSECONDS]

Similar to WaitWindow, but only recognizes windows that are viewable. When GUI applications are started, their window isn't necessarily viewable yet, let alone available for input, so this function is very useful.

Likewise, this function will only return an array of the matching window Ids for those windows that are viewable. An empty array is returned if no matches were found.

WaitWindowClose WINDOWID [, MAXWAITINSECONDS]

Waits for the specified window to close.

One can optionally specify an alternative wait amount in seconds. The window will keep being checked to see if it has closed until this amount of time has been reached. The default amount is defined in the DEF_WAIT constant available through the :CONST export tag.

zero is returned if window is not gone, non-zero if it is gone.

WaitSeconds SECONDS

Pauses execution for the specified amount of seconds.

WaitSeconds(0.5); # Wait 1/2 second
WaitSeconds(3); # Wait 3 seconds
ClickWindow WINDOWID [, X Offset] [, Y Offset] [, Button]

Clicks on the specified window with the mouse.

Optionally one can specify the X offset and Y offset. By default, the top left corner of the window is clicked on, with these two parameters one can specify a different position to be clicked on.

One can also specify an alternative button. The default button is M_LEFT, but M_MIDDLE and M_RIGHT may be specified too. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success

GetWindowFromPoint X, Y [, SCREEN]

Returns the window that is at the specified point. If no screen is given, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display.

zero is returned if there are no matches (i.e., off screen).

IsChild PARENTWINDOWID, WINDOWID

Determines if the specified window is a child of the specified parent.

zero is returned for false, non-zero for true.

QuoteStringForSendKeys STRING

Quotes {} characters in the specified string that would be interpreted as having special meaning if sent to SendKeys directly. This function would be useful if you had a text file in which you wanted to use each line of the file as input to the SendKeys function, but didn't want any special interpretation of the characters in the file.

Returns the quoted string, undef is returned on error.

# Quote  ~, %, etc.  as  {~}, {%}, etc for literal use in SendKeys. 
SendKeys( QuoteStringForSendKeys('Hello: ~%^(){}+#') );
SendKeys( QSfSK('#+#') );
StartApp COMMANDLINE

Uses the shell to execute a program. This function returns as soon as the program is called. Useful for starting GUI applications and then going on to work with them.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success

StartApp('gedit');
RunApp COMMANDLINE

Uses the shell to execute a program until its completion.

Return value will be application specific, however -1 is returned to indicate a failure in starting the program.

RunApp('/work/myapp');
ClickMouseButton BUTTON

Clicks the specified mouse button. Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT, M_DOWN, M_UP. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

DefaultScreen

Returns the screen number specified in the X display value used to open the display.

Leverages the Xlib macro of the same name.

ScreenCount

Returns the number of screens in the X display specified when opening it.

Leverages the Xlib macro of the same name.

SetEventSendDelay DELAYINMILLISECONDS

Sets the milliseconds of delay between events being sent to the X display. It is usually not a good idea to set this to 0.

Please note that this delay will also affect SendKeys.

Returns the old delay amount in milliseconds.

GetEventSendDelay

Returns the current event sending delay amount in milliseconds.

SetKeySendDelay DELAYINMILLISECONDS

Sets the milliseconds of delay between keystrokes.

Returns the old delay amount in milliseconds.

GetKeySendDelay

Returns the current keystroke sending delay amount in milliseconds.

GetWindowName WINDOWID

Returns the window name for the specified window Id. undef is returned if name could not be obtained.

# Return the name of the window that has the input focus.
my $WinName = GetWindowName(GetInputFocus());
SetWindowName WINDOWID, NAME

Sets the window name for the specified window Id.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetRootWindow [SCREEN]

Returns the Id of the root window of the screen. This is the top/root level window that all other windows are under. If no screen is given, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display.

GetChildWindows WINDOWID

Returns an array of the child windows for the specified window Id. If it detects that the window hierarchy is in transition, it will wait half a second and try again.

MoveMouseAbs X, Y [, SCREEN]

Moves the mouse cursor to the specified absolute position in the optionally given screen. If no screen is given, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display.

Zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetMousePos

Returns an array containing the position and the screen (number) of the mouse cursor.

my ($x, $y, $scr_num) = GetMousePos(); 
PressMouseButton BUTTON

Presses the specified mouse button. Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT, M_DOWN, M_UP. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

ReleaseMouseButton BUTTON

Releases the specified mouse button. Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT, M_DOWN, M_UP. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

SendKeys KEYS

Sends keystrokes to the window that has the input focus.

