Functional test automation for gesture-based mobile applications

1. A computer-implemented method for cloud-based functional testing of a mobile application comprising:

providing a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to select the mobile application to run on a mobile computing device having a touch-sensitive display screen for receiving user input;

launching the mobile application on the mobile computing device;

receiving, by the server; precision elements of each gesture-based input on the touch-sensitive display screen, the precision elements including parameters defining changes made to each object affected by the gesture-based input, the precision elements being captured and transmitted from the mobile computing device to the server during execution of the mobile application;

recording the precision elements of each gesture-based input in a test clip;

playing the test clip back on a plurality of geographically distributed mobile computing devices remote from the server, the test clip for performing a test of the mobile devices.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the GUI comprises running a functional test program on the server, the functional test program generating the GUI.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the precision elements are transmitted from the mobile computing device to the server via a wireless network connection.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the mobile computing device is located remote to the server.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the test clip comprises a sequence of app actions, each app action containing the precision elements of an associated gesture-based input.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising editing the test clip to change one or more of the parameters of the precision elements.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the GUI is provided on a computer associated with the user via a browser application, the computer being remote to the server.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising incorporating the test clip into a test composition.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the parameters include starting point and ending point coordinates, path coordinates, and velocity vectors.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the velocity vectors comprise temporal velocity vectors.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the gesture-based inputs comprise continuous, multi-touch gesture inputs.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the launching of the mobile application occurs responsive to a command input to the GUI.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising un-launching, by the functional test program, the mobile application on the mobile computing device following the recording of the precision elements.

14. A system comprising:

a memory containing a program;

a server that executes a program for functional testing of a mobile application;

a first mobile computing device that runs the mobile application, the first mobile computing device being coupled to the server via a cloud connection, the first mobile computing device having a touch-sensitive display screen for receiving gesture-based inputs, the program, when executed, generating a graphical user interface (GUI) that allows a user to capture precision elements of each gesture-based input on the touch-sensitive display screen as the mobile application runs on the first mobile computing device, the precision elements including parameters defining changes made to each object affected by the gesture-based input, the precision elements being transmitted from the first mobile computing device to the server via the cloud connection during execution of the mobile application;

one or more additional mobile computing devices, the server being operable to record the precision elements received from the first mobile computing device in a functional test clip and subsequently play the functional test clip back on the one or more additional mobile computing devices, each of the one or more additional mobile devices being geographically remote from the server.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the test clip including a sequence of app action each app action containing the precision elements of an associated gesture-based input.

16. The system of claim 14 further comprising a computer associated with the user, the GUI being provided on the computer via a browser application running on the computer.

17. The system of claim 14 wherein the parameters include starting point and ending point coordinates, path coordinates, and velocity vectors.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein the velocity vectors comprise temporal velocity vectors.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein the gesture-based inputs comprise continuous, multi touch gesture inputs.