Apart from periodic implementation and least amount of human effort, the most notable business advantage of test automation is a high level of accuracy.

Software development practice has seen radical changes over the time, so do tools and technologies.

These changes are aimed to improve quality, productivity and shorten delivery time.

Software testing services evidently plays a vital role in achieving these goals. With the increased demand for test automation especially in the field of IT, and several automation tools available at the disposal, Selenium has been a stand-out in this space.

Let’s look into some of the reasons why Selenium is more popular than other tools?

Selenium is an open-source tool used to test web applications. It was originally developed by Jason Huggins in 2004.

In 2004, when no one was talking about Agile and DevOps, Selenium was developed keeping in mind agile infrastructure and DevOps workflow.

The response for Selenium in the early stages was not good. Since then, it has come a long way and has become one of the most used test automation tools.

Selenium is probably the most popular test automation tool in the market at present. Here are few statistics demonstrating the same.

Yes! you read it right. Since Selenium is an open source automation tool there is no licensing cost involved, which is a big advantage compared with other tools.

Though, there is no official support available since it is an open-source tool, some of the brightest minds are behind the success of this tool which makes the selenium community strong and growing.

The community based technical support is also available for free. Now that’s a lot of savings.

Diversity

Selenium is all about choices. It offers unlimited choices to testers from languages to the operating system.

Easy to Handle

Selenium in stark contrast with its competitors is very easy to use. The UI of the tool is designed in a way to help the users understand it easily with features like ‘click of a button’ and ‘type words in any of the field boxes’.

Selenium can automate the test process with a basic set of instructions. In other words, you do not need a much of programming knowledge to use this tool.

Features of Selenium

Selenium is not just a single tool, it is a complete package. It is a suite of tools consists of quite a few components, each one of them playing an explicit role in the development of web applications.

Selenium’s Community

The technical support for Selenium is completely dependent on its community as it is an open-source tool.

Fortunately for Selenium, it has a huge and responsive community that enables constant updates and upgrades to the tool.

Selenium has a large and active user community that offers comprehensive support. This makes the tool highly resourceful and cost-effective.

Irrespective of numerous tools on the market, Selenium was still considered as the first choice for many testing projects.

Also, if you’re considering a tool that requires minimal programming knowledge, Selenium should be your first preference.

Right from open source nature to cross-platform compatibility, Selenium is a diverse testing package. Selenium offers an organization the best when it comes to test automation.

General FAQ

What is required for selenium testing?

Selenium works on Windows, Mac as well as Linux. It is open source and under Apache 2.0 License. Selenium is written in Java and the most recent version as of today is 3.11.0 which was released in March 2018.

Can selenium do performance testing?

Selenium WebDriver is an automation tool for web applications. It can operate on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer and many other browsers via its driver ecosystem. JMeter, on the other hand, is a Java-based performance testing tool…

Ask the Expert – Selenium Community

The technical support for Selenium is completely dependent on its community as it is an open-source tool. Fortunately for Selenium, it has a huge and responsive community that enables constant updates and upgrades to the tool. Selenium has a large and active user community that offers comprehensive support. This makes the tool highly resourceful and cost-effective.

Why selenium testing is used?

Selenium is a framework to conduct software testing. It is used mostly to test web applications.
With selenium there is no need to write testing scripts, the software comes with easy navigation tools that can write test cases without the need for any script.
Selenium can also provide a domain-specific language to write test cases in any of the popular programming languages such as C#, Java, Scala, Ruby, etc.

Can selenium do load testing?

It can be very useful even for load testing as it allows users to re-use existing functional tests and run them with virtual concurrent users. Selenium is a very powerful open-source testing tool mainly used for automated functional testing via interacting with browser level objects.

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Test automation services has proven to increase the speed, quality, and efficiency of the software in many ways. Listed below are top 11 open source tools for your automation needs.

Selenium

Selenium was originally developed by Jason Huggins in 2004 at ThoughtWorks. It is a software testing framework which can be used to test the web applications. It provides driver to automate web applications across different browsers.

Pros:

• Selenium reduces execution time since it supports parallel execution. 
• Selenium supports different operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X. 
• Selenium supports various scripting languages such as Java, C#, Python, Ruby, Perl, PHP, Kotlin and JavaScript. 
• Selenium uses fewer hardware resources. 

Cons:

• Selenium cannot be used to test desktop-based applications. 
• Selenium provides less support for image testing. 
• Selenium doesn’t have a built-in reporting facility. 
• Since it is open-source software, nobody provides reliable support. 
• Selenium does not provide any built-in IDE for script generation, it needs other IDE like Eclipse for writing scripts. 

