Software Testing Tools Comparison

Posted on

Detailed review and comparison of the top Performance and Load Testing Tools in 2019:

  1. Comparison Of Software Testing Tools
  2. Automated Software Testing Tools

Top 10 Automated Software Testing Tools Here's an overview of the most trending software testing automation tools to help all the software testing folks out there. Load and performance testing software: This is a tool used for measuring and analyzing the performance of the website. Free video to audio converter gold pack key. The performance and the end result can be evaluated by using this tool and any further steps can be taken.

Below is a comprehensive list of the most widely used performance testing tools for measuring web application performance and load stress capacity. These load testing tools will ensure your application performance in peak traffic and under extreme stress conditions.

The list includes open source as well as licensed performance testing tools. But almost all the licensed tools have a free trial version so that you can get a chance to work hands-on before deciding which is the best tool for your needs.

******************

=>>Let us know if you want to suggest a listing here.

******************

What You Will Learn:

  • Top Performance Testing Tools (Latest Rankings)

Top Performance Testing Tools (Latest Rankings)

We have done research for you. Here is the list of the best web application performance tools with the comparison:

  1. WebLOAD
  2. LoadNinja
  3. SmartMeter.io
  4. Tricentis Flood
  5. LoadView
  6. LoadUI NG Pro
  7. Predator
  8. Apache JMeter
  9. LoadRunner
  10. Appvance
  11. NeoLoad
  12. LoadComplete
  13. WAPT
  14. Loadster
  15. LoadImpact
  16. Rational Performance Tester
  17. Testing Anywhere

Here we go!

1. WebLOAD

Enterprise-grade load and performance testing tool for web applications. WebLOAD is the tool of choice for enterprises with heavy user load and complex testing requirements. It allows you to perform load and stress testing on any internet application by generating load from the cloud and on-premises machines. WebLOAD’s strengths are its flexibility and ease of use – enabling you to quickly define the tests you need with features like DOM-based recording/playback, automatic correlation, and JavaScript scripting language.

The tool provides a clear analysis of your web application performance, pinpointing issues and bottlenecks that may stand in the way of achieving your load and response requirements. WebLOAD supports hundreds of technologies – from web protocols to enterprise applications and has built-in integration with Jenkins, Selenium and many other tools to enable continuous load testing for DevOps.

System Requirements: Windows, Linux

Download link:WebLOAD download

******************

2. LoadNinja

LoadNinja by SmartBear allows you to quickly create scriptless sophisticated load tests, reduce testing time by 50%, replace load emulators with real browsers, and get actionable, browser-based metrics, all at ninja speed.

You can easily capture client-side interactions, debug in real time, and identify performance problems immediately. LoadNinja empowers teams to increase their test coverage without sacrificing quality by removing the tedious efforts of dynamic correlation, script translation, and script scrubbing.

With LoadNinja, engineers, testers and product teams can focus more on building apps that scale and less on building load testing scripts.

Features:

  • Scriptless load test creation & playback with InstaPlay recorder
  • Real browser load test execution at scale
  • VU Debugger – debug tests in real time
  • VU Inspector – manage virtual user activity in real time.
  • Hosted on the cloud, no server machine & upkeep required
  • Sophisticated browser-based metrics with analytics and reporting features

=> Click here to get a free LoadNinja trial

******************

3. SmartMeter.io

This load and performance testing tool provide advanced testing functions. With JMeter at its core, it will be instantly familiar to any of its users.

Creating a test in SmartMeter.io is very simple. You can make test scenarios without scripting just by clicking in an embedded browser. There’s also no proxy setup or browser plugin necessary.

It features automatically generated reports with all details about the test and its results. The results contain auto-evaluated acceptance criteria, statistics, graph comparison tool, and trend analysis of multiple test runs.

The tool is also strong in distributed testing, CI integration, and offers unparalleled performance testing support for Vaadin apps.

