Source: einfochips.com

Introduction

A test automation framework is a set of best practices, standard tools, and libraries that help quality-assurance testers assess the functionality, security, usability, and accessibility of multiple web and mobile applications.

You don’t need to build a test framework that’s unique to your dev environment. In most cases, you’d do better to consider one or more of the open-source options available. This article will discuss why you need to look out for open-source test automation frameworks and list the top 10 frameworks. 

Why choose open source test-automation frameworks

Although development teams could build elaborate automated testing frameworks, there’s usually little reason to spend the money, resources, and person-hours to do so when they can achieve equal or even better results with existing open-source tools, libraries, and testing frameworks. Other reasons to use open-source test-automation frameworks include;

• Their reusability
• They are easy to maintain
• They need minimum manual intervention
• They are stable in a volatile environment
• Their scalability

 

How do you select a test automation framework?

What to look for in a test automation framework;

Ease of script development

To support agile processes and short iterations.

Cross-team compatibility

A test framework must be compatible across roles and request inputs from the development side and QA testers.

Support for multiple languages

A framework should include language support for different app platforms.

Support for the latest platform capabilities

An open-source testing framework should be updated regularly and remain compatible with the latest operating system features to avoid framework gaps around testing.

 

What are the top 10 open source test-automation frameworks?

The top open-source test-automation frameworks include;

 

1. RobotFramework

Robot Framework is a mature solution for software developers and QA testers. Robot framework’s main feature is its keyword-driven approach to creating easy-to-read and write tests. RobotFramework main features are;

• It allows rich integration of APIs, generic text libraries, and tools
• Integrates with Jython (Java) and IronPython (.NET), despite being Python-based
• Tests numerous things, including websites, FTP, MongoDB, Android, Apium, and more
• It supports tabular data syntax

 

2. Apache JMeter

Apache JMeter is explicitly designed for load testing and can test performance on static and dynamic resources and dynamic web applications. Apache JMeter simulates a heavy load on a server (group of servers), network, or object to test its strength or analyze and measure overall performance under different load types.

3. Robotium

Robotium is a test automation framework that is made to simplify writing powerful and solid automatic black-box UI tests for Android. With the help of Robotium, developers can write function, system, and user acceptance test scenarios covering numerous Android activities. Some of its advantages are;

• Faster test case execution
• Tests both native and hybrid Android apps
• Handles multiple Android activities automatically
• It requires minimal time needed to write solid test cases
• Robotium can be used both for testing applications with the source code available and applications with unknown implementation details
• It requires minimal knowledge of the application under test

 

4. Gauge

Gauge is lightweight and cross-platform. It is built on a plugin architecture to be used with any language, IDE, and ecosystem. It offers an easy setup – you can get a framework up and running with a single command. It executes automation texts in simple language syntax.

5. Appium

Appium is an open-source test-automation framework that is based on a WebDriver protocol for testing mobile applications. It is built around uniformity, thus allowing you to write tests for different platforms using the same APIs.

6. Watir

Watir is a web automation testing tool based on a family of Ruby libraries. It is easy to read and maintain, mimics a user’s behavior interacting with a website, and supports cross-browser testing.

7. Cucumber

Cucumber is a Behavior Driven Development (BDD) tool used to write acceptance tests for web applications. It was initially implemented in Ruby but extended to the Java framework. It focuses on the end-user experience. It allows reusing code in the tests and supports multiple languages, including; Python, Perl, PHP, .NET, Groovy, and Scala.

                                                                                       

8. Google EarlGrey

EarlGrey 2.0 is a native iOS UI automation test framework with a flexible design, works in conjunction with the XCTest framework. It integrates with Xcode’s Test Navigator to run tests directly from Xcode or the command line. It features built-in synchronization with the UI, network requests, animations, queues and ensures that the UI is steady before any actions are performed.

9. Carina

Carina is a Java-based test automation framework that is built on top of the most popular open-source solutions (Selenium, Appium, TestNG), which reduces dependence on a specific technology stack. It unites all testing layers: mobile applications (web, native, hybrid), WEB applications, REST services, databases, and supports all popular browsers and mobile platforms.

10. Selenium

Selenium is one of the most popular open-source test automation frameworks for web applications. It provides a playback tool (Selenium IDE) for test authoring without learning a specific scripting language. It is flexible and easy to maintain and supports a wide range of languages such as C#, Java, Python, PHP, and Ruby. 

Summary

Be sure to check for an existing open-source test framework that you can leverage before creating your own framework. This article features a small sampling of the top open-source test automation frameworks out there. The list stands out based on the frameworks’ ease of script development, cross-team compatibility, and support for multiple languages.