testability-driver 0.9.2 → 1.0.0

data/lib/tdriver/base/test_object/behaviours/syncronization.rb

@@ -44,26 +44,68 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
 		include MobyBehaviour::Behaviour
 
-		# Wait until this test object has a child test object of the specified type and matching the given attributes.
-		# The child being waited for must be identifiable by the provided constraints. The call terminates 
-		# only when exactly a single child matches the criteria.
+    # == description
+		# Wait until this test object has a child test object matching the given attributes or timeout exceeds. An exception will be raised if test object was not found in the specified timeout.
+		#
+		# == arguments
+		# attributes
+		#  Hash
+		#   description: Hash defining the set of attributes that the child test object must possess.
+		#   example: {:text=>'1'}
+		#
+		# timeout_secs
+		#  Fixnum
+		#   description: Overriding the default synchronization timeout
+		#   example: 30
+		#
+		# retry_interval
+		#  Fixnum
+		#   description: Time used before retrying to find test object 
+		#   example: 1
+		#
+		# == returns
+		# MobyBase::TestObject
+		#  description: Returns self
+		#  example: - 
+		#
+		# == exceptions
+		# TypeError
+		#  description: Wrong argument type %s for attributes (expected Hash)
+		#
+		# TypeError
+		#  description: Wrong argument type %s for attribute :type (expected String)
+		#
+		# TypeError
+		#  description: Wrong argument type %s for timeout (expected Integer, Fixnum or Float)
+		#
+		# ArgumentError
+		#  description: Argument retry_interval was not a valid. Expected: Integer, Fixnum or Float
+		#
+		# MobyBase::SyncTimeoutError
+		#  description: Synchronization timed out (%i) before the defined child object could be found
 		#
-		# === params
-		# type:: String defining the type of the child test object, eg. "list", "softkey"
-		# attributes:: (optional) Hash defining the set of attributes that the child test object must possess.
-		# timeout:: (optional) Integer overriding the default synchronization timeout.
-		# === raises
-		# ArgumentError:: One of the arguments was not of a valid format.
-		# SyncTimeoutError:: The timeout has passed without synchronization success.
 		def wait_child( attributes = {}, timeout_secs = 10, retry_interval = 0.5 )
 
-			Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument type was not a valid. Expected: String" ) unless attributes[ :type ].kind_of?( String ) && attributes[ :type ].length > 0
+			#Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument attributes was not a valid. Expected: Hash" ) unless attributes.kind_of?( Hash )
+			#Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument type was not a valid. Expected: String" ) unless attributes[ :type ].kind_of?( String ) && attributes[ :type ].length > 0
+			#Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument timeout_secs was not a valid. Expected: Integer, Fixnum or Float" ) unless [ Integer, Fixnum, Float ].include? timeout_secs.class
+			#Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument retry_interval was not a valid. Expected: Integer, Fixnum or Float" ) unless [ Integer, Fixnum, Float ].include? retry_interval.class
+
+
+      # verify that attributes is type of Hash
+      attributes.check_type( Hash, "Wrong argument type $1 for attributes (expected $2)" )
+  
+      # verify that :type is type of String
+      attributes[ :type ].check_type( String, "Wrong argument type $1 for attribute :type (expected $2)" )
 
-			Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument attributes was not a valid. Expected: Hash" ) unless attributes.kind_of?( Hash )
+      # verify that :type is not empty string
+      attributes[ :type ].not_empty( "Attribute :type must not be empty" )
 
-			Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument timeout_secs was not a valid. Expected: Integer, Fixnum or Float" ) unless [ Integer, Fixnum, Float ].include? timeout_secs.class
+      # verify timeout type is numeric
+      timeout_secs.check_type( [ Integer, Fixnum, Float ], "Wrong argument type $1 for timeout (expected $2)" )
 
-			Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Argument retry_interval was not a valid. Expected: Integer, Fixnum or Float" ) unless [ Integer, Fixnum, Float ].include? retry_interval.class
+      # verify timeout type is numeric
+      retry_interval.check_type( [ Integer, Fixnum, Float ], "Wrong argument type $1 for retry interval (expected $2)" )
 
 			begin
 

data/lib/tdriver/base/test_object/behaviours/test_object.rb

@@ -51,14 +51,27 @@ module MobyBehaviour
     #  example: { :name => 'Triangle1', :type => :Triangle }
     attr_accessor :creation_attributes
 
-    # === description
+
+    # == nodoc
+    # == description
+    # Changes the status of the test object to active
+    # == returns 
+    # TrueClass::
+    # == example
+    # @app = @sut.run(:name => 'testapp') # launches testapp 
+    # @app.Node( :name => 'Node1' ).activate() # activate given object
+    def activate
+
+      @_active = true
+
+    end
+
+    # == description
     # Determines if the current test object is of type 'application'
-    # === returns
-    # TrueClass:: 
-    # FalseClass:: 
-    #  == example
-    # @test_app = @sut.run(:name => 'testapp') # launches testapp    
-    # isApplication = @test_app.application?
+    # == returns
+    # Boolean
+    #  description: Determines is test object type of application 
+    #  example: false
     def application?
 
