Silk Test Classic provides a predefined set of Java classes, including Abstract Windowing Toolkit (AWT) controls, Java Foundation Class (JFC) controls, and Symantec Visual Café controls. To test these controls, you can use their inherited 4Test methods. Inherited methods are the 4Test methods associated with the class from which the control is derived.
For custom Java controls, we provide access to native Java methods, as defined in JDK 1.1.2 or later. You can also access native methods for predefined Java classes.
When both 4Test methods and native methods are available for all controls you want to test, we recommend using 4Test methods in your test scripts. 4Test provides a richer, more efficient set of methods that more closely mirror user interaction with the GUI elements of an application. For the JavaAwtPushButton, for example, use the 4Test methods associated with the PushButton class.
When you must use native methods for controls that are not supported in 4Test, refer to the Java API documentation to gain a full understanding of how the native method works. For example, 4Test methods and native Java methods use incompatible array indexing schemes so you must use caution when accessing indexed values.