Teste automation

CHAPTER 1
TEST AUTOMATION FRAMEWORK

This section gives the introduction about test automation framework, various types of the framework and the analysis of the best suitable framework for the application under test (the application under test is referred as AUT). This also includes the detailed description of the format of the input (the input to the framework is referred as the test tables) that is given to our test automation framework.

1.1 RECORD/PLAYBACK MYTH
The test automation tool vendors market their product as the main feature of the tool is the ability to capture the user actions and later to playback them. Here is the basic paradigm for GUI-based automated regression testing – the so called Record/Playback method (also called as Capture/Replay approach)

1. Design a test case in the test management tool.

2. Using the capture feature of the automation testing tool record the user actions. The result is a macro-like script where each user action is presented.

3. Enhance the recorded script with verification points, where some property or data is verified against an existing baseline. Add delay and wait states points where the different actions are synchronized.

4. Playback the scripts and observe the results in the log of the test management tool.

The basic drawback in this method is the scripts resulting from this method contain hard-coded values which must change if anything at all changes in our AUT. The costs associated with maintaining such scripts are astronomical, and unacceptable. These scripts are not reliable, even if the application has not changed, and often fail on replay (pop-up windows, messages, and other things can happen that did not happen when the test was recorded).
If the tester makes an error entering data, etc., the test must be re-recorded. If the application changes the test must be re-recorded. All that is being tested are things that already work. Areas that have errors are encountered in the recording