System Requirements: Windows, Linux, and Mac OS

Download link:SmartMeter.io download

******************

4. Tricentis Flood

Tricentis Flood is a cloud-based, distributed load testing platform that helps teams test how their applications scale with massive load generated from around the world. Flood can generate load using popular open source load testing tools (such as Apache JMeter, Flood Element, Gatling and Chrome) as well as Tricentis Tosca functional testing cases (API and UI).

Flood is easily integrated with CI tools like Jenkins and Bamboo, as well as the most popular APM tools like New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace. Additionally, Flood can be integrated into your own private hosting account with providers like AWS and Azure.

Flood's free trial comes with 5 node hours that can be used to jump-start your load testing. Subscriptions come in flexible options to meet your budget, with different options of testing capacity, features, hosting, and term length.

=> Click here for a free load testing trial

******************

5. LoadView

LoadView is a fully managed, on-demand load testing tool that allows for completely hassle-free load and stress testing. Unlike many other load testing tools, LoadView performs testing in real browsers (not headless phantom browsers), which provides extremely accurate data, closely emulating real users. Only pay for what you use and no contracts required. LoadView is 100% cloud-based, scalable, and can be deployed in minutes.

Comparison Of Software Testing Tools

Advanced Load Testing Features Include: Point and Click Scripting, Global Cloud-Based Infrastructure, Real Browser Testing

Trial Account Link:Load Testing by LoadView here

******************

6. LoadUI NG Pro

Create sophisticated load tests with just a few clicks. LoadUI NG Pro makes it easy to model real-world loads on your API. LoadUI supports REST, SOAP, JMS, MQTT and many other API formats. LoadUI’s easy-to-use graphical interface makes it simple for new users to setup load scenarios, and also provides advanced scripting features for those with more experience.

This tool allows you to spend more time analyzing the results than on configuring and building tests by hand. You can learn even more about your application by making use of LoadUI’s ability to report on server performance data. You can set up local or globally distributed load agents for your load testing scenarios. LoadUI NG Pro easily allows you to reuse your existing functional test cases from SoapUI and SoapUI NG Pro. With just three clicks you can transform your SoapUI NG Protest cases into sophisticated performance tests.

System Requirements: Windows, Linux, and Mac OS

Download link: LoadUI NG Pro download

Automated Software Testing Tools

******************

7. Predator

Open source load testing platform: Predator is the first tool of its kind, an end-to-end solution that manages the entire lifecycle of load testing APIs, from creating and managing existing performance tests to running these tests on a scheduled and on-demand basis, and finally viewing the test results in a highly informative and live, built-in report.

It has a simple, one-click installation, built with support for Kubernetes (helm charts), DC/OS (mesosphere universe), and Docker Engine, making it accessible for anyone and deployable in every machine that supports Docker.

Predator has no limit on the number of virtual users that can run in a test, it supports running distributed load out of the box, enabling an unlimited amount of virtual users that can bombard your servers.

Unlike all other testing tools, Predator has a built-in DSL feature, allowing developers to write functional and non-functional performance tests using their own business logic. Bootstrapped with a user-friendly UI alongside a simple REST API, Predator helps developers simplify the performance testing regime.

System Requirements: It works under every OS with Docker.

Download link:Predator Download
Check documentation Here.

******************

8. Apache JMeter

Open source load testing tool: It is a Java platform application. It is mainly considered as a performance testing tool and it can also be integrated with the test plan. In addition to the load test plan, you can also create a functional test plan. This tool has the capacity to be loaded into a server or network so as to check on its performance and analyze its working under different conditions.

Initially, it was introduced for testing the web applications, but later its scope had widened. It is of great use in testing the functional performance of the resources such as Servlets, Perl Scripts and JAVA objects. Need JVM 1.4 or higher to run.

System Requirements: It works under Unix and Windows OS
Download link:Apache JMeter download

******************

9. Micro Focus LoadRunner

This is a Micro Focus product which can be used as a performance testing tool. This can be bought as a Micro Focus product from its Micro Focus software division. Also, it is very much useful in understanding and determining the performance and outcome of the system when there is an actual load. One of the key attractive features of this testing tool is that it can create and handle thousands of users at the same time.