       @type == 'application'
@@ -67,157 +80,194 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     # == description
     # Return all test object attributes
-    # === returns
-    # Hash:: Test object attributes
+    # == returns
+    # Hash
+    #  description: Test object attributes
+    #  example: {"localeLanguage"=>"English", "startDragDistance"=>"4", "windowIcon"=>"", "memUsage"=>"25669"}
     # == example
     # @test_app = @sut.run(:name => 'testapp') # launches testapp 
     # attributes_hash = @test_app.Triangle( :name => 'Triangle1' ).attributes # retrieve all attribute for triangle object
     def attributes
 
-      # return hash of test object attributes
-      Hash[ xml_data.xpath( 'attributes/attribute' ).collect{ | test_object | [ test_object.attribute( 'name' ), test_object.content ] } ]
+      begin
 
-    end
+        # retrieve xml data, performs xpath to sut xml_data
+        _xml_data = xml_data
 
-    # == nodoc
-    # == description
-    # Changes the status of the test object to active
-    # == returns 
-    # TrueClass::
-    # == example
-    # @app = @sut.run(:name => 'testapp') # launches testapp 
-    # @app.Node( :name => 'Node1' ).activate() # activate given object
-    def activate
+      rescue MobyBase::TestObjectNotFoundError		
 
-      @_active = true
+        # attributes used to refresh parent application
+        if @creation_attributes[ :type ] == 'application'
 
-    end
+          # use application name and id attributes
+          refresh_args = { :name => @creation_attributes[ :name ], :id => @creation_attributes[ :id ] }
 
-    # == nodoc
-    # Changes the status of the test object to inactive, also deactivating all children
-    # Removes reference from @parent TestObject or SUT to this TestObject so that 
-    # @parent.refresh does not refresh currrent TestObject
-    #
-    # Does nothing if TestObject is already deactivated
-    # == returns 
-    # ?
-    def deactivate
-
-      return if !@_active
+        else
 
-      @_active = false
+          # test object if not type of application
+          refresh_args = { :id => get_application_id }
 
-      @_child_object_cache.each_value{ | test_object | 
+        end
 
-        # deactivate test object
-        test_object.deactivate  
+        #lets refresh if attribute not found on first attempt
+        refresh( refresh_args )
 
-      }
+        # retrieve updated xml data
+        _xml_data = xml_data
 
-      @_child_object_cache.clear
+      end
 
-      @parent.remove_child( self )
+      # return hash of test object attributes
+      TDriver::TestObjectAdapter.test_object_attributes( _xml_data )
 
     end
 
     # == description
     # Function returns a attribute of test object 
-    # == params
-    # name:: String definig the name of the attribute to get
+    #
+    # == arguments
+    # name
+    #  String
+    #   description: String definig the name of the attribute to get
+    #   example: "name"
+    #
     # == returns
-    # String:: Value of the attribute as a string
+    # String
+    #   description: Value of the attribute as a string
+    #   example: "value"
+    #
     # == exceptions
-    # TestObjectNotInitializedError:: if the test object xml data has not been initialized
-    # AttributeNotFoundError:: if the requested attribute can not be found in the xml data of the object
+    # TestObjectNotInitializedError
+    #  description: if the test object xml data has not been initialized
+    #
+    # AttributeNotFoundError
+    #   description: if the requested attribute can not be found in the xml data of the object
+    #
     # == example
     # @test_app = @sut.run(:name => 'testapp') # launches testapp 
     # puts @test_app.Triangle( :name => 'Triangle1' ).attribute('color') # prints color of triangle object
     def attribute( name )
-	  
-      # note: count of tries represents total number of tries
-      MobyUtil::Retryable.while( :tries => 2, :interval => 0 ) { | attempt |
-
-        begin
-  
-          # find attribute from xml
-          find_attribute( name )
-
-        rescue MobyBase::AttributeNotFoundError
-
-          # do following actions only once
-          if ( attempt == 1 )
 
-            # add to dynamic attribute filter once
-            MobyUtil::DynamicAttributeFilter.instance.add_attribute( name )
-
-            # refresh ui state
-            refresh( :id => get_application_id )
-
-          end
+      # TODO: add behaviour logging?
 
-          # raise exception and retry if attempts left
-          raise
-
-        end
+      # raise exception if attribute name variable type is other than string
+      name.check_type( [ String, Symbol ], "Wrong argument type %s for attribute (expected $2)" )
+	  	
+      # convert name to string if variable type is symbol
+      name = name.to_s if name.kind_of?( Symbol )
 
-      }
+      # retrieve attribute value 
+      find_attribute( name )
 
     end
-		
+
     # == description
     # Returns the parent test object for the current object in question, according to the UI object hierarchy. For getting the test object that was actually used 
     # as the parent when the test object instance was created, see parent_object.
     # == returns
-    # TestObject:: test object that is parent of this test object, self if no parent (ie. application objects)
+    # TestObject
+    #   description: test object that is parent of this test object, self if no parent (ie. application objects)
+    #   example: -
     # == example
     # @app = @sut.run(:name => 'testapp') # launches testapp 
     # parent_test_object = @app.Node( :name => 'Node1' ).get_parent() #get parent for some test object
-    def get_parent()
+    def get_parent
 
+      # return current test object if it's type of application
       return self if application?
 