The keystrokes to send are those specified in KEYS parameter. Some characters have special meaning, they are:

Modifier Keys:
^    	CTRL
%    	ALT
+    	SHIFT
#       META
        ALTGR

Other Keys:
~    	ENTER
\n   	ENTER
\t  	TAB
( and ) MODIFIER GROUPING
{ and } QUOTE / ESCAPE CHARACTERS

Simply, one can send a text string like so:

SendKeys('Hello, how are you today?');

Parenthesis allow a modifier to work on one or more characters. For example:

SendKeys('%(f)q'); # Alt-f, then press q
SendKeys('%(fa)^(m)'); # Alt-f, Alt-a, Ctrl-m
SendKeys('+(abc)'); # Uppercase ABC using shift modifier
SendKeys('^(+(l))'); # Ctrl-Shift-l
SendKeys('+'); # Press shift

Braces are used to quote special characters, for utilizing aliased key names, or for special functionality. Multiple characters can be specified in a brace by space delimiting the entries. Characters can be repeated using a number that is space delimited after the preceeding key.

Quote Special Characters

SendKeys('{{}'); # {
SendKeys('{+}'); # +
SendKeys('{#}'); # #

You can also use QuoteStringForSendKeys (QSfSK) to perform quoting.

Aliased Key Names

SendKeys('{BAC}'); # Backspace
SendKeys('{F1 F2 F3}'); # F1, F2, F3
SendKeys('{TAB 3}'); # Press TAB 3 times
SendKeys('{SPC 3 a b c}'); # Space 3 times, a, b, c

Special Functionality

# Pause execution for 500 milliseconds
SendKeys('{PAUSE 500}');

Combinations

SendKeys('abc+(abc){TAB PAUSE 500}'); # a, b, c, A, B, C, Tab, Pause 500
SendKeys('+({a b c})'); # A, B, C

The following abbreviated key names are currently recognized within a brace set. If you don't see the desired key, you can still use the unabbreviated name for the key. If you are unsure of this name, utilize the xev (X event view) tool, press the key you want and look at the tools output for the name of that key. Names that are in the list below can be utilized regardless of case. Ones that aren't in this list are going to be case sensitive and also not abbreviated. For example, using 'xev' you will find that the name of the backspace key is BackSpace, so you could use {BackSpace} in place of {bac} if you really wanted to.

Name    Action
-------------------
BAC     BackSpace
BS      BackSpace
BKS     BackSpace
BRE     Break
CAN     Cancel
CAP     Caps_Lock
DEL     Delete
DOW     Down
END     End
ENT     Return
ESC     Escape
F1      F1
...     ...
F12     F12
HEL     Help
HOM     Home
INS     Insert
LAL     Alt_L
LMA     Meta_L
LCT     Control_L
LEF     Left
LSH     Shift_L
LSK     Super_L
MNU     Menu
NUM     Num_Lock
PGD     Page_Down
PGU     Page_Up
PRT     Print
RAL     Alt_R
RMA     Meta_R
RCT     Control_R
RIG     Right
RSH     Shift_R
RSK     Super_R
SCR     Scroll_Lock
SPA     Space
SPC     Space
TAB     Tab
UP      Up

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success. For configurations (Xvfb) that don't support Alt_Left, Meta_Left is automatically used in its place.

PressKey KEY

Presses the specified key.

One can utilize the abbreviated key names from the table listed above as outlined in the following example:

# Alt-n
PressKey('LAL'); # Left Alt
PressKey('n');
ReleaseKey('n');
ReleaseKey('LAL');

# Uppercase a
PressKey('LSH'); # Left Shift
PressKey('a'); 
ReleaseKey('a');
ReleaseKey('LSH');

The ReleaseKey calls in the above example are there to set both key states back.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

ReleaseKey KEY

Releases the specified key. Normally follows a PressKey call.

One can utilize the abbreviated key names from the table listed above.

ReleaseKey('n');

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

PressReleaseKey KEY

Presses and releases the specified key.

One can utilize the abbreviated key names from the table listed above.

PressReleaseKey('n');

This function is affected by the key send delay.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

IsKeyPressed KEY

Determines if the specified key is currently being pressed.

You can specify such things as 'bac' or the unabbreviated form 'BackSpace' as covered in the SendKeys information. Brace forms such as '{bac}' are unsupported. A '{' is taken literally and letters are case sensitive.

if (IsKeyPressed('esc')) {  # Is Escape pressed?
if (IsKeyPressed('a')) { # Is a pressed?
if (IsKeyPressed('A')) { # Is A pressed?

Returns non-zero for true, zero for false.

IsMouseButtonPressed BUTTON

Determines if the specified mouse button is currently being pressed.

Available mouse buttons are: M_LEFT, M_MIDDLE, M_RIGHT. Also, you could use the logical Id for the button: M_BTN1, M_BTN2, M_BTN3, M_BTN4, M_BTN5. These are all available through the :CONST export tag.

if (IsMouseButtonPressed(M_LEFT)) { # Is left button pressed?

Returns non-zero for true, zero for false.

IsWindow WINDOWID

zero is returned if the specified window Id is not for something that can be recognized as a window. non-zero is returned if it looks like a window.

IsWindowViewable WINDOWID

zero is returned if the specified window Id is for a window that isn't viewable. non-zero is returned if the window is viewable.