This tool enables you to gather all the required information with respect to the performance and also based on the infrastructure. The LoadRunner comprises of different tools; namely, Virtual User Generator, Controller, Load Generator and Analysis.

System Requirements: Microsoft Windows and Linux are the favorable OS for this measuring tool.
Download link:LoadRunner download

******************

10. Rational Performance Tester

The Rational performance tester is an automated performance testing tool which can be used for a web application or a server-based application where there is a process of input and output is involved. This tool creates a demo of the original transaction process between the user and the web service. By the end of it, all the statistical information are gathered and they are analyzed to increase efficiency. Any leakage in the website or the server can be identified and rectified immediately with the help of this tool.

This tool can be the best option for building an effective and error-free cloud computing service. This Rational Performance tester was developed by IBM (Rational software division). They have come up with many versions of this automated testing tool.

System Requirement: Microsoft Windows and Linux AIX good enough for this performance testing tool.
Download link:Rational Performance Tester download

******************

11. NeoLoad

Load and performance testing software: This is a tool used for measuring and analyzing the performance of the website. The performance and the end result can be evaluated by using this tool and any further steps can be taken. This helps you in improving and optimizing the performance of your web application. This tool analyzes the performance of the web application by increasing the traffic to the website and the performance under heavy load can be determined.

You can get to know the capacity of the application and a number of users it can handle at the same time. This tool was developed by a French company named Netosys and it was written in JAVA. It is now available in two different languages; English and French.

System Requirements: This tool is compatible with operating systems like Microsoft Windows, Linux, and Solaris.
Download link:NeoLoad download

******************

12. LoadComplete

Easy and affordable performance testing tool. LoadComplete enables you to create and execute realistic load tests for websites and web apps. It automates creating realistic load tests by recording user interactions and simulating these actions with hundreds of virtual users either from your local computers or from the cloud.

LoadComplete helps you check your web server’s performance under a massive load, determine its robustness and estimate its scalability. It also provides detailed metrics and reports that help you to get in-depth insights into infrastructure performance, application behavior, and end-user experience.

System requirements: This tool works on 64-bit operating systems such as Windows XP Professional and Windows 7 or later.

Download link:LoadComplete download

13. WAPT

Performance testing tool for websites and intranet applications: WAPT refers to the Web Application Performance tool. These are the scales or analyzing tools for measuring the performance and output of any web application or web related interfaces. These tools help us to measure the performance of any web services, web applications or for any other web interfaces. With this tool, you have the advantage of testing the web application performances under different environment and different load conditions.

WAPT provides detailed information about the virtual users and its output to its users during the load testing. This is considered to be the best cost-effective tool for analyzing the performance of web services. The WAPT tools can test the web application on its compatibility with the browser and operating system. It is also used for testing the compatibility with the windows application in certain cases.

WAPT System Requirement: Windows OS is required for this testing tool.
Download link:WAPT download

Tools

14. Loadster

Loadster is a desktop based advanced HTTP load testing tool. The web browser can be used to record the scripts which are easy to use and record. Using the GUI you can modify the basic script with dynamic variables to validate the response. With control over network bandwidth, you can simulate a large virtual user base for your application stress tests.

After the test is executed HTML report is generated for analysis. This tool is best to identify the performance bottlenecks in your application.

Loadster System Requirements: Windows 7/Vista/XP
Download link:Loadster download

15. LoadImpact

LoadImpact is a load testing tool which is mainly used in cloud-based services. This also helps in website optimization and improvising the working of any web application. This tool generates traffic to the website by simulating users so as to find the amount of stress and maximum load it can work on. This LoadImpact comprises two main parts; the load testing tool and the page analyzer. The load testing can be divided into three types such as Fixed, Ramp up and Timeout.

The page analyzer works similar to a browser and it gives information regarding the working and statistics of the website. The fame of developing this load testing tool belongs to Gatorhole AB. This is a freemium service which means that it can be acquired for free and is also available for a premium price. But, you have the advantage of many options and features when you buy them for a premium price.

