what does "Specifies whether the browser should be instrumented before browser start" really mean?

[Vaughan.Douglas]

I've got warnings that the OpenBrowser overload we're using is obsolete, when I go to see the updates there's now an "instrument " Boolean needed. Great, I could guess what that means, but I'd rather be more informed.

Unfortunately I have been incredibly discouraged by the Ranorex documentation as of late. The "Search Ranorex" feature is like using a pre-google search engine that yields un-prioritized results, mostly from forum posts with no date information. I ran into a similar problem trying to provide my users with information regarding the JxBrowser specifically the bit about some a remote debug thing mentioned in the Webinar that was nearly unintelligible but for the "documentation" part. What documentation? Searching JxBrowser doesn't bring back relevant results. Most results that DON'T point to the forum point to articles that end with "Try Ranorex for free" links.

No I won't create a user voice suggestion that Ranorex document their features in a timely and user friendly way.

[N612]

This essentially means exactly as it says. Instead of having to manually instrument a browser prior to starting automation, setting this to true will instrument the browser automatically before the browser is launched. This may not be very useful on a local machine but it is very helpful for runtime machines, especially if you have a lot.

Regarding searching, you can always use Google instead. The below example searches everything but the forums. Remove the "-" to search to forums as well.

Code: Select all

site:ranorex.com -site:ranorex.com/forum My query

[ahoisl]

Hmm, there really seems something fishy going on with the search results, the current user guide does not seem to come up, just the 8.2 version. Sorry about that!
I forwarded this issue to the responsible department. Thank you for notifying us!

BTW, this is the link to the description of the Open Browser record item properties in the current user guide:
https://www.ranorex.com/help/latest/ran ... penbrowser

Regards,
Alex
Ranorex Team

[Vaughan.Douglas]

This essentially means exactly as it says. Instead of having to manually instrument a browser prior to starting automation, setting this to true will instrument the browser automatically before the browser is launched. This may not be very useful on a local machine but it is very helpful for runtime machines, especially if you have a lot.

In the greater context of test automation, I've always understood the act of instrumentation as essentially configuring the AUT for control/tracing/debugging or maybe metaphorically digging your hooks into the AUT. Similar to running an application in Visual Studio in debug mode, the debugger is instrumented and attached so the IDE can provide detailed information on the application performance. In the context of browser automation, I would have assumed instrumenting the browser was always required as it is essentially the AUT. I don't know a lot about how Ranorex works between the sheets, but we're still talking about .Net programming. How would you instrument an object before it is instantiated?

Irritatingly I've also seen the term used synonymously with "configure". For example in Selenium I've seen the setting of options and capabilities as instrumenting. While this doesn't strictly adhere to my understanding of instrumentation, it does make sense in the context that in selenium you are requesting said configuration (capabilities) and if Selenium is not able to match or instantiate an instrumented browser you will get an error. In essence the capabilities and options don't have an impact on the act of instrumentation itself.

So assuming my understanding of instrumenting is somewhat accurate, what does it mean to instrument the browser before it starts? Furthermore in the link helpfully provided by ahoisl (thank you for that!) says:

Instrument: Automatically instruments the browser. Particularly useful when deploying tests in runtime environments via XCOPY or Ranorex Agent. Default is True.

(Emphasis is mine)

BTW, this is the link to the description of the Open Browser record item properties in the current user guide:
https://www.ranorex.com/help/latest/ran ... penbrowser

Does automatically mean before the browser start? So again I have to ask what does this really mean. What is happening here and how does it impact my automation. I'm not being pedantic. I really want to make sure I have a clear understanding as most Ranorex questions in my organization come to me as a first line.

Finally

Hmm, there really seems something fishy going on with the search results, the current user guide does not seem to come up, just the 8.2 version. Sorry about that!
I forwarded this issue to the responsible department. Thank you for notifying us!

I apologize if that came off as a bit of a rant. It's been frustrating trying to present the new Ranorex features and not being able to find any hit of it in the Ranorex Guide. I do believe the general search would benefit with providing post details alongside results from the forums. If the documentation is categorized by version then indicating the version or revision a search result is pointing to would be immensely helpful.
Adding links to the release notes would drastically simplify my life in so many ways that I'd probably have time to come back and help monitor the Ranorex forums like I had been just a few years ago.

[N612]

Ranorex's method of instrumentation greatly varies on the technology of the AUT. Sometimes instrumentation requires manual preparation (e.g. mobile apps) while others are automatic and work more as a debugger does.

Instrumentation of Chrome/FF essentially consists of installing the Ranorex extension before the browser is launched. The Ranorex extension is required for automation and allows for proper communication between Ranorex and the dom elements for proper object recognition. Without the Ranorex extension, there will be object recognition and performance issues.

I hope this helps clarify

[Vaughan.Douglas]

Instrumentation of Chrome/FF essentially consists of installing the Ranorex extension before the browser is launched. The Ranorex extension is required for automation and allows for proper communication between Ranorex and the dom elements for proper object recognition. Without the Ranorex extension, there will be object recognition and performance issues.

I think we're getting there. I don't do any mobile testing at the moment, so my interest is primarily in remote browser execution. Does this mean that if the Ranorex browser extension is not installed, it will automatically install it? I've always assumed that Ranorex doesn't need the browser extension installed when running via Selenium Grid/endpoints. Does Ranrorex still instrument Chrome/FF with the browser extension when running through selenium or is this only the case when using the remote agent?

I know Ranorex has made a lot of changes to how remote execution works and how test suites are packaged for execution. I have not really had time to mess around with a lot of these changes experimentally.

Thanks guys!

[odklizec]

Hi,

In my opinion, this flag is irrelevant if the web-based test is run over Selenium endpoint. Web browser extension is only required for web-based tests, started in local browser or browser started via Ranorex remote agent.