One of the most intriguing questions asked online is “What is selenium in testing?” Selenium is one of the most popular tools for automation testing, particularly for web applications. Selenium application testing provides a robust framework for creating and executing automated tests and supports various programming languages and web browsers.

Automated software testing has played a significant role in the evolution of quality assurance. Before the introduction of powerful tools like Selenium, web application testing was often performed manually, which was time-consuming, error-prone, and not scalable. Automation provided a way to test web and mobile applications, making the process faster, more accurate, and more reliable.

In this article, we shall explore the role, needs, and uses of automated testing, focusing on key frameworks like Selenium and Appium.

Table of Contents:

The Role and Significance of Automated Testing

Tools like Selenium introduced the concept of browser automation, allowing testers to simulate user interactions with web applications and test their functionality and user experience. This approach was more effective than traditional manual testing methods and allowed for more comprehensive and repeatable testing. Moreover, support for multiple programming languages and operating systems made these tools accessible to a wider range of testers and developers.

Before automation, a significant amount of manual effort was required to run each testing cycle. This was especially true for legacy technologies like Flash, which is now outdated. Migrating all applications from an old platform like Flash to a modern one like HTML5 is a time-consuming process. Automated testing for existing applications can free up valuable resources for other critical tasks, even if the automation process itself presents unique challenges.

The core goal is to reduce laborious manual tasks and improve efficiency. By automating repetitive test cases, quality assurance teams can focus on more complex, exploratory testing and ensure a higher-quality product is delivered to market faster.

What Does Selenium Testing Include

What Does Selenium Testing Include?

Selenium Testing is a widely adopted open-source framework used for automating web browsers and conducting efficient web application testing. It encompasses a range of features and functionalities to facilitate effective testing. Let’s explore the key components and aspects related to Selenium Testing:

1. Continuous Integration with Jenkins

The integration of Selenium Testing with continuous integration (CI) tools like Jenkins is crucial for achieving a streamlined and automated testing process. Jenkins enables the automation of Selenium tests within the continuous integration and delivery (CI/CD) pipeline. It facilitates the scheduling of test runs, automatic triggering of tests after code commits, and the generation of reports for test results. This ensures that any regressions or bugs are caught early in the development cycle.

2. Ideal Framework Development

Developing an ideal framework is key to effective Selenium Testing. A well-designed framework provides a structured approach to test automation, promotes code reusability, and simplifies test maintenance. It involves creating a robust test architecture, organizing test cases and data, implementing modularization, and leveraging design patterns. An ideal framework enables scalability, maintainability, and efficient test execution across multiple projects and teams.

3. Customized Reporting Services

Reporting is an essential aspect of Selenium Testing as it provides insights into test results, identifies failures, and facilitates analysis. Customized reporting services help generate comprehensive reports with meaningful information. These reports typically include test execution status, detailed logs, screenshots of failed tests, and performance metrics. Customized reporting enhances visibility into the quality of the application, facilitates effective bug tracking, and aids in data-driven decision-making for development teams and stakeholders.

4. Testing with Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE is a record-and-playback tool for Selenium Automation Testing. It offers a user-friendly interface for creating test scripts without requiring extensive programming knowledge. Selenium IDE allows testers to record their interactions with the web application and generate corresponding test cases. It simplifies test script creation, enabling quick prototyping and initial test development, making it an excellent entry point for teams new to automation.

Overcoming Common Automation Challenges

While Selenium is a powerful tool, it has certain limitations. The main prerequisite for Selenium is that the website must be in HTML format, as it interacts with the Document Object Model (DOM) to find and control elements. This presents a significant challenge when testing applications built with other technologies.

For example, Selenium does not natively detect or access Flash-based objects. At Hurix Digital, we encountered this when trying to automate testing for our Kitaboo eBook creation platform, which was historically supported by Flash. This made it seemingly impossible to use Selenium for automation on that platform.

Furthermore, Selenium does not have built-in support for modern JavaScript frameworks like AngularJS. Since the framework of the Kitaboo Reader was composed of both HTML and AngularJS, this created another hurdle. The dynamic nature of AngularJS applications and their custom elements is not always recognized by standard Selenium commands, leading to synchronization issues and flaky tests.