System Requirement: This works well on Windows OS and Linux.
Download link:LoadImpact download

16. Testing Anywhere

Test Anywhere is an automated testing tool which can be employed for testing the performance of any website, web application or any other objects. Many developers and testers make use of this tool to find out the bottlenecks in their web application and rectify them accordingly. It is a powerful tool which can test any application automatically. This testing tool comes along with a built-in editor which allows the users to edit the testing criteria according to their needs.

The testing anywhere tool involves 5 simple steps to create a test. They are object recorder, advanced web recorder, SMART test recorder, Image recognition and Editor with 385+ comments. Originally, this testing software was developed by San Jose based Automation Anywhere Inc. Today, there are more than 25000 users for this product.

System Requirement: This tool is compatible with all versions of Windows OS.
Download link:Testing Anywhere download

17. Appvance

Appvance UTP: The first unified software test automation platform, Appvance UTP eliminates the redundancies created by traditional siloed QA tools that clog DevOps teams. By unifying tests with its advanced write-once methodology, a functional test can be re-used for performance, load, compatibility, app-penetration, synthetic APM and more, thereby increasing velocity and productivity, reducing costs and finally allowing teams to work and collaborate together.

Appvance UTP offers complete integration with Jenkins, Hudson, Rally, Bamboo, and Jira, and also remains compatible with existing tools such as Selenium, JMeter, JUnit, Jython, and others. You can also pass data between application and script types without any code needed.

Trial account link: If you’re interested, you can sign up to “test drive” the product and request a free demo on the website.

18. Apica LoadTest

Enterprise-Grade Application and Website Load Testing

Test the scalability of all your applications, identify performance bottlenecks and deliver remarkable customer experiences that transcend the ever-growing expectations of your end-users.

Apica offers flexible self-service and full-service load testing able to test 2M + concurrent users, through a network of 50+ locations around the world. Test on demand or automate testing throughout development lifecycles. Easily integrated into existing Dev stacks using their partnership integrations and their REST API.

Advanced Features include: AJAX/web services, XML/JSON Data Viewer, API data/Execution

Software

Download link:Apica LoadTest download

19. QEngine (ManageEngine)

QEngine (ManageEngine) is the most common and easy-to-use automated testing tool helping in performance testing and load testing of your web applications. Many developers find it to be the most simple and easy tool to use for finding out any leakage in their web services or websites. The key important feature of this testing tool is its ability to perform remote testing of web services from any geographical location.

Other than that, QEngine (ManageEngine) also offers various other testing options such as functional testing, compatibility testing, stress testing, load testing, and regression testing. This automated testing tool has the capacity to generate and simulate a lot of users so that the performance can be well analyzed during the maximum load. This is free software available for the users online.

System Requirement: This tool works with Microsoft Windows and Linux.
Download link:QEngine download

Few more bonus options:

20. Loadstorm

Cloud load testing for web applications: Loadstorm is the cheapest available performance and load testing tool. Here, you have the option of creating your own test plans, testing criteria and testing scenario. You can generate up to 50000 concurrent users by generating traffic to your website and then carry out the testing. Through this tool, you can bring an end to all the expensive performance testing tools. The cloud infrastructure which is used in this tool enables you to send a huge amount of requests per second.

There are thousands of servers available around the world for this software. They are proudly known as the lowest cloud load testing tool. There is no need for any scripting knowledge for using this tool. You will be provided with many graphs and reports which measure the performance of various metrics such as error rates, average response time and the number of users. This tool is available for free, but the premium account comes with some more added features.

System Requirement: Windows OS.
Download link:Loadstorm download

21. CloudTest

SOASTA CloudTest is a performance testing tool for websites, mobile apps, APIs, and much more. The users or the developers can use the cloud platform as their virtual testing lab. The developers can carry out their performance or load testing in the cloud platform in a cost-effective way through this CloudTest tool. This CloudTest has the capacity to enable a number of users to use the website at the same time. It also increases the traffic of the website to know the actual performance under stress and heavy load.

