The document outlines automation techniques for testing, emphasizing the importance of reducing step duplication, improving runtime, and ensuring tests do not rely on unrelated actions. It highlights the integration of API methods to streamline tests by eliminating unnecessary UI steps, as well as offers alternatives for applications lacking APIs. Additionally, it discusses the benefits and challenges of proxy integration tests while providing resources for further learning and examples.

1. Helpful Automation
Techniques
REST Your Tests / Proxy Validations / Selenium API

2. Writing a good test!
• Eliminate step duplication.
• Put common steps in your test setup or tear down.
• Never write tests which rely on another test or tests to pass!
• Write just enough steps to get from point A to point B the quickest
way possible to validate your expectation.
• Eliminate steps which have no relation to the final expected result.

3. REST Your Tests
The Good
• Reduced Runtime.
• Reduced Test Steps.
• Limits Test Flakiness.
• Not failing on steps unrelated
to the test expectation.
• Write Less Code.
• Run Tests More Frequently.

4. REST Your Tests
The Bad
• Complicated or Limited API.
• Formatting JSON (Params,
Query Strings).
• Difficulty Integrating REST
Library.

5. Test Example
• Scenario: Validate shared
list notification.
• Case: User B receives list
invite from User A.

6. 100% UI Example* verbose to show all test steps

7. Now lets see it run…

8. What’s wrong with this
example?
• Relies on UI actions unrelated to the test expectation.
• Login x 2
• Logout
• Executes several UI steps to create and share list.
• More steps increase chances of failure.
• Longer runtime.

9. Lets add some API methods
• Created method “api_share_a_list_to_me”.

10. UI + API Example

11. Now lets run it…

12. What did we accomplish?
• Eliminated over 20 UI steps.
• Reduced runtime from 74 to 29 seconds. We can run the
test 2.5 times more now.
• Eliminated steps unrelated to the test expectation.

13. • What is the expectation or goal of the test?
• Where can I eliminate steps without losing test integrity?
• What if my application doesn’t have an API?
• Ask development to create a private test API for you.
• Develop the API yourself.
• Alternatives:
• Make updates via SQL to a database.
• Setup seed data to run prior to test execution. (requires
maintenance)
Ask Yourself

14. Proxy Integration Tests
The Good
• Validate Endpoints.
• Validate JSON body.
• Validate Server Response.
• Shorten runtimes without
full end to end test.

15. • HTTPS can be a pain.
• Requires additional
network setup.
• Cannot proxy everything.
e.g web-socket
connections.
Proxy Integration Tests
The Bad

16. Test Example
• Scenario: Reset Password.
• Case 1: Validate client sends
“POST” request method.
• Case 2: Validate client sends
request to “/password/reset”
endpoint.
• Case 3: Validate request body
{“email”:”hello@seleniumcamp.com"}
• Case 4: Validate a status code
“200” is returned from server.

17. Proxy Example

18. Now lets watch it run…

20. • Validating app settings when no UI response is displayed.
e.g. Push notifications, Reset Password, User Data etc…
• Validating endpoints and server responses during API
development.
• Regression or Integration testing.
Proxy Use Cases

21. The Selenium API
• What to do if you encounter an
issue with your test framework or
library?
• Submit a bug.
• Check chat forums.
• Possibly downgrade!?
• Fix the issue & submit a PR.
• Or… All is not lost!
• Use the Selenium API as a
temporary work around!

22. Getting Started
• We need an HTTP library. HTTParty!
• We need the WebDriver Sever URL. It’s defined in your
CAPS. ChromeDriver it’s defaulted to
http://127.0.0.1:9515.
• We need the WebDriver Session ID e.g. “7018257b-f1db-
4552-a5d5-dbd4b80b0140”. Depending on your bindings,
this can be retrieved in different ways.
• Selenium Wire Protocol:
https://code.google.com/p/selenium/wiki/JsonWireProtocol

23. • We added API requests similar to the existing selenium methods;
find_element, find_elements, .click, .text, and .send_keys.
Lets add some examples

24. Selenium API Example - Mobile

26. Selenium API Example - Web

27. Lets run an example…

29. Information & Tips
• Code Examples: https://github.com/isonic1/selenium_camp
• Getting Started with Appium:
• https://saucelabs.com/resources/appium-bootcamp
• https://docs.saucelabs.com/tutorials/appium/
• https://github.com/appium/ruby_lib
• Helpful Cloud Testing Services:
• Sauce Labs (Web and Mobile Automation Service)
• TestObject (Real Mobile Device Automation Service)
• Travis CI (Continuous Integration Service)

30. Questions?

31. Thank You!
email: justin.ison@gmail.com
twitter: @isonic1