Dear G.: Could you quantify "large" for organizations? TREEV LLC is a 200-person banking software company. We have used JMeter for load testing and functional testing for about 4 months.
We picked it because: I evaluated low-priced load testers ($300-$500) and JMeter (free). JMeter did what we wanted and it was cheap. I did not evaluate any load tester that cost more than $500, because my management had already decided not to spend big bucks to automate our testing. All of the recommended commercial load testers cost $1000s of dollars. Pros: Cheap. Works. JMeter Users List seems to be actively monitored by JMeter developers. When I get stuck for more than one day on a problem, I post a question. Response of fellow users and developers has always gotten me over the hurdles so far. Cons: The user manual could be improved: some check boxes and buttons are not documented; some explanations are too terse. Personal recommendation: I use Badboy to capture the basic series of HTTP requests and export the Badboy script to a JMeter test plan. Then I parameterize and customize the test plan. See http://www.badboy.com.au/ Career implication: If your management wants Mercury LoadRunner, can afford the product AND the training you will need, it may be to your personal advantage to get it. Though my information is two years old, LoadRunner training was supposed to be expensive. And companies used to advertise for testers with LoadRunner experience. News: JMeter 2.0.2, a bug-fix version, just came out in late November 2004. Basic elements of any test plan: request a web page, receive a web page, test that the web page is the expected web page. To help you decide, I recommend trying JMeter out for a week or two. Develop some simple test plans. The JMeter FAQ is useful. You should be able to see if you can test your product in the way that you want. For what it may be worth, I can tell you that as a tester, I am quite happy with JMeter. Sincerely yours, Kyle McAbee --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