The credit for developing this software goes to an American Technology company, SOASTA Inc. They provide many services for testing the websites and other web applications and now they also help in testing mobile applications. They are not free services, the price differs according to the number of load injector machines required per hour by you. The trial version with the power of 100 concurrent users is available for free.

The SOASTA CloudTest System Requirement: It runs on Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
Download link:SOASTA CloudTest download

Plus two more:

22. Httperf

Httperf is a high-performance testing tool for measuring and analyzing the performance of any web service and web application. This is mainly used to test the HTTP servers and its performance. The main objective of this testing tool would be to count the number of responses generated from this particular server. This generates the HTTP GET requests from the server which helps in summarizing the overall performance of the server.

Through this tool, you will be able to conclude the rate at which the response is sent from each server and thereby the efficiency can be calculated. The ability to sustain the server overload, support the HTTP/1.1 protocol and compatibility with new workload are the three key features of this performance testing tool. This was originally developed by David Mosberger and many others at HP. This is a Hewlett Packard product.

System Requirement: Windows and Linux.
Download link:Httperf download

23. OpenSTA

Open source HTTP performance test tools: Open STA stands for Open System Testing Architecture. This is a GUI-based performance tool used by application developers for load testing and analyzing. This is believed to be a complex tool among all the other performance testing tools. It has proven its capability in the past and the current toolset is capable of performing the heavy load test and analysis for the scripted HTTP and HTTPS. Here, the testing is carried out by using the recordings and simple scripts.

To carry out the test successfully, results and other statistics are taken through various test runs. These data and results can be later exported to the software for creating reports. This is a free testing tool and it is distributed under GNU GPL and it will remain free forever. This tool was originally developed by Cyrano, which was later taken over by Quotium.

System Requirement: OpenSTA runs only on the Windows operating system.
Download link:OpenSTA download

Conclusion

Hope this comprehensive post with the list of the best Performance and Load testing tools is useful for selecting the best tool for your project.

The smartest way is to try the relevant tools using the trial versions to see how fit it is for your requirements.

=>> Let us know if you want to add a listing here.

Recommended Reading

Software development
Core activities
Paradigms and models
Methodologies and frameworks
Supporting disciplines
Practices
Tools
Standards and Bodies of Knowledge
Glossaries

In software testing, test automation is the use of software separate from the software being tested to control the execution of tests and the comparison of actual outcomes with predicted outcomes.[1] Test automation can automate some repetitive but necessary tasks in a formalized testing process already in place, or perform additional testing that would be difficult to do manually. Test automation is critical for continuous delivery and continuous testing.

There are many approaches to test automation, however below are the general approaches used widely:

  • Graphical user interface testing. A testing framework that generates user interface events such as keystrokes and mouse clicks, and observes the changes that result in the user interface, to validate that the observable behavior of the program is correct.
  • API driven testing. A testing framework that uses a programming interface to the application to validate the behaviour under test. Typically API driven testing bypasses application user interface altogether. It can also be testing public (usually) interfaces to classes, modules or libraries are tested with a variety of input arguments to validate that the results that are returned are correct.

One way to generate test cases automatically is model-based testing through use of a model of the system for test case generation, but research continues into a variety of alternative methodologies for doing so.[citation needed] In some cases, the model-based approach enables non-technical users to create automated business test cases in plain English so that no programming of any kind is needed in order to configure them for multiple operating systems, browsers, and smart devices.[2]

What to automate, when to automate, or even whether one really needs automation are crucial decisions which the testing (or development) team must make.[3] A multi-vocal literature review of 52 practitioner and 26 academic sources found that five main factors to consider in test automation decision are: 1) System Under Test (SUT), 2) the types and numbers of tests, 3) test-tool, 4) human and organizational topics, and 5) cross-cutting factors. The most frequent individual factors identified in the study were: need for regression testing, economic factors, and maturity of SUT.[4]

A growing trend in software development is the use of unit testing frameworks such as the xUnit frameworks (for example, JUnit and NUnit) that allow the execution of unit tests to determine whether various sections of the code are acting as expected under various circumstances. Test cases describe tests that need to be run on the program to verify that the program runs as expected.