-	  @sut.refresh if disable_optimizer
+      @sut.refresh if disable_optimizer
+
+      # retrieve parent of current xml element; objects/object/objects/object/../..
+      parent_element = TDriver::TestObjectAdapter.parent_test_object_element( self )
+
+      # retrieve parent element attributes
+      parent_attributes = TDriver::TestObjectAdapter.test_object_element_attributes( parent_element )
+
+      if self.get_application_id && parent_attributes[ 'type' ] != 'application'
+
+        parent = @sut.child( 
 
-      #find parent id
-      #element_set = @sut.xml_data.xpath( "//object/objects/object[@id='%s']/../.." % @id )
+          :id => get_application_id, 
+          :type => 'application' 
+
+        ).child( 
+
+          :id => parent_attributes[ 'id' ], 
+          :name => parent_attributes[ 'name' ], 
+          :type => parent_attributes[ 'type' ],
+
+          # there was a case when the same parent was included twice in the ui dump
+          :__index => 0 
+        )
+
+      else
+
+        parent = @sut.child( 
+          :id => parent_attributes[ 'id' ], 
+          :name => parent_attributes[ 'name' ],
+          :type => parent_attributes[ 'type' ]
+        )
+
+      end
+
+      enable_optimizer
+
+      parent
+      
+
+=begin
+
+      # return current test object if it's type of application
+      return self if application?
+
+      @sut.refresh if disable_optimizer
+
+      # find parent id
       element_set = @sut.xml_data.xpath( "//object/objects/object[@id='#{ @id }']/../.." )
 
-	  kid = nil 	  
-	  if( element_set == nil or element_set.size == 0 )
-		kid = self 
-	  else
-		element = element_set.first
+      kid = nil
 
-		#if app set look for the item under the app to make sure app id is available
+      if( element_set == nil or element_set.size == 0 )
+      
+        # return self if there is not parent object available
+        kid = self 
+        
+      else
+      
+        element = element_set.first
 
-		if self.get_application_id && element.attribute( "type" ) != 'application'
+        #if app set look for the item under the app to make sure app id is available
 
-		  kid = @sut.child( 
+        if self.get_application_id && element.attribute( "type" ) != 'application'
 
-						   :id => get_application_id, 
-						   :type => 'application' 
+          kid = @sut.child( 
+            :id => get_application_id, 
+            :type => 'application' 
+          ).child( 
+            :id => element.attribute( "id" ), 
+            :name => element.attribute( "name" ), 
+            :type => element.attribute( "type" ),
+            :__index => 0 # there was a case when the same parent was included twice in the ui dump
+          )
 
-						   ).child( 
+        else
 
-								   :id => element.attribute( "id" ), 
-								   :name => element.attribute( "name" ), 
-								   :type => element.attribute( "type" ),
-								   :__index => 0 # there was a case when the same parent was included twice in the ui dump
+          kid = @sut.child( 
+            :id => element.attribute( "id" ), 
+            :name => element.attribute( "name" ), 
+            :type => element.attribute( "type" ) 
+          )
 
-								   )
+        end
 
-		else
+      end
 
-		  kid = @sut.child( 
-						   :id => element.attribute( "id" ), 
-						   :name => element.attribute( "name" ), 
-						   :type => element.attribute( "type" ) 
-						   )
+      enable_optimizer
+
+      kid
+=end
 
-		end
-	  end
-	  enable_optimizer
-	  kid
     end
     
     # == nodoc
@@ -259,10 +309,13 @@ module MobyBehaviour
     # TestObjectNotFoundError:: if TestObject is not identified within synch timeout.
     def refresh( refresh_args = {} )
 
-	    object_search_params = @test_object_factory.make_object_search_params(@creation_attributes)
-	    search_params = @test_object_factory.get_parent_params(parent)
-	    search_params.push(object_search_params)	    
-      @sut.refresh( refresh_args, search_params )
+      @sut.refresh( 
+      
+        refresh_args, 
+        
+        @test_object_factory.get_parent_params( parent ) <<  @test_object_factory.make_object_search_params( @creation_attributes )
+        
+      )
 
     end
 
@@ -311,6 +364,7 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     end
 
+    # == nodoc
     # == description
     # Function for finding out the application id for this test object
     # == returns
@@ -336,10 +390,12 @@ module MobyBehaviour
     # Returns a StateObject containing the current state of this test object as XML.
     # The state object is static and thus is not refreshed or synchronized etc.
     # == returns
-    # StateObject:: State of this test object
+    # StateObject
+    #  description: State of this test object
+    #  example: -
     # == exceptions
     # ArgumentError
-    # description: If the xml source for the object cannot be read
+    #  description: If the xml source for the object cannot be read
     # == example
     # app_state = @sut.application( :name => "calculator" ).state #get the state object for the app
     # button_state = app_state.Button( :text => "Backspace" ) #get the state for test object button
@@ -350,15 +406,30 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     end
 
