Future of Automation Testing Tools
What is Test Automation?
In the context of testing software, automated testing means when you use specific software and code snippets purposely written to test other software by comparing predicted outcomes against actual outcomes before it reaches the production stage. Once an automated test is created it can be run countless times and it’s significantly faster than manual testing.
There are 2 main types of tests that are done in test automation; Functional testing in which the real-world business requirements of an app is being tested, and Non-functional testing in which remaining requirements like security performance are being tested.
Prerequisites for test Automation
Before a tester starts working with automated testing, they should first perfect manual testing. They should have domain knowledge and details about the critical areas of the application. If they seek to work with non-codeless automation tools, they need to have a basic knowledge of the programming languages used in the project.
Automation test frameworks
After the type of testing is decided, an automation test framework is chosen to standardize and organize the testing process. Let’s take a look at what some of those frameworks are.
Linear framework
The simplest testing framework. Scripts are written and run for every test case.
Modular framework
Test cases are organized into small units called modules, and then modules of a given scenario are being run and tested by a “master script”
Library architecture framework
This is an improved version of the modular framework. Instead of breaking up test cases, similar tasks within the test script are structured together into functions. These functions are called upon to be tested as needed.
To use these frameworks, various tools are used. Selenium, Ranorex, Katalon, Apache Jmeter, and Cypress are to list a few.
Selenium , a brief introduction
Selenium is an open source testing tool that’s designed to test web applications across multiple web browsers. This allows testers to imitate a real user’s actions and behavior. This can be bind to various popular programming languages like Python, Java, C#, JavaScript, Ruby, and .NET.
Besides the fact that Selenium supports a wide array of languages and operating systems, it is free and incorporated with Agile and DevOps workflows. It also supports mobile testing. Selenium has been in use since its introduction in 2004 and now it’s one of the most used automation testing tools out there.
However, there are some disadvantages of testing with Selenium too. To use Selenium, the tester has to have a basic knowledge of the programming language used in the tested product. It can only be used for web based applications and because it’s open sourced, there’s no tech support available and you have to rely on the community to assist you to overcome an issue.
Katalon Studio
Katalon Studio is built on top of Selenium and it’s designed to create and reuse UI test automation scripts without coding. This provides multi-platform testing abilities and is compatible with all the most used internet browsers. It’s a free tool, but it’s not an open source project.
Katalon Studio is used for API testing, Web testing mobile testing and unlike Selenium, this works on desktop applications as well. This is incorporated with DevOps workflow. This provides an analytics dashboard which shows reports of the conducted tests. It’s well known for its simplicity.
As disadvantages of using Katalon, the community involved in this is relatively small. It’s known to have some performance issues. The only scripting language Katalon Studio supports is ‘Groovy’.
Apache Jmeter
Jmeter is a 100% Java based open source tool. It’s also a free tool and very easy to use. Although Jmeter is a widely used tool, there’s little official support available for this. It can be used to conduct performance testing, functional testing and load testing in Web Applications. However, Jmeter has very limited support for JavaScript so it becomes an issue in modern web app developments.
What is Cypress?
Cypress is a relatively new open source test automation tool that goes head to head with Selenium with its features and advantages. This is an end-to-end testing tool which uses JavaScript to write automated test scripts.
Since it’s usage of JavaScript, Cypress is used more than other testing tools to test web applications. It also uses Node.js as well. Similar to Selenium, it’s compatible with all the leading operating systems and browsers except for Safari. It’s simple to set up, has debugging capabilities and provides faster test execution. This has a large community support behind it as well.
Future of Automated software testing
In the efforts for swift releasing of software, end users have been a key aspect of software testing. However companies have realized that compromising the quality of their products while trying to maintain delivery deadlines is costing them their target customers.
Having a human factor in the testing process significantly slows it down, therefore usage of automated tools, and the integration of Artificial intelligence and machine learning components in software testing is quickly becoming the industrial norm.
Selenium in the future..
According to Google Trends, Selenium has been popular in the Indo-Chinese region because of the sheer number of software developers and testers coming out from that region, we can safely assume that the community support for Selenium is in no danger of getting scarce.
According to communities like LinkedIn and Indeed, a lot of prominent tech companies like HP, Oracle, Facebook and Microsoft are looking for testers with experience with Selenium as well.
Personally, as a quality assurance trainee with enthusiasm for coding and programming, I believe tools such as Selenium are better at giving an opportunity for beginners like me to get a better grip on testing and developing practice.
With all the compatibility that this tool provides and with it being free to use and open source, and with the massive community support that it has behind it, Selenium is ready to take on the challenges the future of automated software testing holds.
Cypress in the future..
Unlike Selenium, Cypress supports only one programming language. But it’s the one that counts. JavaScript is being used by many developers today as their language of choice. Selenium may be the leading automation testing tool out there, but with the growing community behind Cypress it has become a great alternative to Selenium.
This image taken from Google Trends shows the comparison of searches for Selenium and Cypress during the last 3 years. By analyzing it we can determine that Cypress is still in its infant stages and will definitely gain more traction from developers and testers from outside the North American and Australian continents.
