Walkthrough: Adding Data Binding to a Web Test

In this walkthrough, you will add data binding to a Web test and verify that it works correctly.

By using data binding, a database can provide data for a Web Test. You can bind data from a data source to a part of a Web request that requires data, such as a form post parameter. For more information, see About Data Binding in Web Tests.

In this walkthrough, you will perform the following tasks:

• Add data binding to a Web test

• Run the Web test to verify that it works correctly

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you need the following:

• Visual Studio Team System Test Edition

• The Web application that you created in Walkthrough: Creating a Simple Web Application

• The Web test that you created in Walkthrough: Recording and Running a Web Test

• Microsoft Access

  Important Note:
  If you do not have Microsoft Access, do one of the following walkthroughs instead: Walkthrough: Adding Data Binding to a Web Test (CSV File) or Walkthrough: Adding Data Binding to a Web Test (XML File).

Preparing for the Walkthrough

For this walkthrough, you will need a sample data source to bind to. You will create a simple database in Microsoft Access.

To prepare the data source

1. In Microsoft Access create a new blank database. Name the database ColorData.mdb.

2. Create a new table that has two fields: ColorID and ColorName.

3. Save the table and name it Colors.

   Note

   If you are prompted for a primary key, click No. You do not need a primary key for this Walkthrough.

4. Add the following data to the Colors table:

   ColorID	ColorName
   0	Red
   1	Blue

5. Close the database.

   Note

   If you are prompted for a primary key, click No. You do not need a primary key for this Walkthrough.

To prepare the Web test

1. Open the Web application that you created in Walkthrough: Creating a Simple Web Application.

2. Press CTRL+F5 to run the Web application in the browser. You will see the first page. Close the browser.

   Note

   This starts the ASP.Net Development Server that runs the Web application that your Web test will test. You will see the ASP.Net Development Server icon in the notification area, at the far right of the taskbar.

3. Open the Web application that you created in Walkthrough: Recording and Running a Web Test.

4. In Solution Explorer, double-click ColorWebTest.webtest. The Web Test Editor appears and the list of Web requests is displayed.

Add Data Binding to a Web Test

To add the data source to the Web test

1. In the Web Test Editor, right-click the top node of the Web test and then click Add Data Source.

   The New Test Data Source Wizard appears.

2. In the Data source name box type ColorsMDB.

3. In the Data source type list click Database.

4. Click Next.

5. Select an existing connection, or follow these steps:

   1. Click New Connection.

      The Choose Data Source dialog box appears.

   2. In the Data source list, click Microsoft Access Database File.

   3. Clear the Always use this selection check box.

   4. Click Continue.

      The Connection Properties dialog box appears.

   5. In the Database file name box type the file name, or click Browse and browse to the file. For example, type the following:

      <Your Path>\Data\ColorData.mdb

   6. (Optional) Click the Test Connection button to verify your connection to the file.

   7. Click OK to close the Connection Properties dialog box.

   The connection string to access the database is entered in the wizard.

6. Click Next.

7. Under Choose from the available tables for this data source, select the check box next to Colors.

8. Click Finish.

   A dialog box appears that asks you if you want to add the file to your current project.

9. Click No.

   A Data Sources node will be added to the Web test, and the database appears in the hierarchy.

   For the purposes of this walkthrough, you do not have to add the file to the project. In the future, you can use the following information to help you decide:

   Response	Result	Advantage
   Yes	The file is copied to the project.	When the project is deployed, there is no extra work that is required.
   No	The file is not copied to the project. When the project is deployed, you might have to update the path of the file.	Some data files can be very large, and should be maintained separate from the project. Some data files must be shared among several members of a team, and should be maintained in a central location that all members can access.

10. On the Filemenu click Save ColorWebTest.webtest to save the Web test.

To add data binding to the Web test

1. In the Web Test Editor, find the request that redirects to the page Red.aspx. This should be the second node in the request list.

   Important Note:
   The Web application uses a redirect to move from the page Default.aspx to the page Red.aspx. In the Web Test Editor, the request list will show Default.aspx, not Red.aspx, for the request you are trying to find. To find the correct request, expand the request node, expand the Form Post Parameters folder, and confirm that there is an entry RadioButtonList=Red.

2. Select the RadioButtonList1 node.

3. In the Properties window, find the Value property. It is currently set to Red because that is what you selected when you recorded the Web test. Click the property, and then click the down arrow that appears.

4. Expand ColorsMDB, expand the Colors table, and then select ColorName. The RadioButtonList is now bound to the data source.

5. On the Test menu, point to Edit Test Run Configurations, and then click Local Test Run.

6. In the localtestrun.testrunconfig dialog box, select Web Test in the left pane, and then select the One run per data source row option in the right pane. This causes the test to run iteratively, one time for each row in the database. On each test iteration, the pointer moves to the next row in the database.

7. Click Close.

8. On the Filemenu click Save ColorWebTest.webtest to save the Web test.

Running the Web Test to Verify that it Works Correctly

To verify the Web test

1. In the Web Test Editor, click Run Test to start the Web test and display the Web Test Viewer.

2. In the Web Test Viewer there will be two runs of the Web test. Run 1 will use the first row of data, and Run 2 will use the second row of data. Notice that Run 1 visits the page Red.aspx, and Run 2 visits the page Blue.aspx.

   Note

   You might have to scroll up in the Web Test Viewer to see both test runs.

Next Steps

In this walkthrough you added data binding to a Web test.

To add validation and extraction rules to your Web test, see Walkthrough: Adding Validation and Extraction Rules to a Web Test. Finally, to convert your Web test to a coded Web test, see Walkthrough: Creating a Coded Web Test.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Add Data Binding to a Web Request

Walkthrough: Creating a Simple Web Application

Walkthrough: Recording and Running a Web Test

Walkthrough: Adding Validation and Extraction Rules to a Web Test

Walkthrough: Creating a Coded Web Test

Concepts

About Data Binding in Web Tests

Other Resources

Data Binding in Web Tests