-	  # Function for translating all symbol values into strings using sut's translate method
-	  # Goes through all items in a hash and if a value is symbol then uses that symbol as a logical
-	  # name and tries to find a translation for that.
-	  # === params
-	  # hash:: Hash containing key, value pairs. The parameter will get modified if symbols are found from values
-	  # === raises
-	  # LanguageNotFoundError:: In case of language is not found
-	  # LogicalNameNotFoundError:: In case of logical name is not found for current language
-	  # MySqlConnectError:: In case problems with the db connectivity
+    # == nodoc
+    # == description
+	  # Translates all symbol values in hash using SUT's translate method.
+    #
+	  # == arguments
+	  # hash
+    #  Hash
+    #   description: containing key and value pairs. The hash will get modified if symbols are found from values
+    #   example: {:text=>:translate_me}
+    #
+    # == returns
+    # Hash
+    #  description: Translated hash
+    #  example: {:text=>'translated_text'}
+	  # == exceptions
+	  # LanguageNotFoundError
+    #   description: In case of language is not found
+    #
+	  # LogicalNameNotFoundError
+    #  description: In case of logical name is not found for current language
+    #
+	  # MySqlConnectError
+    #  description: In case problems with the db connectivity
+    #
 	  def translate!( hash, file_name = nil, plurality = nil, numerus = nil, lengthvariant = nil )
 
       hash.each_pair do | _key, _value |
@@ -371,8 +442,9 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     end
 
+=begin
     # == description
-    # Creates a test object for a child object of this test object. Caller test object will be result (child) object's parent object.\n
+    # Creates a child test object of this test object. Caller object will be associated as child test objects parent.\n
     # \n
     # [b]NOTE:[/b] Subsequent calls to TestObject#child( rule ) always returns reference to same Testobject:\n
     # [code]a = to.child( :type => 'Button', :text => '1' )
@@ -391,7 +463,7 @@ module MobyBehaviour
     #
     # == exceptions
     # TypeError
-    #  description: raised if agument is not a Hash
+    #  description: Wrong argument type %s for attributes (expected Hash)
     #
     # MultipleTestObjectsIdentifiedError
     #  description:  raised if multiple objects found that match the given attributes
@@ -404,13 +476,212 @@ module MobyBehaviour
     def child( attributes )
 
       # verify attributes argument format
-      raise TypeError.new( 'Unexpected argument type (%s) for attributes, expecting %s' % [ attributes.class, "Hash" ] ) unless attributes.kind_of?( Hash ) 
-
+      #raise TypeError.new( 'Unexpected argument type (%s) for attributes, expecting %s' % [ attributes.class, "Hash" ] ) unless attributes.kind_of?( Hash ) 
+      attributes.check_type( Hash, "Wrong argument type $1 for attributes (expected $2)" )
+  
+      
       # retrieve child object
       get_child_objects( attributes )
 
