Application pre-release report

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10025701-B2
Application number	US-201615207344-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2016
Priority date	May 16, 2016
Publication date	Jul 17, 2018
Grant date	Jul 17, 2018

Abstract

Various embodiments provide an automated testing analysis tool, termed a “pre-release analysis tool”, that tests applications for functional and nonfunctional requirements. In at least some embodiments, the pre-release analysis tool can perform both static analysis and dynamic analysis on an application. A report module can provide rich feedback, including actionable feedback, to an application developer in order to enable the developer to make their applications more secure, reliable, efficient, and performant. Actionable feedback can include feedback that suggests various remedial measures that an application developer may put in place in order to improve their applications. Application analysis can be performed in various different categories with actionable feedback provided in each. These different categories can include, by way of example and not limitation, application crashes, performance, security, usability, application statistics, code warnings, localization issues, and network issues.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for generating an application report for an application, the method comprising:
receiving the application;
performing a static analysis of the application;
performing a dynamic analysis of the application by loading the application onto a plurality of devices and using an automated robot tester to walk through the application on each of the devices via inputs to the application that are generated by the automated robot tester; and
generating the application report based on the static and dynamic analysis, the application report comprising:
responsive to the automated robot tester causing a crash of the application on one of the devices during the dynamic analysis, one or more of the inputs to the application that the automated robot tester performed to cause the crash of the application; and
responsive to determining a security vulnerability of the application by either the static or dynamic analysis, information describing the security vulnerability of the application.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application report further comprises a summary of the devices including device model name, operating system version, and language.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application report further comprises a screenshot of the application on one of the devices.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the screenshot describes the crash of the application.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application report further comprises a performance problem experienced by the automated robot tester during the dynamic analysis that is separate and distinct from the crash of the application and the security vulnerability.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the information describing the security vulnerability comprises severity information and information to remedy the security vulnerability.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the information to remedy the security vulnerability comprises a link to an article about the security vulnerability.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application report further comprises a usability problem that is separate and distinct from the crash of the application and the security vulnerability.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the usability problem comprises a problem with a layout or user interface of the application on one of the devices.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the application report includes a screenshot of the layout or the user interface.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application report further comprises statistics of the application that are separate and distinct from the crash of the application and the security vulnerability.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application report further comprises a potential problem in the code of the application that is separate and distinct from the crash of the application or the security vulnerability.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the application report further comprises a missing or wrong translation of text on one of the plurality of devices.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the inputs are determined based upon a depth-first search approach that determines possible inputs that may cause the application to crash.

15. A system comprising:
one or more processors;
one or more computer readable storage media devices embodying computer readable instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:
receiving an application;
performing a static analysis of the application;
performing a dynamic analysis of the application by loading the application onto a plurality of devices and using an automated robot tester to walk through the application on each of the devices via inputs to the application that are generated by the automated robot tester; and
generating an application report based on the static and dynamic analysis, the application report comprising:
responsive to the automated robot tester causing a crash of the application on one of the devices during the dynamic analysis, one or more of the inputs to the application that the automated robot tester performed to cause the crash of the application; and
responsive to the static analysis or the dynamic analysis determining a security vulnerability of the application, information describing the security vulnerability of the application.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the application report further comprises a summary of the devices including device model name, operating system version, and language.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the application report further comprises a screenshot that describes the crash of the application.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the application report further comprises a performance problem experienced by the automated robot tester during the dynamic analysis that is separate and distinct from the crash of the application and the security vulnerability.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the inputs are determined based upon a depth-first search approach that determines possible inputs that may cause the application to crash.

20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the application report further comprises a problem with a layout or user interface of the application on one of the devices.

Assignees

• Google Inc
• Google Llc

Inventors

• Patnaik Pratyus
• Hurley Fergus G
• Tulpule Niranjan S
• Gaywood Richard M
• Tsend-Ayush Boldbaatar

Classifications

• G06F11/3688 Primary

  for test execution, e.g. scheduling of test suites · CPC title

• G06F2221/033

  Test or assess software · CPC title

• G06F11/3612

  by runtime analysis (performance monitoring G06F11/3466) · CPC title

• G06F21/577

  Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security · CPC title

• G06F11/3668

  Testing of software · CPC title