Test automation, mostly using unit testing, is a key feature of extreme programming and agile software development, where it is known as test-driven development (TDD) or test-first development. Unit tests can be written to define the functionality before the code is written. However, these unit tests evolve and are extended as coding progresses, issues are discovered and the code is subjected to refactoring.[5] Only when all the tests for all the demanded features pass is the code considered complete. Proponents argue that it produces software that is both more reliable and less costly than code that is tested by manual exploration.[citation needed] It is considered more reliable because the code coverage is better, and because it is run constantly during development rather than once at the end of a waterfall development cycle. The developer discovers defects immediately upon making a change, when it is least expensive to fix. Finally, code refactoring is safer when unit testing is used; transforming the code into a simpler form with less code duplication, but equivalent behavior, is much less likely to introduce new defects when the refactored code is covered by unit tests.

Some software testing tasks (such as extensive low-level interface regression testing) can be laborious and time-consuming to do manually. In addition, a manual approach might not always be effective in finding certain classes of defects. Test automation offers a possibility to perform these types of testing effectively.

Once automated tests have been developed, they can be run quickly and repeatedly. Many times, this can be a cost-effective method for regression testing of software products that have a long maintenance life. Even minor patches over the lifetime of the application can cause existing features to break which were working at an earlier point in time.

Test automation tools can be expensive and are usually employed in combination with manual testing. Test automation can be made cost-effective in the long term, especially when used repeatedly in regression testing. A good candidate for test automation is a test case for common flow of an application, as it is required to be executed (regression testing) every time an enhancement is made in the application. Test automation reduces the effort associated with manual testing. Manual effort is needed to develop and maintain automated checks, as well as reviewing test results.

In automated testing, the test engineer or software quality assurance person must have software coding ability since the test cases are written in the form of source code which when run produce output according to the assertions that are a part of it. Some test automation tools allow for test authoring to be done by keywords instead of coding, which do not require programming.

  • 4Framework approach in automation

API driven testing[edit]

API testing is also being widely used by software testers due to the difficulty of creating and maintaining GUI-based automation testing. It involves directly testing APIs as part of integration testing, to determine if they meet expectations for functionality, reliability, performance, and security.[6] Since APIs lack a GUI, API testing is performed at the message layer.[7] API testing is considered critical when an API serves as the primary interface to application logic since GUI tests can be difficult to maintain with the short release cycles and frequent changes commonly used with agile software development and DevOps.[8][9]

Continuous testing[edit]

Continuous testing is the process of executing automated tests as part of the software delivery pipeline to obtain immediate feedback on the business risks associated with a software release candidate.[10][11] For Continuous Testing, the scope of testing extends from validating bottom-up requirements or user stories to assessing the system requirements associated with overarching business goals.[12]

Graphical User Interface (GUI) testing[edit]

Many test automation tools provide record and playback features that allow users to interactively record user actions and replay them back any number of times, comparing actual results to those expected. The advantage of this approach is that it requires little or no software development. This approach can be applied to any application that has a graphical user interface. However, reliance on these features poses major reliability and maintainability problems. Relabelling a button or moving it to another part of the window may require the test to be re-recorded. Record and playback also often adds irrelevant activities or incorrectly records some activities.[citation needed]

A variation on this type of tool is for testing of web sites. Here, the 'interface' is the web page. However, such a framework utilizes entirely different techniques because it is rendering HTML and listening to DOM Events instead of operating system events. Headless browsers or solutions based on Selenium Web Driver are normally used for this purpose.[13][14][15]

Another variation of this type of test automation tool is for testing mobile applications. This is very useful given the number of different sizes, resolutions, and operating systems used on mobile phones. For this variation, a framework is used in order to instantiate actions on the mobile device and to gather results of the actions.[16][better source needed]

Another variation is script-less test automation that does not use record and playback, but instead builds a model[clarification needed] of the application and then enables the tester to create test cases by simply inserting test parameters and conditions, which requires no scripting skills.

