Bug Magnet is an open source Chrome and Firefox extension by Gojko Adzic. It stores a set of heuristics used for testing web applications.
Bug Magnet stores values and edge cases. However, these are common causes of failures for input fields, text areas, content editable DIVs.
Installation: The easiest way to install the extension is from the Chrome Web store or Mozilla Add-ons.
Basic Usage: Just right-click on any editable item on the page and you will see a Bug Magnet submenu. Click an item there, and it will be inserted into the editable field.
Input may be provided from available options depending upon the type of the input fields. For example, Bug Magnet provides list of valid and invalid Email addresses which you can use for testing validation of email address field.
Bug Magnet Menu Options
- Navigate to http://www.orbitz.com/
- Right click on the Check-In field and select the Bug Magnet menu option
- Currently there are seven main options:
- Lorems – allows you to add filler text in Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Chinese and Mixed charsets
- Text size – allows you to add text strings that are certain lengths, with and without spaces
- Names – Different name options like O’Grady, NULL and other tricky names
- E-mail addresses – Valid and Invalid examples, like missing @ and 2 @@
- Numbers – Different boundary number options like 0, -1
- Whitespace – Tabs and Newline and Leading spaces
- Format exploits like SQL injection and HTML parsing
Bug Magnet: Operational Modes
The way bug magnet handles actions may be selected. This can simulate different user workflows or manage custom components:
- Inject value: set the value directly into the field using JavaScript. Thus this replaces the entire content of a field directly, and it is useful when you want to guarantee that there is nothing else in the input field.
- Simulate pasting: try to copy/paste the value into the active field. Hence, this will replace the currently selected part of the content, or inject the value at the cursor position. It is also useful if you want to trigger additional custom events in the application after the content changes.
- Copy to clipboard: do not change the content of the field, however, it just copies the value into the system clipboard, so you can decide what to do with
Bug Magnet: Features
Bug magnet boasts of the following features:
- Test Data for common boundary values and edge cases for exploratory testing.
- Applicable for input fields, Text area and editable DIVs.
- Lorems, Text Size(With and without spaces), Name(Latin charset and others), Cities, Valid and Invalid Email Address, Valid and Invalid URLs, Numbers, White-space, Format Exploits.
- Opensource and customize friendly.
Bug Magnet: Pros And Cons
Pros:
- Free and Open source (available on github)
- Quick to add and use
- Can be extended with json files
- Available with Firefox and Chrome
Cons:
- Not available on some fields
To Wrap Up
The introduction of the Bug Magnet is but another advancement in technology. Thus, adding more ways to make accessibility easier and faster. The innovations that technology delivers always aim for the ease and improvement not only of the lives of ordinary people, but also of those involved in business and industry.