     end
+    
+    def child( attributes )
+
+      ###############################################################################################################
+      #
+      #  NOTICE: Please do not add anything unnessecery to this method, it might cause a major performance impact
+      #
+
+      # verify attributes argument format
+      attributes.check_type( Hash, "Wrong argument type $1 for attributes (expected $2)" )
+            
+      # store original hash
+      creation_hash = attributes.clone
+
+      dynamic_attributes = creation_hash.strip_dynamic_attributes!
+
+      # raise exception if wrong value type given for ;__logging 
+      dynamic_attributes[ :__logging ].check_type( 
+
+        [ TrueClass, FalseClass ], 
+
+        "Wrong value type $1 for :__logging test object creation directive (expected $2)" 
+
+      ) if dynamic_attributes.has_key?( :__logging )
+
+      # disable logging if requested, remove pair from creation_hash
+      MobyUtil::Logger.instance.push_enabled( dynamic_attributes[ :__logging ] || TDriver.logger.enabled )
+
+	    # check if the hash contains symbols as values and translate those into strings
+	    translate!( creation_hash, attributes[ :__fname ], attributes[ :__plurality ], attributes[ :__numerus ], attributes[ :__lengthvariant ] )
+
+      begin
+
+        # TODO: refactor me
+        child_test_object = @test_object_factory.make_object(
+
+          # current object as parent, can be either TestObject or SUT
+          :parent => self,
+ 
+          # test object identification hash
+          :object_attributes_hash => creation_hash, 
+          
+          :identification_directives => dynamic_attributes
+
+        )
+
+
+      rescue Exception => exception
+
+        if exception.kind_of?( MobyBase::MultipleTestObjectsIdentifiedError )
+
+          description = "Multiple child objects matched criteria."
+
+        elsif exception.kind_of?( MobyBase::TestObjectNotFoundError )
+
+          description = "The child object(s) could not be found."
+
+        elsif exception.kind_of?( MobyBase::TestObjectNotVisibleError )
+
+          description = "Parent test object no longer visible."
+
+        else
+
+          description = "Failed when trying to find child object(s)."
+
+        end
+
+        TDriver.logger.behaviour(
+
+          "%s;%s;%s;%s;%s" % [ "FAIL", description, identity, dynamic_attributes[ :__multiple_objects ] ? "children" : "child", attributes.inspect ]
+
+        )
+
+        Kernel::raise exception
+
+
+      ensure
+
+        # restore original logger state
+        MobyUtil::Logger.instance.pop_enabled
+
+      end
+
+      # return child test object
+      child_test_object
+
+    end
+   
+=end
+
+    # == description
+    # Creates a child test object of this test object. Caller object will be associated as child test objects parent.\n
+    # \n
+    # [b]NOTE:[/b] Subsequent calls to TestObject#child( rule ) always returns reference to same Testobject:\n
+    # [code]a = to.child( :type => 'Button', :text => '1' )
+    # b = to.child( :type => 'Button', :text => '1' )
+    # a.eql?( b ) # => true[/code]
+    # == arguments
+    # attributes
+    #  Hash
+    #   description: Hash object holding information for identifying which child to create
+    #   example: { :type => :slider }
+    #
+    # == returns
+    # MobyBase::TestObject
+    #  description: new child test object or reference to existing child
+    #  example: -
+    #
+    # == exceptions
+    # TypeError
+    #  description: Wrong argument type %s for attributes (expected Hash)
+    #
+    # MultipleTestObjectsIdentifiedError
+    #  description:  raised if multiple objects found that match the given attributes
+    #
+    # TestObjectNotFoundError
+    #  description:  raised if the child object could not be found
+    #
+    # TestObjectNotVisibleError
+    #  description: rasied if the parent test object is no longer visible
+    def child( attributes )
+
+      # verify attributes argument format
+      attributes.check_type( Hash, "Wrong argument type $1 for attributes (expected $2)" )
+    
+      get_child_objects( attributes )
+    
+    end
+    
+    # == description
+    # Function similar to child, but returns an array of children test objects that meet the given criteria
+    #
+    # == arguments
+    # attributes
+    #  Hash
+    #   description: object holding information for identifying which child to create
+    #   example: { :type => :slider }
+    #  
+    # find_all_children
+    #  TrueClass
+    #   description: Boolean specifying whether all children under the test node or just immediate children should be retreived
+    #   example: true
+    #  FalseClass
+    #   description: Boolean specifying whether all children under the test node or just immediate children should be retreived
+    #   example: false
+    #   
+    # == returns
+    # Array
+    #   description: An array of test objects
+    #   example: [ MobyBase::TestObject, MobyBase::TestObject, MobyBase::TestObject, ... ]
+    #
+    # == exceptions
+    # TypeError
+    #  description: raised if agument is not a Hash
+    #
+    # TestObjectNotFoundError
+    #  description: raised if the child object could not be found
+    #
+    # TestObjectNotVisibleError
+    #  description: rasied if the parent test object is no longer visible
+    def children( attributes, find_all_children = true )
+
+      # verify attributes argument format
+      attributes.check_type( Hash, "Wrong argument type $1 for attributes (expected $2)" )
+
+      # verify find_all_children argument format
+      find_all_children.check_type( [ TrueClass, FalseClass ], "Wrong argument type $1 for find_all_children (expected $2)" )
+
+      # If empty or only special attributes then add :type => "any" to search all
+      attributes.merge!( :type => "any" ) if attributes.select{ | key, value | key.to_s !~ /^__/ ? true : false }.empty?
+
+      # children method specific settings
+      attributes.merge!( :__multiple_objects => true, :__find_all_children => find_all_children )
 
+      # disable optimizer state if enabled
+	    disable_optimizer
+
+      # retrieve child objects
+      result = get_child_objects( attributes )
+
+      # restore optimizer state if it was enabled
+	    enable_optimizer
+
+      # return results
+      result
+    
+    end
+    
+    
+    
+    
+    
+    
+    
+    
+    
+    
+=begin
     # == description
     # Function similar to child, but returns an array of children test objects that meet the given criteria
     #
@@ -442,10 +713,13 @@ module MobyBehaviour
     #
     # TestObjectNotVisibleError
     #  description: rasied if the parent test object is no longer visible
-	def children( attributes, find_all_children = true )
+	  def children( attributes, find_all_children = true )
+
+      # verify attributes argument format
+      #raise TypeError.new( 'Unexpected argument type (%s) for attributes, expecting %s' % [ attributes.class, "Hash" ] ) unless attributes.kind_of?( Hash ) 
+      attributes.check_type( Hash, "Wrong argument type $1 for attributes (expected $2)" )
 