IsWindowCursor WINDOWID CURSOR

Determines if the specified window has the specified cursor.

zero is returned for false, non-zero for true.

The following cursors are available through the :CONST export tag.

    Name
    -------------------
	XC_NUM_GLYPHS
	XC_X_CURSOR
	XC_ARROW
	XC_BASED_ARROW_DOWN
	XC_BASED_ARROW_UP
	XC_BOAT
	XC_BOGOSITY
	XC_BOTTOM_LEFT_CORNER
	XC_BOTTOM_RIGHT_CORNER
	XC_BOTTOM_SIDE
	XC_BOTTOM_TEE
	XC_BOX_SPIRAL
	XC_CENTER_PTR
	XC_CIRCLE
	XC_CLOCK
	XC_COFFEE_MUG
	XC_CROSS
	XC_CROSS_REVERSE
	XC_CROSSHAIR
	XC_DIAMOND_CROSS
	XC_DOT
	XC_DOTBOX
	XC_DOUBLE_ARROW
	XC_DRAFT_LARGE
	XC_DRAFT_SMALL
	XC_DRAPED_BOX
	XC_EXCHANGE
	XC_FLEUR
	XC_GOBBLER
	XC_GUMBY
	XC_HAND1
	XC_HAND2
	XC_HEART
	XC_ICON
	XC_IRON_CROSS
	XC_LEFT_PTR
	XC_LEFT_SIDE
	XC_LEFT_TEE
	XC_LEFTBUTTON
	XC_LL_ANGLE
	XC_LR_ANGLE
	XC_MAN
	XC_MIDDLEBUTTON
	XC_MOUSE
	XC_PENCIL
	XC_PIRATE
	XC_PLUS
	XC_QUESTION_ARROW
	XC_RIGHT_PTR
	XC_RIGHT_SIDE
	XC_RIGHT_TEE
	XC_RIGHTBUTTON
	XC_RTL_LOGO
	XC_SAILBOAT
	XC_SB_DOWN_ARROW
	XC_SB_H_DOUBLE_ARROW
	XC_SB_LEFT_ARROW
	XC_SB_RIGHT_ARROW
	XC_SB_UP_ARROW
	XC_SB_V_DOUBLE_ARROW
	XC_SHUTTLE
	XC_SIZING
	XC_SPIDER
	XC_SPRAYCAN
	XC_STAR
	XC_TARGET
	XC_TCROSS
	XC_TOP_LEFT_ARROW
	XC_TOP_LEFT_CORNER
	XC_TOP_RIGHT_CORNER
	XC_TOP_SIDE
	XC_TOP_TEE
	XC_TREK
	XC_UL_ANGLE
	XC_UMBRELLA
	XC_UR_ANGLE
	XC_WATCH
	XC_XTERM
MoveWindow WINDOWID, X, Y

Moves the window to the specified location.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

ResizeWindow WINDOWID, WIDTH, HEIGHT

Resizes the window to the specified size.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

IconifyWindow WINDOWID

Minimizes (Iconifies) the specified window.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

UnIconifyWindow WINDOWID

Unminimizes (UnIconifies) the specified window.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

RaiseWindow WINDOWID

Raises the specified window to the top of the stack, so that no other windows cover it.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

LowerWindow WINDOWID

Lowers the specified window to the bottom of the stack, so other existing windows will cover it.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetInputFocus

Returns the window that currently has the input focus.

SetInputFocus WINDOWID

Sets the specified window to be the one that has the input focus.

zero is returned on failure, non-zero for success.

GetWindowPos WINDOWID

Returns an array containing the position information for the specified window. It also returns size information (including border width) and the number of the screen where the window resides.

my ($x, $y, $width, $height, $borderWidth, $screen) =
      GetWindowPos(GetRootWindow());
GetParentWindow WINDOWID

Returns the parent of the specified window.

zero is returned if parent couldn't be determined (i.e., root window).

GetScreenDepth [SCREEN]

Returns the color depth for the screen. If no screen is specified, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display. If the screen (number) is invalid, -1 will be returned.

Value is represented as bits, i.e. 16.

my $depth = GetScreenDepth();
GetScreenRes [SCREEN]

Returns the screen resolution. If no screen is specified, it is taken from the value given when opening the X display. If the screen (number) is invalid, the returned list will be empty.

my ($x, $y) = GetScreenRes();

OTHER DOCUMENTATION

Module Changes
Coding-Style Guidelines
ToDo List
Copy of the GPL License

COPYRIGHT

Copyright(c) 2003-2011 Dennis K. Paulsen, All Rights Reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

AUTHOR

Dennis K. Paulsen <ctrondlp@cpan.org> (Des Moines, Iowa USA)

CREDITS

Thanks to everyone; including those specifically mentioned below for patches, suggestions, etc.:

Alexey Tourbin
Richard Clamp
Gustav Larsson
Nelson D. Caro