The Hurix Solution and Approach

When the Hurix team initiated the Flash automation process for our flagship product, Kitaboo, we needed an innovative solution. To overcome Selenium’s limitation with Flash, we used Sikuli and integrated it with our existing Selenium framework. Sikuli is an open-source automation tool that uses image recognition to identify and control GUI components. It acted as a medium, allowing Selenium to perform automated testing in a Flash environment.

The advantages of using Sikuli include:

  • Open-source: It is a free tool, making it a cost-effective solution.
  • Automates Flash objects: Sikuli’s core strength is its ability to automate anything that can be seen on the screen, which is perfect for Flash objects that lack standard web elements.
  • Automates Windows applications: Its capabilities extend beyond web browsers.
  • Handles dynamic elements: When you don’t know the ID or name of an element, Sikuli can check for the appearance of an image and interact with it accordingly.

To address the challenge with AngularJS, our dedicated team of experts worked around the code, rewriting methods and classes to enable Selenium to support it. This in-house solution allowed us to automate the AngularJS-based reader without relying on external tools like Protractor.

We also implemented a robust debug process to identify and eliminate errors. We captured error screenshots and merged them with error log descriptions into a single spreadsheet, keeping all error files in one place for easy access. To further enhance debugging, our team started recording script execution to identify the exact reason for failures. This process gave us a better understanding of user activities and enabled us to be prepared with immediate solutions for similar instances in the future.

Expanding Automation to Mobile: An Introduction to Appium

While Selenium dominates web browser automation, a different solution is needed for the world of mobile applications. Test automation has become an essential part of mobile software development, enabling teams to test faster, more frequently, and more consistently. Appium has emerged as a popular choice for this purpose.

What is Appium?

Appium is an open-source test automation framework designed to test mobile applications on both Android and iOS platforms. It is based on the idea that you shouldn’t have to recompile your app or modify it in any way to test it. Appium is built on the WebDriver protocol and uses the Selenium JSON Wire Protocol to interact with the mobile device or emulator. This shared protocol is a key advantage, as it allows testers familiar with Selenium to transition to mobile testing more easily. Appium also supports a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, Ruby, and JavaScript.

Benefits of Appium

Appium offers several significant benefits for mobile test automation:

  1. Improved testing efficiency: Appium enables teams to automate their mobile app testing, drastically reducing the time and effort required compared to manual testing.
  2. Improved test coverage: By accessing device-specific functionalities, Appium allows teams to test an app’s behavior under a wide variety of conditions, which improves overall test coverage.
  3. Faster time-to-market: Appium enables teams to test their mobile applications faster as part of a CI/CD pipeline, reducing the time-to-market for their software products.
  4. Reusability: Appium allows teams to reuse their existing automation scripts across different platforms (iOS and Android) and devices, reducing the time and effort required to create and maintain the test suite.
  5. Cost-effectiveness: As an open-source tool, Appium is a cost-effective solution for teams with limited budgets, removing the barrier of expensive licensing fees.

Use cases for Appium

Appium can be used for a variety of test automation use cases, including:

  1. Functional testing: Appium is ideal for testing the functionality of mobile applications, including user interface testing, user flow validation, and data entry testing.
  2. Performance testing: While not a dedicated performance tool, Appium can be used to gather basic performance data and test the responsiveness of mobile applications under load.
  3. Regression testing: Appium excels at automating regression tests, ensuring that new features and code changes do not negatively affect existing functionality.
  4. Compatibility testing: Appium can be used to test the compatibility of mobile applications across different platforms, OS versions, devices, and screen sizes.

Summing Up

In conclusion, automated testing is a cornerstone of modern software development. Selenium provides a powerful framework for web application testing, encompassing test case creation, execution, result analysis, and reporting. Integration with CI tools like Jenkins enables full automation within the development pipeline, while a well-designed framework ensures scalability and maintainability.

For mobile applications, Appium offers an excellent solution with its range of features, benefits, and use cases. It empowers teams to automate their mobile app testing, improving efficiency, coverage, and time-to-market. With cross-platform support and a consistent testing approach, both Selenium and Appium are indispensable tools for any quality assurance team. By leveraging these components effectively, organizations can conduct efficient and reliable application testing across all digital platforms.

Hurix Digital provides open-source testing services using a certified team of experts to reduce test time and improve quality. This includes a wide range of services such as Selenium automated functional testing, Appium mobile testing, automated regression testing, browser compatibility testing, and automation framework creation using a data-driven approach.

Get in touch with Hurix Digital today