Appium

Dan Cuellar originally developed Appium in 2011. It is a mobile automation testing framework that supports native, hybrid, web application and cross-platform testing. It allows testing on physical devices, emulators and simulators

Pros:

• Appium supports both Android and iOS. It translates all selenium commands into XCUITest (iOS) if the MAC OS version exceeds iOS 9.3 or UIAutomator (Android), depending on the device type. 
•  Appium supports scripting languages such as Java, Objective-C, JavaScript with node.js, PHP, Ruby, Python, C#, etc. 
• It supports Android and IOS Native apps, Mobile Web, and Hybrid applications. 
• Community support is available. 
• Appium supports both physical devices and Simulator/Emulator testing. 

Cons:

• Some of the gesture supports are not available 
• Appium does not support the android version lower than 4.2. 
• Appium does not support image comparison. 

Robotium 

Robotium was introduced and developed by Renas Reda. It is an Android test automation framework which provides full support for native and hybrid applications. Test scripts are written using Java. It can be used to write functional, system and user acceptance test cases. 

Pros: 

• It has a simple API, so less time is required to write test cases.  
• It can be easily integrated with Maven and ANT. 
• It allows us to take screenshots during test execution and save them in internal memory. 
• Robotium recorder allows the tester to generate a test case quickly. 

Cons: 

• Robotium can’t test flash components. 
• Tied to one app process. 

Robot framework 

The Robot framework was introduced and developed by Pekka Klarck. It is a generic automation testing framework for acceptance testing and test-driven development. It follows a keyword-driven approach. 

Pros: 

• Robot framework is an application and operating system independent.  
• Robot framework test cases can be written using the natural language itself. A test report gets generated once the execution is complete. Reports are available in a HTML/XML format. 

Cons: 

• Robot framework doesn’t support parallel execution directly. 

Cucumber 

Cucumber is a testing framework based on Behaviour Driven Development (BDD). It uses a simple grammar defined by a language called “Gherkin” to define application behaviour. This framework is written using Ruby. It writes its test scenarios in Given/When/Then format. This scenario file is called a feature file, which is the entry point for any cucumber tests. 

Pros: 

• Cucumber supports scripting languages like Java, Perl, PHP, Python and DotNet. 
• Cucumber is available as a plugin in eclipse software. 
• Cucumber focuses on end-user experience. 
• Cucumber is a behavior-driven development tool. 

Cons: 

• The Cucumber framework may lead to step definition redundancy if not properly followed, which will lead to unnecessary or repeated lines of code. 

Sikuli

Sikuli was introduced by Raimund Hocke (aka RaiMan) in 2011. It is an automation tool used to test the GUI using the “Visual Image Match” method. It identifies the image using Image Recognition. This tool is preferred when there is no access to the internal source code of the application.   

     Pros: 

• Sikuli allows automating flash objects. 
• Picture recognition using Sikuli is accurate. 
• Sikuli can automate window applications as well as web applications.  

     Cons: 

• Sikuli is not preferred when UI elements are constantly changing. 
• Sikuli scripting is platform-dependent. 
• Sikuli is resolution-dependent, meaning a specific resolution script won’t work for other resolutions. 

Espresso  

Espresso is a testing framework for android to write reliable test cases for mobile application user interfaces. This framework mostly suits white box automation test cases where the test can directly interact with the application under test implementation code. It has major three components. 

• ViewMatchers  
• ViewActions 
• ViewAssertions 

Pros: 

• Easy to use. 
• Expresso gives developers fast feedback on their code changes. 
• The Stability of the expresso tests is very high. 
• Development of espresso test cases is easy. 

Cons: 

• It is only for UI testing. 
• It supports only Android UI. 
• You require access to the app’s source code, which needs to be tested with espresso. 

JUnit/NUnit 

JUnit is an open-source testing framework. As its name indicates, this framework is for performing a unit test for a small unit of code. It identifies each test methods using @Test annotation. It provides assertions class for checking expected results. NUnit is open source unit testing framework for .Net applications. It provides services as JUnit provides for the java applications.

Pros: 

• JUnit can be easily integrated with Ant and Maven. 

Cons: 

• JUnit cannot do dependency testing. 
• It is not suitable for larger test suite creations. 

TESTNG 

TestNG is introduced by Cedric Beust. It is an automation testing framework in which NG stands for “Next Generation”. It provides a detailed report which provides information about passed, failed and skipped test case details. This framework is inspired by JUnit framework. This framework is better than JUnit framework. 