       # verify attributes argument format
-      raise TypeError.new( 'Unexpected argument type (%s) for attributes, expecting %s' % [ attributes.class, "Hash" ] ) unless attributes.kind_of?( Hash ) 
 
       # respect the original attributes variable value
       creation_attributes = attributes.clone
@@ -456,34 +730,50 @@ module MobyBehaviour
       # children method specific settings
       creation_attributes.merge!( :__multiple_objects => true, :__find_all_children => find_all_children )
 
+	    disable_optimizer
 
-	  disable_optimizer
       # retrieve child objects
       kids = get_child_objects( creation_attributes )
-	  enable_optimizer
 
+	    enable_optimizer
 
-	  kids
+	    kids
 
     end
+=end
 
   private
 
-	def disable_optimizer
-	  #disable optimizer for this call since it will not work
-	  @_enable_optimizer = false
-	  if MobyUtil::Parameter[ @sut.id ][ :use_find_object, 'false' ] == 'true' and @sut.methods.include?('find_object')
-		MobyUtil::Parameter[ @sut.id ][ :use_find_object] = 'false'
-		@_enable_optimizer = true
-	  end	  
-	  @_enable_optimizer
-	end
-
-	def enable_optimizer
-	  MobyUtil::Parameter[ @sut.id ][ :use_find_object] = 'true' if @_enable_optimizer
-	  @_enable_optimizer = false
-	end
+    # TODO: document me
+	  def disable_optimizer
+
+      sut_parameters = MobyUtil::Parameter[ @sut.id ]
+
+	    # disable optimizer for this call since it will not work
+	    @_enable_optimizer = false
 
+	    if sut_parameters[ :use_find_object, 'false' ] == 'true' and @sut.respond_to?( 'find_object' )
+
+  		  sut_parameters[ :use_find_object ] = 'false'
+
+  		  @_enable_optimizer = true
+
+	    end
+
+	    @_enable_optimizer
+
+	  end
+
+    # TODO: document me
+	  def enable_optimizer
+
+	    MobyUtil::Parameter[ @sut.id ][ :use_find_object ] = 'true' if @_enable_optimizer
+
+	    @_enable_optimizer = false
+
+	  end
+
+    # TODO: document me
     # Tries to use the missing method id as a child object type and find an object based on it
     def method_missing( method_id, *method_arguments )
 
@@ -512,6 +802,128 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     end
 
+    # helper function to retrieve child oblect(s), used by child and children methods
+    def get_child_objects( attributes )
+
+      ###############################################################################################################
+      #
+      #  NOTICE: Please do not add anything unnessecery to this method, it might cause a major performance impact
+      #
+            
+      # store original hash
+      creation_hash = attributes.clone
+
+      dynamic_attributes = creation_hash.strip_dynamic_attributes!
+
+      # raise exception if wrong value type given for ;__logging 
+      dynamic_attributes[ :__logging ].check_type( 
+
+        [ TrueClass, FalseClass ], 
+
+        "Wrong value type $1 for :__logging test object creation directive (expected $2)" 
+
+      ) if dynamic_attributes.has_key?( :__logging )
+
+      # disable logging if requested, remove pair from creation_hash
+      MobyUtil::Logger.instance.push_enabled( dynamic_attributes[ :__logging ] || TDriver.logger.enabled )
+
+	    # check if the hash contains symbols as values and translate those into strings
+	    translate!( creation_hash, attributes[ :__fname ], attributes[ :__plurality ], attributes[ :__numerus ], attributes[ :__lengthvariant ] )
+
+      begin
+
+        # TODO: refactor me
+        child_test_object = @test_object_factory.get_test_objects(
+
+          # current object as parent, can be either TestObject or SUT
+          :parent => self,
+ 
+          # test object identification hash
+          :object_attributes_hash => creation_hash, 
+          
+          :identification_directives => dynamic_attributes
+
+        )
+
+      rescue Exception => exception
+
+        if exception.kind_of?( MobyBase::MultipleTestObjectsIdentifiedError )
+
+          description = "Multiple child objects matched criteria."
+
+        elsif exception.kind_of?( MobyBase::TestObjectNotFoundError )
+
+          description = "The child object(s) could not be found."
+
+        elsif exception.kind_of?( MobyBase::TestObjectNotVisibleError )
+
+          description = "Parent test object no longer visible."
+
+        else
+
+          description = "Failed when trying to find child object(s)."
+
+        end
+
+        TDriver.logger.behaviour(
+
+          "%s;%s;%s;%s;%s" % [ 
+            "FAIL", 
+            description, 
+            identity, 
+            dynamic_attributes[ :__multiple_objects ] ? "children" : "child", 
+            attributes.inspect 
+          ]
+
+        )
+
+        Kernel::raise exception
+
+      ensure
+
+        # restore original logger state
+        MobyUtil::Logger.instance.pop_enabled
+
+      end
+
+      # return child test object
+      child_test_object
+
+    end
+
+    # == nodoc
+    # Changes the status of the test object to inactive, also deactivating all children
+    # Removes reference from @parent TestObject or SUT to this TestObject so that 
+    # @parent.refresh does not refresh currrent TestObject
+    #
+    # Does nothing if TestObject is already deactivated
+    # == returns 
+    # ?
+    def deactivate
+
+      return if !@_active
+
+      @_active = false
+
+      # iterate through all test objects child test objects
+      @child_object_cache.each_object{ | test_object |
+      
+        # deactivate test object
+        #test_object.deactivate
+ 
+        test_object.instance_exec{ deactivate }
+              
+      }
+
+      # remove test objects from children objects cache
+      @child_object_cache.remove_objects
+
+      # remove from parent objects children objects cache
+      @parent.instance_variable_get( :@child_object_cache ).remove_object( self )
+
+    end
+
+
     # TODO: refactor logging_enabled 
     # try to reactivate test object if currently not active
     def reactivate_test_object( attributes )
@@ -532,6 +944,7 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     end
 
