Introduction to Test Automation Frameworks
The applications being developed in the contemporary period are supposed to be very accurate and efficient. Application is not just limited to perform the basic functions for which it was developed. In addition to the functions, it is expected to be powerful in several aspects like it has to be fault-tolerant, it should handle significant data, it should be having good user interface, it should protect the users from processing wrong or incorrect data and so on. To achieve all of these features, it has to go through some kind of quality assurance check where the developer or tester check if the application is working well even in an unusual situation. In this article, we will discuss the Test Automation Frameworks in detail.
The tests that application has to go through before being deployed in the real work environment includes several different checks that it must have to pass. The checks actually comprise of the test cases and as the number of test cases is pretty high to run an efficient check for the application, it takes a lot of time while doing the manual check. And that is the point where the need for a test automation framework was felt. The automation test just makes things happen on its own once the proper command has been given to the system. In simple terms, the automation test picks up every test case given by the developer and tries to check the application using that to make sure that the system can work well in uncommon situations as well.
Definition
Test Automation Frameworks may be defined as the set of rules or process that helps us to automate the working with test cases in order to make sure the well functioning of the application.
Test Automation Frameworks
- There are lots of frameworks available in the market to facilitate automation. Selenium, Watir, RobotFramework, Cucumber, Carina are some of the test automation frameworks that have been used very frequently for testing purposes.
- Based on the application and testing requirements, one can choose any among the above-mentioned testing frameworks. They make the testing work very easy by replacing the mechanism of manual testing by that of automation testing.
- The test automation frameworks have the inbuilt functionality pre-defined that could be leveraged while developing the solution to convert the manual process of testing to the automated one.
- It does nothing but just makes all the works happen automatically that a person or tester has to do manually. For illustration, suppose one has to put some string in the input box and then have to press the submit button.
- There will be two scenarios, in this case, either one can put the data manually in the input box and then hit enter or they can use the test automation frameworks which will fill the data and automatically and will hit on submit button as well and it is the way the automation frameworks helps us.
Types of Test Automation Frameworks
There are four common types of test automation frameworks.
1. Linear Scripting Framework
It is the type of test automation framework which is applicable in the small application. Its functioning includes recording and then playing off the action in order to automate the testing. It is kind of very basic when it comes to the automation framework and works perfectly with the small-sized application.
2. Modular Testing Framework
It is the kind of automation framework where things are developed in the modules that can then integrated eventually to complete the testing. Each module has been provided some particular functionality which is different in every module. They perform only their tasks and leave the rest to the other modules. The result produced by all of the modules is observed collectively in order to get into any decision based on the testing.
3. Data-Driven Testing Framework
It is another important type of testing automation framework which is mainly focused on the data and the logic behind the script. In this framework, the testing is done by separating the script logic with the data. The testing done using this framework is very efficient and can be done to meet the particular requirements. There will be lots of things that fall under this framework that makes testing more and more efficient.
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4. Hybrid Testing Framework
The hybrid testing framework can be defined as the framework that can be considered as the juice of the other frameworks. It combines the advantages of the other frameworks in order to improve the efficiency of automation testing. It integrates the way the testing has to be done using any of the least frameworks and that is why it is called a hybrid testing framework. It is the best approach used in order to automate the testing as the output of after performing the test using this framework is very accurate.
Conclusion
All the test automation framework that we talked about earlier are the only way to introduce automation in testing. They help us to a very large extent in order to shift the manual testing process to the automation testing. It is the best way to mitigate the time taken to complete the testing when there are significant test cases available to check the quality of the application. In addition, to the quality it makes sure that the application is amply capable of working in uncommon situations as well. In order to learn to work with the automation framework, you will be supposed to have an understanding of Java or other programming languages as they are totally depended on it.
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