Feb. 25, 2010

 

Apple iPhone developers now have an open-source software testing tool thanks to consulting firm Gorilla Logic.

 

The new FoneMonkey program is available immediately. It lets users record, edit, and play back user interface tests, extend scripts with native Objective C code, and integrates with frameworks such as OCUnit and the Google Toolkit for Mac, officials said.

 

Another version of FoneMonkey for the Apple iPad is likely to come soon, and Gorilla Logic is starting to see demand for Google Android and Research In Motion BlackBerry versions, CEO Stu Stern said. His company formed in 2002 and based FoneMonkey on its existing Adobe Flex products.

 

Stern firmly believes that better technique, not more "code monkeys," is the key to better software. His company truly embraces programmers' reality -- team members join in on the joke; other products are named "MonkeyWrench" and "Chimp," and the company web site features a "Drunk On Software" blog involving Stern himself, his team, bytes, and beer.

 

An early customer is EcoAlign, which does marketing for green technology companies. Vice president Teddi Davis said her team is currently building a program that helps iPhone users track their energy savings, and that FoneMonkey is helping her company save time and minimize debugging hassles.

 

"You're building and testing it all the way through, so you're not getting to the end and then finding out what's wrong," she explained.

 

EcoAlign is also considering a BlackBerry version, she added -- "I can see that there's good market share there and I wouldn't want to cut those customers out."