+=begin
     # Strip dynamic attributes (such as :__timeout, :__logging) from hash and return those as hash
     # == returns
     # Hash:: Hash of dynamic attributes
@@ -557,11 +970,9 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     def get_cached_test_object!( object )
 
-      object_hash = object.hash
-
-      if @_child_object_cache.has_key?( object_hash ) 
+      if @child_object_cache.has_object?( object ) 
 
-        object = @_child_object_cache[ object_hash ]
+        object = @child_object_cache[ object ]
 
         true
 
@@ -572,7 +983,10 @@ module MobyBehaviour
       end
 
     end
+=end
+
 
+=begin
     def get_child_objects( attributes )
 
       # create copy of attributes hash
@@ -589,18 +1003,29 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
       find_all_children = MobyUtil::KernelHelper.to_boolean( dynamic_attributes[ :__find_all_children ], true )
 
-	  # check if the hash contains symbols as values and translate those into strings
-	  file_name = dynamic_attributes[ :__fname ]
-	  plurality = dynamic_attributes[ :__plurality ]
-	  numerus = dynamic_attributes[ :__numerus ]
-	  lengthvariant = dynamic_attributes[ :__lengthvariant ]
-	  translate!( creation_data, file_name, plurality, numerus, lengthvariant )
+	    # check if the hash contains symbols as values and translate those into strings
+	    file_name = dynamic_attributes[ :__fname ]
+	    plurality = dynamic_attributes[ :__plurality ]
+	    numerus = dynamic_attributes[ :__numerus ]
+	    lengthvariant = dynamic_attributes[ :__lengthvariant ]
+
+	    translate!( creation_data, file_name, plurality, numerus, lengthvariant )
 
       # use custom timeout if defined
       timeout = ( dynamic_attributes[ :__timeout ] || @test_object_factory.timeout ).to_i
 
       # determine which application to refresh
-      application_id_hash = ( creation_data[ :type ] == 'application' ? { :name => creation_data[ :name ], :id => creation_data[ :id ] } : { :id => get_application_id } )
+      #application_id_hash = ( creation_data[ :type ] == 'application' ? { :name => creation_data[ :name ], :id => creation_data[ :id ] } : { :id => get_application_id } )
+            
+      if creation_data[ :type ] == 'application'
+      
+        application_id_hash = { :name => creation_data[ :name ], :id => creation_data[ :id ] }
+      
+      else
+      
+        application_id_hash = { :id => get_application_id }
+      
+      end
 
       # add symbols to dynamic attributes list -- to avoid IRB bug
       MobyUtil::DynamicAttributeFilter.instance.add_attributes( creation_data.keys )
@@ -608,7 +1033,7 @@ module MobyBehaviour
       begin
 
         # try to reactivate test object if currently not active
-        reactivate_test_object( creation_data ) unless @_active
+        #reactivate_test_object( creation_data ) unless @_active
 
         # retrieve test objects from xml
         child_objects = @test_object_factory.make_child_objects( 
@@ -638,7 +1063,9 @@ module MobyBehaviour
             child_object.creation_attributes = creation_data
 
             # add child to objects cache 
-            add_child( child_object ) unless found_in_cache
+            #add_child( child_object ) unless found_in_cache
+
+            @child_object_cache.add_object( child_object ) unless found_in_cache
 
           }
 
@@ -683,6 +1110,7 @@ module MobyBehaviour
       end
 
     end
+=end
 
     # Creates a string identifying this test object: sut, type, attributes used when created
     #
@@ -695,72 +1123,102 @@ module MobyBehaviour
 
     end
 
+    # TODO: document me
+    # NOTE: this method should be called only internally, TestObject#attribute is end-user method that shouldn't be called inside framework
     def find_attribute( name )
 
       # store xml data to variable, due to xml_data is a function that returns result of xpath to sut.xml_data
-	  _xml_data = nil
-	  begin
-		_xml_data = xml_data
-	  rescue MobyBase::TestObjectNotFoundError		
-		#lets refresh if not found initially
-		refresh_args = ( @creation_attributes[ :type ] == 'application' ? { :name => @creation_attributes[ :name ], :id => @creation_attributes[ :id ] } : { :id => get_application_id } )
-		
-		refresh( refresh_args)
-		_xml_data = xml_data
-	  end
+      _xml_data = nil
 
