Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!apple!apple.com!wrs
From: wrs@apple.com (Walter Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Monkey (was Re: Word 4.0 fractional widths)
Message-ID: <4970@internal.Apple.COM>
Date: 31 Oct 89 05:33:31 GMT
Sender: usenet@Apple.COM
Distribution: comp
Organization: Apple Computer, Inc.
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References:<35975@apple.Apple.COM> <1083@diemen.cc.utas.oz> <36000@apple.Apple.COM> <2@microsoft.UUCP>

Monkey is a real DA that has been around practically forever.  The very 
first low-memory global (0x100) is called MonkeyLives; it is a flag to let 
apps know that Monkey is running so they can refuse to do destructive 
things like replacing the Finder with a MacPaint document (which is the 
sort of thing Monkey tries to do surprisingly often).

I can personally attest that in a user-interface-intensive program 
Monkey finds bugs like nothing else I know, precisely because of its 
randomness.  As IM says, it just spits random keys and mouse clicks into 
the app and waits for it to crash, so it gets into situations that no sane 
human, tester or otherwise, would ever try--it just wouldn't occur to them.

- Walt

--
Walter Smith                            wrs@apple.com, apple!wrs
Apple Computer, Inc.                    (408) 974-5892
My corporation disavows any knowledge of my activities on the network.