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Data-Driven Testing with Java and Selenium: Improving Test Coverage and Efficiency

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As software development teams strive for faster release cycles, the demand for effective and efficient testing methods has never been greater. While manual testing has benefits, it can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Data-driven testing with Java and Selenium offers a powerful solution to overcome these obstacles.

Software testers can streamline their testing processes and expand their testing coverage with minimal effort by utilizing data-driven testing. This technique empowers testers to replicate a diverse range of real-life scenarios and evaluate software functionality across multiple conditions, guaranteeing that the software is resilient and bug-free.

Read on to explore how Java and Selenium can be used together to implement data-driven testing.

Overview of Data-Driven Testing

Data-driven testing is a software testing methodology that employs data to drive test case execution. The approach entails separating test data and test scripts to enable the streamlined execution of multiple test cases without manual intervention.

Data-driven testing is an approach that involves the creation of reusable test scripts. You can execute these scripts multiple times with varying data sets, which results in extensive test coverage with minimal extra effort. By automating test cases and generating relevant reports, data-driven testing offers a more comprehensive view of the application under test, facilitating developers to identify and rectify issues early in the development cycle.

Here is a brief overview of the advantages of data-driven testing.

  • It allows incorporating multiple sets of data values during regression testing of an app.
  • It separates the executable test script from the test case data.
  • It permits the reusing of actions and functions in new tests.
  • It helps automatically generate test data, proving beneficial in dealing with large volumes of random test data.
  • It leads to the development of extensive code, which is flexible and hassle-free.
  • It assists developers in separating the logic of test scripts from the test data.
  • It helps in executing test cases multiple times, therefore, assisting in reducing test cases and scripts.
  • It ensures that test data is not affected by changes in test scripts.

The data-driven testing with Java and Selenium can be leveraged when you conduct tests on a cloud-based platform like LambdaTest. It is a cloud-based cross-browser testing platform that allows QAs to perform automated testing of web applications on a large farm of desktop and mobile browsers. Its amazing features make it an ideal option for executing data-driven testing with Java and Selenium. Some of those are as follows:

 

  • LambdaTest integrates with Java and Selenium, allowing teams to write and execute data-driven test scripts in their preferred language.

 

  • Enables teams to test their web applications on various desktop and mobile browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge.

 

  • LambdaTest automatically captures screenshots of the web application during testing, making it easy for teams to identify and debug issues.

 

Data-driven Framework in Selenium with Java

Automation testing in Selenium can be executed with various computing languages like C#, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, and Ruby. However, in this tutorial on data-driven testing, we will focus on the most popular combination of automation testing – Selenium with Java.

  • For developers and testers, writing a Selenium automation test with Java can be beneficial in the following ways.
  • As Selenium supports Java, the availability of detailed documentation makes it simpler to write test cases.
  • Programs written in Java are faster than those written in languages like C#, Python, and Ruby.
  • Java has accessibility to multiple operating systems like Mac, Linux, Windows, and UNIX.
  • Java comes with wholesome automation testing frameworks like TestNG and JUnit, among others. With Selenium, Java helps leverage enhanced coding, maintenance, and reporting.

Regarding automation testing, various factors must be considered while selecting the correct programming language. Factors like automation testing frameworks, community support, IDE support, learning curve, simplicity, usability, and the programming language for developing the Application Under Test (AUT) are crucial for developers and testers.

Data-driven testing with Java and Selenium is one of the ideal automation testing frameworks that help realize stepwise and sequential development and testing. A data-driven testing framework is commonly used to drive test cases and suites from external data feeds like Excel sheets (xls, xlsx), CSV files (CSV), and more. In line with data-driven testing principles, a test script connects to the external data source, also known as feed, to derive the necessary operations on the test data.

The test data set is separated from the test implementation using the data-driven testing framework with Java in Selenium. This assists in reducing the overall effort involved in maintaining and updating a test code. Minor alterations in the organizational rules will require changes in the data set under testing with minimal or no changes in the test code.

