Available now, the R 2006 Release 2 versions of the Silk products include: SilkCentral Test Manager, which is a J2EE framework for managing processes; SilkPerformer for load testing, and SilkTest for test automation.

"This release focuses a lot on improving the process of testing," with incremental enhancements, said Brad Johnson, Borland product marketing director for lifecycle quality management.

The Silk line "provides a quality framework that looks at software quality in a very holistic view from the beginning of the development cycle to when the applications are delivered," Johnson said.

Featured in Test Manager is an Eclipse-based client that allows for manual testing of applications. "It's a small Eclipse application that enables manual testers to be given the direction and steps they're supposed to execute, the pass-fail criteria," said Johnson.'

With manual testing, the user validates each step rather than using automation. The new client in Test Manager allows for testing to be done offline and be reported back to the test management console. Previously, manual testing in Test Manager required a Web interface.