Framework approach in automation[edit]

A test automation framework is an integrated system that sets the rules of automation of a specific product. This system integrates the function libraries, test data sources, object details and various reusable modules. These components act as small building blocks which need to be assembled to represent a business process. The framework provides the basis of test automation and simplifies the automation effort.

The main advantage of a framework of assumptions, concepts and tools that provide support for automated software testing is the low cost for maintenance. If there is change to any test case then only the test case file needs to be updated and the driver Script and startup script will remain the same. Ideally, there is no need to update the scripts in case of changes to the application.

Choosing the right framework/scripting technique helps in maintaining lower costs. The costs associated with test scripting are due to development and maintenance efforts. The approach of scripting used during test automation has effect on costs.

Various framework/scripting techniques are generally used:

  1. Linear (procedural code, possibly generated by tools like those that use record and playback)
  2. Structured (uses control structures - typically ‘if-else’, ‘switch’, ‘for’, ‘while’ conditions/ statements)
  3. Data-driven (data is persisted outside of tests in a database, spreadsheet, or other mechanism)
  4. Hybrid (two or more of the patterns above are used)
  5. Agile automation framework

The Testing framework is responsible for:[17]

  1. defining the format in which to express expectations
  2. creating a mechanism to hook into or drive the application under test
  3. executing the tests
  4. reporting results

Test automation interface[edit]

Test automation interface are platforms that provide a single workspace for incorporating multiple testing tools and frameworks for System/Integration testing of application under test. The goal of Test Automation Interface is to simplify the process of mapping tests to business criteria without coding coming in the way of the process. Test automation interface are expected to improve the efficiency and flexibility of maintaining test scripts.[18]

Test Automation Interface Model

Test Automation Interface consists of the following core modules:

  • Interface Engine
  • Interface Environment
  • Object Repository

Interface engine[edit]

Interface engines are built on top of Interface Environment. Interface engine consists of a parser and a test runner. The parser is present to parse the object files coming from the object repository into the test specific scripting language. The test runner executes the test scripts using a test harness.[18]

Object repository[edit]

Object repositories are a collection of UI/Application object data recorded by the testing tool while exploring the application under test.[18]

Defining boundaries between automation framework and a testing tool[edit]

Tools are specifically designed to target some particular test environment, such as Windows and web automation tools, etc. Tools serve as a driving agent for an automation process. However, an automation framework is not a tool to perform a specific task, but rather infrastructure that provides the solution where different tools can do their job in a unified manner. This provides a common platform for the automation engineer.

There are various types of frameworks. They are categorized on the basis of the automation component they leverage. These are:

  1. Code-driven testing

What to test[edit]

Testing tools can help automate tasks such as product installation, test data creation, GUI interaction, problem detection (consider parsing or polling agents equipped with test oracles), defect logging, etc., without necessarily automating tests in an end-to-end fashion.

One must keep satisfying popular requirements when thinking of test automation:

  • Platform and OS independence
  • Data driven capability (Input Data, Output Data, Metadata)
  • Customization Reporting (DB Data Base Access, Crystal Reports)
  • Easy debugging and logging
  • Version control friendly – minimal binary files
  • Extensible & Customization (Open APIs to be able to integrate with other tools)
  • Common Driver (For example, in the Java development ecosystem, that means Ant or Maven and the popular IDEs). This enables tests to integrate with the developers' workflows.
  • Support unattended test runs for integration with build processes and batch runs. Continuous integration servers require this.
  • Email Notifications like bounce messages
  • Support distributed execution environment (distributed test bed)
  • Distributed application support (distributed SUT)

