Open source test tool company Gorilla Logic is aiming to extend its reach in mobile and rich Internet applications (RIA) development with FoneMonkey 5, the latest version of its open source functional testing tool for iPhone and iPad applications. The rationale for a new version release is an additional function that automates the detection of bugs prior to release. The product is also singled out for its ability to work as the only test tool for iOS that records all user actions and plays them back.

After recording user actions with the iPhone or iPad while in use, FoneMonkey works by playing them back as a test script at any time. It enables the interactive creation, editing, and playback of automation scripts that exercise an application's user interface. Using this tool, developers and quality assurance team members can create 'suites of tests' that automate and perform user operation sequences and then verify results. Gorilla Logic says that FoneMonkey supports development as well as QA testing -- and tests can easily be incorporated into continuous integration environments.

"FoneMonkey fills a gap in the iPhone/iPad developer's toolkit and makes Agile development a reality through automated testing, something that has never been feasible for this critical consumer platform with millions of users worldwide," said Stu Stern, president and CEO of Gorilla Logic and cocreator of FoneMonkey. "FoneMonkey is a single tool that can be used effectively by both engineering and QA organizations, from one-person startups to large enterprises."

Gorilla Logic has spent the last year incubating the FoneMonkey project with help and feedback from the open source community. New features include:

• Robust script recording and playback -- more comprehensive recording and playback for user interactions, including taps, keyboard input, dragging, and scrolling for all Cocoa Touch components.
• Code generation options -- FoneMonkey can now generate ready-to-run test scripts in Objective-C that can be run under OCUnit, or JavaScript that can be run with Apple's UI Automation tools.
• Optimized for both iPhone and iPad platforms and user interfaces.
• FoneMonkey now works on both simulators and real devices.
• Test playbacks can be completely automated.