Canceling Printing Causes Opera to Crash

 

Summary

We are going to test the Opera browser by interfering with its printing process. If the user starts printing a page, a prompt appears allowing the user to cancel the printing operation while executing. If the user clicks on the cancel button in this prompt, Opera v7.23 (Windows version) crashes.

Application Description

Opera is a Web browser developed in 1994. Its developers claim that it is the fastest and most standards-compliant browser today. It is available for all popular operating systems. (Source: www.opera.com).

For these tests we will focus on the File -> Print function. It allows the user to modify the printing settings and then print the web page that is currently displayed in the browser.

Test Design

This example demonstrates the use of Interference Testing. To apply this type of testing we have to pick an operation in Opera, get information about it, and try to interfere with it.

For this test we will apply Interference testing to the printing procedure. We will navigate to a web page, start printing it, and then cancel the printing while it is working.

The expected behavior is that the application will stop the printing, and then the browser will be in the same state as it was before the printing process was started.

Performing the Test

  1. To perform this test successfully we have to be able to click cancel before the printing is finished. We can do that with a web page that has several pages of content. For example, navigate to www.testingeducation.org/articles

    Then select File -> Print. In the dialog box that will appear select a printer and click "Print".


  2. Now it is time to interfere with the printing process by stopping it.
    Click on the "Cancel" button in the box that has appeared.

Results/Relevance

The application stops responding

A situation where the user changes his or her mind and decides to stop the printing is very likely to happen in the real world. The fact that this situation is not handled properly by the application seriously affects its credibility.

Canceling the printing process is a test that is very typical for the interference type of testing.

Additional Notes

It is interesting to see if the problem exists in other browsers. It turns out that Internet Explorer 6.0 does not offer cancel print at all, and Mozilla Firefox’s (v. 0.8) cancel button does not stop the printing.

Configuration

Testing Opera Software's Opera 7.23 (trial version):

Created 19 May 2004 for the CSTER

All images and written material ©Copyright Georgi Nikolov 2004

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