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Kolawa, Adam; Huizinga, Dorota (2007). Automated Defect Prevention: Best Practices in Software Management. Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press. p. 74. ISBN978-0-470-04212-0.
  2. ^Proceedings from the 5th International Conference on Software Testing and Validation (ICST). Software Competence Center Hagenberg. 'Test Design: Lessons Learned and Practical Implications. doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.2008.4578383. ISBN978-0-7381-5746-7.
  3. ^Brian Marick. 'When Should a Test Be Automated?'. StickyMinds.com. Retrieved 2009-08-20.
  4. ^Garousi, Vahid; Mäntylä, Mika V. (2016-08-01). 'When and what to automate in software testing? A multi-vocal literature review'. Information and Software Technology. 76: 92–117. doi:10.1016/j.infsof.2016.04.015.
  5. ^Learning Test-Driven Development by Counting Lines; Bas Vodde & Lasse Koskela; IEEE Software Vol. 24, Issue 3, 2007
  6. ^Testing APIs protects applications and reputations, by Amy Reichert, SearchSoftwareQuality March 2015
  7. ^All About API Testing: An Interview with Jonathan Cooper, by Cameron Philipp-Edmonds, Stickyminds August 19, 2014
  8. ^The Forrester Wave™ Evaluation Of Functional Test Automation (FTA) Is Out And It's All About Going Beyond GUI Testing, by Diego Lo Giudice, Forrester April 23, 2015
  9. ^Produce Better Software by Using a Layered Testing Strategy, by Sean Kenefick, Gartner January 7, 2014
  10. ^Part of the Pipeline: Why Continuous Testing Is Essential, by Adam Auerbach, TechWell Insights August 2015
  11. ^The Relationship between Risk and Continuous Testing: An Interview with Wayne Ariola, by Cameron Philipp-Edmonds, Stickyminds December 2015
  12. ^DevOps: Are You Pushing Bugs to Clients Faster, by Wayne Ariola and Cynthia Dunlop, PNSQC October 2015
  13. ^Headless Testing with Browsers; https://docs.travis-ci.com/user/gui-and-headless-browsers/
  14. ^Headless Testing with PhantomJS;http://phantomjs.org/headless-testing.html
  15. ^Automated User Interface Testing; https://www.devbridge.com/articles/automated-user-interface-testing/
  16. ^Testmunk. 'A Beginner's Guide to Automated Mobile App Testing Testmunk Blog'. blog.testmunk.com. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
  17. ^'Selenium Meet-Up 4/20/2010 Elisabeth Hendrickson on Robot Framework 1of2'. Retrieved 2010-09-26.
  18. ^ abc'Conquest: Interface for Test Automation Design'(PDF). Retrieved 2011-12-11.
Notes
  • Elfriede Dustin; et al. (1999). Automated Software Testing. Addison Wesley. ISBN978-0-201-43287-9.
  • Elfriede Dustin; et al. (2009). Implementing Automated Software Testing. Addison Wesley. ISBN978-0-321-58051-1.
  • Mark Fewster & Dorothy Graham (1999). Software Test Automation. ACM Press/Addison-Wesley. ISBN978-0-201-33140-0.
  • Roman Savenkov: How to Become a Software Tester. Roman Savenkov Consulting, 2008, ISBN978-0-615-23372-7
  • Hong Zhu; et al. (2008). AST '08: Proceedings of the 3rd International Workshop on Automation of Software Test. ACM Press. ISBN978-1-60558-030-2.
  • Mosley, Daniel J.; Posey, Bruce (2002). Just Enough Software Test Automation. ISBN978-0130084682.
  • Hayes, Linda G., 'Automated Testing Handbook', Software Testing Institute, 2nd Edition, March 2004
  • Kaner, Cem, 'Architectures of Test Automation', August 2000

External links[edit]

  • Test Automation Snake Oil by James Bach
  • When Should a Test Be Automated? by Brian Marick
  • Success Factors for Keyword Driven Testing by Hans Buwalda
  • Automation That Learns: Making Your Computer Work for You by Jeremy Carey-Dressler
  • Automation Testing Resources & Best Practices by Joe Colantonio
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Test_automation&oldid=892858045'