Pros: 

• TestNG supports parallel execution.  
• TestNG allows us to create dependent tests, prioritize tests, and group the tests.   
• With the help of @DataProvider annotation, data-driven approach can be achieved through TestNG framework. 
• TestNG generates logs. 
• TestNG produces HTML reports. 

Cons: 

• TestNG supports only Java. 

FlaUI: 

FlaUI is developed as part of the open-source community. It is a framework designed to support almost all types of Windows applications. It is based on native UI Automation libraries from Microsoft and, therefore, a wrapper around them. It is a .NET based open-source library which internally consumes Microsoft’s UI Automation libraries and supports C# programming language for writing test scripts. It can be downloaded from NuGet package manager available in Visual Studio. FLAUI can be easily integrated with unit testing frameworks such as Nunit, Xunit and MSTest. This framework Supports well with BDD framework, spec flow. 

Pros: 

• It is compatible with BDD framework. 
• Allows for using any version of libraries UIA: MSAA, UIA2, or UIA3. 
• Supports Windows 7, 8, and 10 (likely XP too, but we have not checked). 
• Good community: helps solve problems not only in issues but also in chats. 
• It does not require running an external service (unlike WinAppDriver, which requires winappdriver.exe to be running). 
• Faster and more reliable compared to other tools. 
• Reduce efforts of writing xpath through its locator strategy to find specific or all child/descendants. 
• Manages to get window focus on maximum cases when minimized or overlapped. 
• Easy to handle windows/components inside and outside the application through their built-in commands. 

Cons: 

• Debugging specific UI components could be challenging as the application may not come into focus. 
• Application may not withstand the tool’s speed(waits should be used intelligently to control the flow). 
• Few of the grid components won’t be accessible if the developers do not specify a default action. 
• Visual studio 2017 or above versions are required to support properly with the BDD tool (Specflow). 

Playwright: 

Playwright enables reliable end-to-end testing for modern web apps. It is an open-source NodeJS based framework. It was built by the same team which created Puppeteer (Headless Browser Testing Framework for Google Chrome). Though built on the node JS framework, it can also support other programming languages. It supports multiple languages using their native IDE or adding respective extensions in VS code. It Supports both TDD and BDD frameworks. Easy to Install and less maintenance required. 

Pros: 

• Open source and free of cost. 
• Has inbuilt test framework (@playwright/test). 
• Supports multiple languages such as JavaScript, Java, Python, and .NET C#. 

• Supports multiple OS such as Windows, Linux, and Mac OS. 
• It can be integrated with major CI/CD servers such as Jenkins, CircleCI, Azure Pipeline, Dockers, TravisCI, etc. 
• It provides wider coverage for cross-browser testing by supporting Chrome, Firefox, and WebKit. 
• Supports parallel testing. 
• Supports API testing by getting access to the REST API of the application. 

• Supports android web testing. 
• Supports both headless and headful modes. 
• Playwright automatic waits help to eliminate flaky tests. 
• Playwright assertions are created specifically for the dynamic web. 
• Wide coverage, accuracy, and high speed. 

Cons: 

• Iteration of web elements is not straightforward (as it is strictly based on index, foreach can’t be used). 
• Does not support real android  devices but supports emulators for mobile testing. 
• Since Playwright is new, the community’s support is limited compared to Selenium. 
• Running a test in multiple threads (parallel execution) might cause the app to freeze. 

• Multiple locator strategies might confuse the beginners on choosing the right one. 

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The first stage of test automation services is filled with some best old-fashioned testing tools such as WinRunner, Silk Test, and QTP. These testing tools started it all and set a stage for next level of testing automation innovations like Selenium.

The Second Stage of Selenium

Selenium began the second stage of test automation, focused more on developers and programming best practices when creating automated tests.

But, even then flaky tests and maintenance were driving the testers crazy.

The current buzz all around is Ai and Machine Learning. Companies are rushing to create tools they can pitch as “Ai-driven.”

In fact, at a recent Google conference CEO Sundar Pichai stated that

“We’re moving from a mobile-first to an Ai-first world.”

Below are seven Ai-based test automation tools that will take us to the next stage of test automation, the Third Ai Stage.

(Also, check out the Automation Webinar on Ai in test automation)

The Third Stage of Ai in Test Automation

One of the main features of these tools is that these tools are leveraging machine learning and AI-assisted technology.

• Applitools
• SauceLabs
• Testim
• Sealights
• AI
• Mabl
• ReTest

Applitools

Applitools is one of the first tools in the third stage that made testers start believing that a new way of testing is possible.

