Why Framework is used for Selenium Testing

What is Selenium?

Selenium is an open source based automated testing tool for testing the web applications throughout varied platforms and browsers. Similar to the HP Quick Test Pro, Selenium appears different in just one point that it only focuses on the automating the applications based on the web and the tests performed using the Selenium tool is called as Selenium Testing

Selenium mainly has four parts-

• Selenium Remote Control (RC)
• Selenium Integrated Development Environment (IDE)
• Selenium Grid
• WebDriver

What are Frameworks?

A test automation framework is basically a well integrated set of tools, technologies, processes and a pattern that inculcates the thought and clarity of a job for making the team perform the Automation part effectively and efficiently. Frameworks help in determining the stage setting, contextual approach, choosing the right programming language, creating the design patterns and processing the related models for an automated test operation. The job of a framework is to model the behavior and the application state of any test performed.

Why is a framework needed for Selenium Testing?

Frameworks are well needed aspects to perform Selenium testing. When it comes to performing the test operations, you need to essentially use a framework and thus, they are very important in the following ways-

1. Maintenance

Frameworks ensure the maintenance of the scripts optimality by featuring files, taking control over the step definitions, making use of the data and page objects and creating a strategically diagnosis, audit and version control during the various source code implementation and testing process.

2. Re-usability

Frameworks help in specific artifacts by helping re-use the various test components/functions doing the test forms across varied platforms.

3. Scalability

Frameworks help diagnose the scale of the acceptance tests and thus amplify the feedback loop for the verification and validation of the software to be released as per the specific deadlines along with exception handling and dependency control on any of the infrastructural elements.

4. Configurability

Frameworks help with the environmental configuration process of the test automation process that makes the logging and debugging process easier.

5. Auditability

Frameworks help in keeping the track of the work progress and the work done. Working on the concept of maintaining the System of records, it offers a roll up metrics for keeping a record of the QS dashboards or other required management metrics.

Types of Framework to Select

There are various types of frameworks that suit the different test operations. Under the below mentioned variety of popular framework patterns, one can pick the right type of framework to be paired with the Test Automation space from the following heads-

• Keyword Driven

Frameworks are keyword driven and you can select such frameworks for putting down the complexity involved in writing of repeated codes. Keywords are similar to the APIs that serves your application when they are called, during the compilation process. Keyword driven frameworks can be used in Ruby for defining the modules and strategically mixing them at the strategic places. Keywords/modules based frameworks are mostly complicated on the basis of the data structures and different layers during the test automation framework

• Data Driven

 If you are looking for a data based less in-depth page based testing process, data driven frameworks are good to go in such cases. It gives a simpler and easier data-driven way to handle the test process with excellence. Here each test case is implemented and executed taking in account every data-set. It also operates well with the heavier data compilation jobs including higher data expressions as compared to XML, YML or any other data exchange formats. In short, it is a framework to be implemented with data driven automated test operations.

• Page Object

 This is one of the most popular framework patterns being used these days for performing Test Automation Frameworks. In case you need a web based application with numerous pages and its network of pages interacting with each other, these frameworks can be a good choice. Also in case of frequently changing page natures, page object frameworks can be of great help and most favorable to be used. Page-objects are also called as classes and are specially defined for every page, containing the HTML information locator and the related methods to operate on these page elements. If you are bothered about the Web page modeling into a page-object, page object frameworks are the best frameworks to take into account. Every framework has its own advantage and so does this one.

Mentioned below is the advantage of this framework pattern to be used from the decision taking point of view:

1. A single change in any of the elements of the page gets automatically reflected across the entire script and one doesn’t have top individually change the modifications in the entire page.
2. Page object provides the ability for keywords definition and helps in defining the methods inside the page and its elements
3. It helps in defining the navigational logic across the pages, as well for creating and making the links between the different pages

• Hybrid

 A Hybrid framework is a modeled automation outlook that involves the various knick knacks of the above mentioned three frameworks as described. Involving the different essential attributes of the above mentioned framework types, this one the most suitable for complex testing operations. It has the ability of page objects, keyword driven operations and data driven operations too. Thus, it can be used as a cross platform testing operations for higher level of efficient tests.

Thus, a framework forms an essential requisite for performing automated test operations using Selenium. The only thing that matters is to choose the right type of framework based on the type of test to be performed on the required set of data, page or multiple pages. The right framework chosen will not just help with the desirable results obtainment but also with perfuming the most efficient and effective test operations in automated form. Interested to learn Advanced Selenium Training by Real Time Working Trainer. Join A Demo