In the modern app market, developers can no longer rely on complete manual test cases. This is because the applications have become so complex that it is impossible to verify the individual performance of the app components. This is one of the primary reasons why automation testing is gaining a lot of popularity in modern times. Whenever we are on the topic of automation testing, Selenium automation testing is one of the most important names in this segment. This is because Selenium has managed to maintain one of the top positions in the automation testing market for over ten years. Moreover, with the help of Selenium, the developers can initiate and execute codeless automation test cases on their web applications. Integrating Selenium with various tools and platforms further improves the dependability of the test cases.
With this article, we’re going to understand the prospect of code-free automation testing with Selenium. We’ll also discuss some of the best tips that will help developers to realize the full potential of this modern application development process. Finally, we’ll discuss the role of various platforms and tools in this process.
Understanding Selenium and the World of Test Automation
To understand the role of Selenium in the modern test automation market, developers must have a clear idea about automation testing. For the general understanding, we can define automation testing as an effort to remove human involvement in the test execution process. For the substitution, the system will use a text file consisting of all the essential parameters and data that will help it to interact with the application like a normal user.
After the interaction, the system will generate a test report showing the application’s usability, user interactivity, and stability. The developers and testers can later study this report to understand whether the application is ready to be released to the open market. It is also possible to make significant changes in this text file to ensure that the final report is customized according to the requirements of the development project.
However, for the initiation of automation testing, the developers must invest a significant amount at the initial stages to integrate multiple platforms, libraries, and tools that play a critical role in the proper execution of automation test cases. We recommend that app developers have a clear idea about the business prospects and available returns on investment to justify this investment.
Selenium is an open-source test suite to execute complex automation test cases on modern web applications. This test suite was initially released in 2004 and has gone through four major updates that have massively improved the usability and simplicity of Selenium. Since it is a test suite, it consists of different tools that play a significant role at different stages of the application testing process. At a certain stage, Selenium was also known as a JavaScriptTestRunner due to its dependability on this well-known programming language. Since its initial introduction, Selenium has maintained one of its top positions in the app market due to its usability and ease of access. Since it’s open source, all the new developers and small companies can access all of its features without worrying about any expenses.
Selenium also has a huge community of tech enthusiasts who are continuously working on improving the testing experience with Selenium and helping new developers whenever they are stuck. Now let us understand briefly the role of all the tools present in the Selenium test suite:
- Selenium WebDriver helps developers not only execute the automation test cases but also ensure that they are routed to the target elements present in the web application. The Seleniumweb driver is often considered a replacement for the Selenium remote controller previously present in the test suite. This is because the Selenium WebDriver can natively interact with all the components of the web application without requiring a dedicated engine.
- SeleniumIDE helps developers to initiate code-free testing with Selenium. This is because, with this tool, the developers can use the record and playback feature to generate test cases based on user interactions. In simple terms, the developers have to use the application like a normal user, and the system will automatically create the test cases based on their interactions.
- SeleniumGrid helps developers to conduct all the essential test cases in a parallel configuration. The major benefit of parallel testing is that it allows the developers to execute all the test cases on multiple device configurations and system requirements simultaneously. It is an essential feature considering that modern apps consist of thousands of different elements.
While we are on the topic of Selenium, we would like to make the developers aware that Selenium can only be used to execute automation testing on web apps. So, when the developers are working with other apps like cross-platform apps, native apps, and hybrid apps, they have to look for an alternative in the market.
Best Tips for Code-Free Selenium Testing
The concept of automation testing is comparatively new to the market, and there is a lot to learn about this. So, for the simplicity of the new developers and ease of access, we have created a list of the major tips that can help developers to use the full potential of code-free Selenium testing. They are as follows:
- The app developers need to choose the correct test automation tool that will help them to utilize the full capabilities of Seleniumcode-free testing. Some of the best alternatives available in the present market include Katalon Studio and TestProject.
- While implementing code-free testing, the developers must properly recordtheir actions on the web application and play it back to verify the app’s performance. It is also essential for app developers to perform this process on multiple scenarios and use cases to improve the real-world dependency of the reports.
- The developers can also drive a visual test editor that will help them use the drag-and-drop feature to initiate and executethe testing process without writing any code.
- While performing code-free testing, the developers should work with test data that can be easily parameterized. The advantage of this process is that the developers can reuse these data in multiple scenarios.
- The developers need to use assertions that can help them to validate the expected results in the testing process.
- The developer should use the page object model to reorganize the test cases and simplify the testing process appropriately.
- The use of test scenarios will help the application developers to group similar test cases and properly store them. It is also essentialto maintain an activity log for the testing process.
- In this process, the application developers can use a test management tool to manage and maintain all the test cases in the code-free Seleniumtesting process.
- Test execution tools will help the developers keep track of the testing process and maintain a record of all the test cases that have been completed.
- Test suits will help the developers to properly manage the test cases by grouping similar files and storing them.
- Parallel execution in this process will help the developers run multiple instances of the testing process simultaneously. It isan essential process as modern apps contain thousands of
- It is a good idea to integrate continuous integration in code free Seleniumtesting system. With the help of continuous integration, it is possible to run the development and testing process side by side and improve the efficiency of the app development life cycle.
Integrating Platforms and Tools with Selenium Automation Testing
As we already mentioned earlier, various tools and platforms help the developers to massively improve the dependability of the test cases while working with Selenium automation testing. Moreover, these platforms provide access to additional features that play a significant role in improving the quality of the application undergoing the development process. For instance, we can consider the example of cloud platforms that provide access to remote servers, which replaces the contemporary practice of having an onsite device test. This is because, with the help of remote servers, developers can achieve similar results executing all the important test cases over the Internet. Moreover, remote servers provide access to legacy devices and remove the geolocation obstacle in the application testing process.
For further improving our knowledge regarding the role of cloud platforms in the execution of modern app test cases, we can bring in LambdaTest as our discussion point:
LambdaTest is a unified intelligent digital experience testing platform that helps developers to verify the performance of web and mobile applications over more than 3000+ browsers and OS combinations. Other than executing the automation test cases from Selenium, it can also execute from well-known frameworks like Playwright and Appium. One of the most important features is that this platform can run the Selenium test cases on more than three thousand modern browsers subsequently. Integrating real devices with existing thousands of simulation software massively increases the accuracy of the test reports.
Conclusion
With this article, we focused on the importance of code-free testing with Selenium in the modern app development market. As automation testing continues to increase its grasp over app development practices, developers need to keep themselves informed about all of these recent additions. Finally, it is also essential to choose the correct tool that can complement the testing requirements of the app developers.
In this segment, development companies have a significant role in spreading the required knowledge and information regarding healthy automation testing practices. Finally, the app developers should try everything in their power to continue expanding their user base by improving the compatibility of the application undergoing the development process.