The tool uses visual validation testing, and a sophisticated algorithm to find out potential bugs in the application without explicitly calling out all the elements.

One best part about this tool is that no additional visual processing settings, percentages or configurations are required to set up to create visual testing with Applitools.

The algorithm is completely adaptive, and can take the technology as Ai and machine learning advances even further.

The recent version of Applitools, with some cool features adding on top of their existing machine-learning technology.

Possible Features for Ai Testing

• Leveraging ML/Ai-based for automated maintenance being able to group together similar changes from different pages/browsers/devices
• Modify the comparison algorithms according to meaningful changes
• Automatically understand the changes which are more likely to be bugs vs. desired changes and prioritize differences

Read more about Software Testing Services

Sauce Labs

Sauce Labs is one of the first players in the cloud-based test automation techniques, but with all the data they currently have access to the tool is in a great position to leverage machine learning and come up with some great insights.

Sauce Labs is running over a million and a half tests a day; they have a virtual treasure of data that can be used to help their customers become better testers.

Testim

Testim leverages machine learning to speed up the authorization, execution and most importantly the maintenance of automated tests.

Testim focuses on reducing flaky tests and test maintenance, which is seen as one of the most significant challenges for most organizations.

Oren Rubin, co-founder of Testim, mentioned in a recent TestTalks interview that the firm’s main goal is to help liberate test automation from the exclusive realm of developers and make it simple enough for anyone on the team to create.

Sealights

Sealights is a Cloud-based platform. Everyone knows that developers and QA team –are busy these days using Continuous Integration and Continuous Development practices. They have frequent releases and will not have enough time to test the entire application multiple times.

That’s one of the main reasons Sealights was created.

With the machine learning-like technology, it analyzes both code and the tests that run against it, it lets the QA team know exactly what the tests are covering and what they’re not.

But when Sealights says “tests,” they don’t only mean unit tests; they mean any kind of test, from functional, manual, performance, you name it.

“Quality Risks” is even a more exciting insight that the tool provides, as it focuses the user’s efforts on the things that matter, by letting them know exactly which files/methods/lines have changed in the last build that wasn’t tested by a specific test type (or any test type).

It can easily ensure that untested code will not reach production before undergoing, at the very least, a minimal validation.

As we move toward CI/CD, dash boarding becomes critical.

If you’re like most companies, everything today is within your CI/CD, but often this data is not visible or accessible for consumption by your teams.

Sealights makes it easy to create a quality dashboard that everyone will see. So for every build, the QA team will be able to understand –

• What was tested?
• What is the status and coverage?
• Is the testing process improving?

Test.AI

Test.AI is billed as a tool that will add an Ai brain to Selenium and Appium. It was created by Jason Arbon, co-author of How Google Tests Software and the founder of appdiff.

Tests are defined in a simple format similar to the BDD syntax of Cucumber, so it requires no code and no need to mess with element identifiers.

The Ai identifies screens & elements dynamically for any app and automatically drives the application to execute test cases.

The tool is smart enough to know that if an element ever changes, it can adjust and identify manual changes are required. This tool is still in beta.

Mabl

Mabl is similar to Test.AI.

Mabl started by a bunch of ex-Google employees to run functional tests against the apps or website.

In Mabl terminology, the tests are trained to interact with the applications. After recording, the trained tests will run at a predetermined amount of time and alert you.

The major advantages of the tool:

• Eliminates flaky tests–like the other Ai-based test automation tools
• Can automatically detect whether elements of the application have changed
• Dynamically updates the tests to compensate for those changes.
• Mabl can continuously compare test results to test history to quickly detect changes and regressions, resulting in more stable releases.
• Mabl helps identify and surface problems quickly, alerting you to possible impacts before they impact your customers.

ReTest

The tool uses Ai to automatically test the application.

ReTest claims to be different from other test automation tools because it was built specifically for testers.

It also stems from an artificial intelligence research project, so it tries to bake that Ai intelligence into their tool, effectively eliminating the need for their users to possess any programming skills.

Finding

Clearly, Ai/Machine Learning is the latest buzz word currently being used in the testing/ test automation industry. But is it real, or just hype?

Only time will decide if the third stage will finally fulfill the promise of reliable, easy-to-maintain test automation for all.

Let me know what your experience has been with these or any other tools you consider to be part of Ai in test automation.

Source URL: https://www.joecolantonio.com/2017/11/07/7-innovative-ai-test-automation-tools-future-third-wave/

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