Virgil, I normally have a test harness using a program called Monarch which will take the output printer spool file in ".txt" format and massage it back into data format. That way I can then do a direct compare on the data in and the data out. It has been very useful in the past for complicated multi level reports.
Dave C -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Virgil Bierschwale Sent: 25 March 2010 00:08 To: ProFox Email List Subject: 100 Invoice Test I read with some interest many comments today regarding large datasets and cursors. Not because they are wrong, because I too believe that cursors are the way to fly. I bring this issue back up because I have in mind a article to write for my http://www.KeepAmericaAtWork.com site tonight discussing some of the things I've seen over the years. I was never a great developer in foxpro because that wasn't where my interests were at. But I was very good at meeting with the users, reading between the lines and fixing their problems, whether they be internal or foxpro running under citrix and the problems that this can create if not set up correctly and reverse engineering those systems where everybody had left and they needed to know what made it work so that they could develop a replacement in another language. I also had some training using techniques such as those taught by Juran in his Quality Improvement in the Workplace series that I have put to use many times over the years. But enough of that. I bring this up because many times I have run across reports that were not accurate. If I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the developer (most were already gone), I would ask them how they tested it and most would say I created a cursor and ran some data through it and the totals added up. Some would even say that they never verified the totals because foxpro was never wrong. In my opinion, the only true way to know that it is working correctly is to do what I call the 100 Invoice Test and I would like to know your thoughts on this matter if you don't mind sharing them, and yes, I would like your approval to use your comments in this article (without your name) if possible. Anyway, here is the only bullet proof test in my opinion. You create 100 invoices. each is to a different company, address, etc. each has a varying amount of line items, for example, start with 1 line item and work your way up to 100 line items and then run your report. You're halfway there. The next phase is to print out these 100 invoices and then line by line, match them up with the sample invoices you entered from your notes. Bottom line, a small test won't give you 100% credible results and after all, if we develop this for our clients, internal, or external, we are in fact guaranteeing them the accuracy of our reports. At least that is the way I see it, and yes, I'm curious how you see it even if all of you tell me to go take a flying leap <grin> Thanks, Virgil http://www.VetsFindingVets.org http://www.KeepAmericaAtWork.com http://www.KeepAmericaAtWork.com/mad_as_hell.htm <http://www.KeepAmericaAtWork.com> --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- multipart/alternative text/plain (text body -- kept) text/html --- [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
