This document provides an introduction to test automation, including different scripting approaches like record and playback, linear scripting, modular scripting, data-driven testing, and keyword-driven testing. It discusses the benefits and problems of record and playback as well as examples of linear scripting, data-driven testing, and keyword-driven testing. Finally, it recommends generic skills to learn like scripting languages and tools for automation testing like Selenium, JMeter, and QTP.

1. An introduction
to Test
Automation
Denys Zaiats

2. Type of testing
• Desktop application
• Web-application
• Web-services
• Data Base

3. Different scripting
approaches
• Record and playback
• Linear scripting
• Modular scripting
• Data-driven testing
• Keyword-driven testing

4. Record and playback
• Capture interaction with
system and replay it
• Popular approach among
commercial tools

5. Record and playback:
Benefits
• Very easy and fast to create
initially
• No programming skills needed

6. Record and playback:
Problems
• Does not test anything unless checkpoints added
• Very fragile
1. Often single change in UI can break all tests
• Hard to maintain
1. Plenty of separate test scripts
2. No modularity or reuse
• System must be ready before automation can start
1. Does not support acceptance test driven
development (ATDD)

7. Linear scripting
• Non-structured scripts interact
directly with the system under test
(SUT)
• Can use any programming
language
• Also produced by capture and
replay tools

8. Linear scripting: Example
import unittest
from selenium import webdriver
class Login(unittest.TestCase):
def setUp(self):
self.driver = webdriver.Firefox()
def tearDown(self):
self.driver.quit()
def test_login(self):
driver = self.driver
driver.get('http://testurl')
username = driver.find_element_by_name('user_id')
submit_button = driver.
find_element_by_xpath(“//a*contains(@class,’a1’)+”)
username.send_keys('admin')
submit_button.click()

9. Linear scripting: Benefits
• Fast to create initially
• Flexible
• Can use common scripting
languages
• No license costs

10. Data-driven testing
• Test data taken out of test scripts
• Customarily presented in tabular
format
• One driver script can execute
multiple similar tests
• New driver script still needed for
different kinds of tests

11. Data-driven testing:
Example
Test Case Number 1 Operation Number 2 Expected
TC1 1 + 3 4
TC2 2 * 4 8

12. Keyword-driven testing
• Not only test data but also
directives (keywords) telling
how to use the data taken out
of the test scripts
• Keywords and the test data
associated with them drive test
execution

13. Keyword-driven testing:
Example
Action Selector Data
insertText #example_id Test_Text

14. Generic skills to learn
• Scripting languages (Python, Java,
C#, Javascript, ... )
• Regular expressions
• XPath and CSS selectors
• SQL
• Using version control

15. Tools for automation
testing
• Selenium (IDE, driver) – Web application
• Apache Jmeter (Performance, Load testing) – Web
services
• Test complete – Desktop + Web
• QTP – Desktop + Web
• Silk Test – Desktop + Web
• AutoIT – Desktop (Windows)
• White – Desktop (Windows)
• Automator – (Mac OS)
• Silkuli – cross-platform