METHOD FOR COMPUTER-ASSISTED TESTING OF SOFTWARE APPLICATION COMPONENTS

A method and computer product for facilitating automatic testing during the development and other life cycle phases of a software application comprised of transactions. A transaction tester evaluates the integrity of a transaction by generating test data from the definition of the transaction under test. Typical values for fields may be included within the transaction definition and reused as typical test values. Test results are generated and compared against known-good values or, alternatively, against expected test results also generated from the transaction definition. Other software components may also be tested including menu structures. A definition of the menu structure is rigorously traversed such that each entry of each menu is thoroughly tested and reported. Results are automatically compared and verified against known good results or test results are automatically reviewed. Both transaction testing and menu testing may be incorporated into regression testing.