-      # convert name to string if variable type is symbol
-      name = name.to_s if name.kind_of?( Symbol )
+      # note: tries count represents total number of tries
+      MobyUtil::Retryable.while( :tries => 2, :interval => 0 ) { | attempt |
 
-      # raise exception if attribute name variable type is other than string
-      Kernel::raise ArgumentError.new( "Wrong argument type %s for attribute argument (expected String)" % name.class ) unless name.kind_of?( String )
+        begin
+  
+          begin
 
-      # raise eception if xml data is empty or nil
-      Kernel::raise MobyBase::TestObjectNotInitializedError.new if _xml_data.nil? || _xml_data.to_s.empty?
+            # retrieve xml data, performs xpath to sut xml_data
+            _xml_data = xml_data
 
-      # retrieve attribute(s) from xml
-      #nodeset = _xml_data.xpath( "attributes/attribute[translate(@name,'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ','abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')='%s']" % name.downcase )
-      nodeset = _xml_data.xpath( "attributes/attribute[translate(@name,'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ','abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')='#{ name.downcase }']" ) 
+          rescue MobyBase::TestObjectNotFoundError		
 
-      # raise exception if no such attribute found
-      Kernel::raise MobyBase::AttributeNotFoundError.new( "Could not find attribute '%s' for test object of type '%s'." % [ name, type ] ) if nodeset.empty? 
+            # attributes used to refresh parent application
+            if @creation_attributes[ :type ] == 'application'
 
-      # Need to disable this for now #Kernel::raise MobyBase::MultipleAttributesFoundError.new( "Multiple attributes found with name '%s'" % name ) if nodeset.count > 1
+              # use application name and id attributes
+              refresh_args = { :name => @creation_attributes[ :name ], :id => @creation_attributes[ :id ] }
 
-      # return found attribute
-      nodeset.first.content.strip
+            else
 
-    end
+              # test object if not type of application
+              refresh_args = { :id => get_application_id }
 
-    # this method will be automatically invoked after module is extended to sut object  
-    def self.extended( target_object )
+            end
 
-      target_object.instance_exec{
+            #lets refresh if attribute not found on first attempt
+            refresh( refresh_args )
 
-        initialize_settings
+            # retrieve updated xml data
+            _xml_data = xml_data
 
-      }
+          end
 
-    end
+          # raise eception if xml data is empty or nil
+          Kernel::raise MobyBase::TestObjectNotInitializedError.new if _xml_data.nil? || _xml_data.to_s.empty?
+
+          begin
+          
+            # retrieve attribute(s) from test object; never access ui state xml data directly from behaviour implementation
+            TDriver::TestObjectAdapter.test_object_attribute( _xml_data, name )
 
-    def initialize_settings
+          rescue MobyBase::AttributeNotFoundError
+          
+            Kernel::raise MobyBase::AttributeNotFoundError.new(
+            
+              "Could not find attribute #{ @name.inspect } for test object of type #{ @type.to_s }"
+              
+            )
 
-      # defaults
-      @_application_id = nil
-      @creation_attributes = nil
+          end
+
+        rescue MobyBase::AttributeNotFoundError
+
+          # add attribute to attribute filter whitelist only once
+          if ( attempt == 1 )
+
+            # add to attribute filter 
+            MobyUtil::DynamicAttributeFilter.instance.add_attribute( name )
 
-      @_child_object_cache = {}
+            # refresh test object ui state
+            refresh
 
-      activate
+          end
+
+          # raise exception and retry if attempts left
+          raise
+
+        end
+
+      }
 
     end
 
-    # == description
-    # Returns the actual test object that was used as the parent when this object instance was created. For getting the parent object in the UI object hierarchy, 
-    # see get_parent.
-    #
-    # == returns
-    # TestObject:: test object that was used as parent when this object was created. Can also be of type SUT if sut was the parent (ie. application objects)
+    # this method will be automatically invoked after module is extended to sut object  
+    def self.extended( target_object )
+
+      target_object.instance_exec{ 
+      
+        # initialize cache object 
+        @child_object_cache = TDriver::TestObjectCache.new
+      
+        # defaults
+        @_application_id = nil
+        @creation_attributes = nil
+        @_active = true
+        
+      }
+
+    end
 
   public
 
@@ -773,6 +1231,14 @@ module MobyBehaviour
     #
     def parent_object()
 
+      # == description
+      # Returns the actual test object that was used as the parent when this object instance was created. 
+      # Userd to retrieve the parent object in the UI object hierarchy, 
+      # see get_parent.
+      #
+      # == returns
+      # TestObject:: test object that was used as parent when this object was created. Can also be of type SUT if sut was the parent (ie. application objects)
+
       $stderr.puts "warning: TestObject#parent_object is deprecated, please use TestObject#parent instead."      
 
       @parent