I have been reflecting on the things Javier and I learned from our Hopper talk at MEDC and I wanted to thank everyone that attended our talk. I also wanted to give special kudos to those who took the time to fill out the evaluations – this post is your voice in action. The one theme that rang louder than all others is we did not properly address or set expectations for our ISV customers and how they can benefit from Hopper.
Most readers already know all Windows Mobile OEM devices must pass Hopper testing to receive their logo certification – this includes all inrom-ISV applications. However, applications installed after Logo are not covered by this requirement and can introduce stability risks to the end user.
The answer to this dilemma is to evangelize Hopper testing to all applications destined for the Windows Mobile platform – not just for those shipping on the device.
Hopper is good - Hopper will find bugs in your application that can affect the stability and usability of your device. Hopper is an input stress tool that randomly sends keystrokes to the device and will put your application through scenarios you likely haven’t though of. Who wouldn’t want to find bugs in the application they are trying sell?
If you are an ISV, this tool is provided automatically when you install the Windows Mobile 6 SDK.
Hopper for ISV’s is just like Hopper for OEM’s, the only different being the addition of a “focus app” customized to keep the intended application in the foreground. When your application is in the foreground, Hopper will test only it and not the rest of the system – the “focus app” is needed to bring your application back to foreground if Hopper tries to navigate away. The “focus app” blog and source code is described in The Cat Parade.
The specifics of running Hopper.exe on your device are documented in the readme.exe from the Power Toys directory and will depend on if you are running connected to a debugger (recommended) or not. The easiest way to run Hopper.exe is to simply copy the binary to your device and execute directly.
This is really a loaded question and will depend on many factors, including whether or not you are connected to a debugger (recommended). If you have a debugger connected, exceptions and hangs should be easy to diagnose if you have correct symbols. If you are not connected (NOT recommended), then having current symbols and some way of capturing the debug output is a good start.
Luckily this question is the exact intent of the blog you are reading so each entry located on the HoppeRx site will help with this.
It is entirely up to you and it depends on the complexity of your application, but 20 hours with a “focused Hopper” is a good goal. Anything longer than that will likely give you decreasing returns as the same code paths are likely being re-executed. But don’t feel limited by just “focused Hopper” – can you add additional stress elements to create interesting user scenarios?
I have updated the post to include Hopper is available in the WM6 SDK. It is no longer required that you download this tool from Jetstream.
Is hopper a good tool for fullscreen app?
My app is a full screen app, it has its own menus which is basically buttons. And has a button to quit app. Running Hopper, I can see it cannot go out of my app and for about 30min, it will pop up a a window saying something about "MTTF", I softreset the device and get the log file, at the bottom it says "Start menu is dead"
Hi Echo,
This blog can address your concenr.
http://blogs.msdn.com/hopperx/archive/2006/02/01/522434.aspx
Continue with the Hopper test problem I have:
When I have a full screen app hopper test, the hopper can only run for about 30 min, and then it stops. I got a dialog saying
"MTTF test existing, hit OK to get runtime! Note: You can always restart the test to get runtime"
Click OK, I get another dialog saying
"Build = 18120 (OS 1616) (Hop Feb 26 2006)
Random Seed = 196220. Previous runtime = 24 mins(0 hrs 24 mins). Ended by: Start menu dead, not responding! Boot count (prev): 2 (0) SCORE ERROR: 0 Runtime"
I call SHFullScreen to make my app fullscreen, there is no way the start menu will respond.
How can I make hopper running longer enough to test my app?
I am a software tester,where can I download Hopper.exe? Thank you
Please help with where I can find the hopper.exe file
The Hopper.exe is part of the WM6 SDK. Download and install it, and you will find it in the tools folder
Hello shinde
I am searching about testing tool, i got the Hooper
so can u tell me how i install on my device and or if make a video so it will very beneficial for me
strating from 1steps..
plz
Thanks
Sourabh