Selenium with Java is preferred for performing automated cross-browser testing on web applications. Nevertheless, Selenium does not have the support to perform operations like Create, Read, Update, and Delete (CRUD) on external data sources like Excel sheets and CSV files. This limitation is abridged with the use of third-party APIs like Apache POI. The use of third-party APIs assists in accessing and performing relevant operations on external data feeds.

Improving Test Coverage and Efficiency

Using a data-driven automation testing framework with Java and Selenium is in high demand as it improves test coverage and overall efficiency. Let us see how.

  • Recurring usability: As soon as the test scripts are ready, the same test scripts can integrate an infinite number of test inputs available in the test data files. Developers do not need to make any changes to the script. Test scripts will simply read the test data from the file and perform the test case. However, the lines of code increase vastly if the test data is hardcoded in the test scripts. Such coding practices compromise the recurring usability of the program.
  • Improved clarity: There is enhanced clarity in developing and maintaining the test data and test scripts in separate files and folders. As a result, modifications in test scripts can be done effortlessly without referring to the test data and vice-versa.
  • Enhanced maintainability: As test data and test scripts are located separately with no dependency on each other, it becomes easy to meet the required updates in test data or test scripts. While the developer is working on the test scripts, any teammate with knowledge of AUT can update the test data file without altering the test scripts. This makes it easier to maintain and modify.
  • Wider test coverage: Automation test engineers can achieve a wide-ranging test coverage with high-quality test data reflecting the real production data. This aids in attaining better quality and improved stability of the web application. Moreover, this helps reduce the defects in the production environment to a bare minimum, as all the possible data is already tested.
  • Time-saving: Developers can set up the automation testing for a nightly run, eliminating the need for human presence, and the results can be verified in the morning. Therefore, data-driven testing with Java and Selenium makes it possible to save a great amount of time. Furthermore, data-driven automation testing is faster in comparison to manual testing, thanks to the underlying benefits of automation testing.
  • Negligible manual error: It is impossible to avoid man-made errors while entering large data. In data-driven testing, the test data is taken from the files. It is not manually entered into the application. Hence, data-driven testing with Java and Selenium diminishes the probability of manual error to a great extent, resulting in a high-end product.
  • Compact test scripts: The size of the test scripts is reduced considerably and becomes compact because hardcoding of the test data in the script logic is not required in data-driven testing. In addition to this, the same test script can be utilized for a big set of test data.
  • Improved developer skills: Manually entering the test data is repetitive and time-consuming. With data-driven automation testing, developers can use their skill sets for better purposes like exploratory testing.
  • Swift decision-making: Decision-making in data management and eliminating defects becomes swift with the quick automation and speedy execution of broader data sets. Shorter development cycles need prompt decision-making and quick defect handling, ensured by data-driven testing with Java and Selenium.
  • Independent of app development: Data-driven testing framework with Java and Selenium can be developed separately before the application is developed because developers deal with independent test data files, test scripts, and parameterized variables. Data-driven framework development is independent of the actual AUT. The automation process can be made easier during data-driven testing with an automation tool like Testsigma.
  • Requires minimum technical knowledge for creating test data: Test scripts and test data can be separated in data-driven testing with Java and Selenium. The scripting part may require a little technical knowledge. But, creating test data does not require expertise or technical prowess. A tester familiar with the AUT and domain can fill in the test data values in the data file.

Conclusion

Data is the most important thing during data-driven testing with Java and Selenium. Therefore, carefully chosen test data becomes imperative in data-driven testing. Executing the automation scripts on a massive set of test data without the right planning wastes time, energy, and resources.

Data is everything in the current age of software and app development. Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Machine Learning are outcomes of precise data handling. Testing cannot be any different. A vigilant selection of test data is required to cover a larger range of cases in software testing. It ensures the termination of any possible defect during testing, reducing the risk of any possible defect in production.

Incorporating data-driven testing with Java and Selenium allows developers to enhance their test cases for better execution. This saves time, makes testing fun, and creates well-tested and top-notch software.

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