Automation Tools

Automation tools are broadly classified into three categories as follow:-

1.    Functional Testing Tools

      Eg.QTP, Selenium etc.

2.    Performance Testing Tools

      Eg. LoadRunner, WebLoad etc.

3.    Test Management Tools

      Eg.Quality Centre, Test Director etc.

Nowadays, companies/testers have multiple options to pick licensing or open source automation tools such as Quick Test Professional (QTP), selenium etc., based on their requirement.

 Licensed Tools: -  License is available through single-seat licenses, as well as floating or concurrent licenses and based on the Vendor.

• Seat License: - These are node blocked or machine specific license. They can be installed only on machine for which it is generated.
•  Floating or Concurrent License:-It is server based license. This license can be installed on machine only if the machine is registered on the server. They are session based i.e. applicable only when QTP or any tool is open on machine.

QTP, Win Runner, Test complete, Ranorex, QA Wizard Pro, Silk Test, Silk Performer, QA Test, QA Load, and Rational Robot.

·         Functional Testing Tool -QTP has the feature for storing screenshot of each and every page navigated during the execution. So it can be used as a proof for completion of testing, and also we can refer the screenshots of previous executions if there is any need to refer them. Test report can be automatically written to a customized report page which will ensure accuracy of the report and also it can improve look & feel of the report.

    Open Source Tools:-

• Open source tools are typically created as a collaborative effort in which programmers improve upon the code and share the changes within the community, and are usually available at no charge under a license defined by the open source initiative. The tool can be downloaded at free of cost.
• Open source tools are getting popular because of its integration and interaction, rapid debugging and development with flexibility at low cost by avoiding lock-in to one supplier.
• There are lots of Open Source automation test tools available like Selenium, SOAP UI, Open STA, Robotium, WebDriver, WebInject, Arbiter, Jmeter, Junit, Nunit, etc.
• Among these tools Selenium Functional Testing Tool is considered as a portable software testing framework, and one of the best tools available in the current market for web applications at free of cost.
• The tests can be written as HTML tables or coded in a number of popular programming languages and can be run directly in most modern web browsers. Selenium can be deployed on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh. Selenium is used for UAT (User Acceptance Test).

     Some Web Functional and Regression Test Tools

•      IeUnit :-IeUnit is an open-source simple framework to test logical behaviors of web pages, released under IBM's Common Public License. It helps users to create, organize and execute functional unit tests. Includes a test runner with GUI interface. Implemented in JavaScript for the Windows XP platform with Internet Explorer. 
•      QEngine Web Test Studio :-Web functional test tool from AdventNet. Scripting uses Jython; records using page elements controls symbolically rather than with raw screen coordinate. Secure recording on password fields; data-driven Test wizard to fetch script data from external source; provision to add GUI, Database and File checkpoints and verify database tables, files, page titles and HTML element properties. Supports keyword-driven testing, built-in exception handling and reporting facility. Works with a variety of browsers and OS's. Free and professional versions available.
•      AppPerfect DevSuite :- Suite of testing, tuning, and monitoring products from AppPefect Corp. that includes a web functional testing module. Records browser interaction by element instead of screen co-ordinates. Supports handling dynamic content created by JavaScript; supports ASP, JSP, HTML, cookies, SSL. For Windows and MSIE; integrates with a variety of IDE's. 
•      JStudio SiteWalker : -Test tool from Jarsch Software Studio allows capture/replay recording; fail definitions can be specified for each step of the automated workflow via JavaScript. JavaScript's Document Object Model enables full access to all document elements. Test data from any database or Excel spreadsheet can be mapped to enter values automatically into HTML form controls. HTML-based test result reports can be generated. Shareware for Windows/MSIE. 
•      Test Complete Enterprise
  Automated test tool from AutomatedQA Corp. includes web functional testing capabilities. Works with Internet Explorer. 
•      QEngine :- Test tool from AdventNet enables functional testing of Web sites and Web-based applications. Record and playback capability; automatic recording of any Web browser events and translates into an Python editable scripts. Includes Script Editor, Application Map Editor to view and edit the map object properties. Supports multiple OS's and browsers. 
•       actiWate :- Java-based Web application testing environment from Actimind Inc. Advanced framework for writing test scripts in Java (similar to open-source frameworks like HttpUnit, HtmlUnit etc. but with extended API), and Test Writing Assistant - Web browser plug-in module to assist the test writing process. Freeware. 
•       KUMO Editor :-Toolset from Softmorning LTD for creation and editing of web macros and automated web tests. Includes syntax-coloring editor with intellisense, autocomplete, run-time debugging features. Macro recorder transforms any click to a C# directive. Page objects navigator allows browsing of hierarchy of web objects in a page. Enables creation of scenarios from spreadsheets; and loop, retry on error, robust handling of page modifications. Can export created .DLL and .EXE files to enable running web macros on demand and integration into other software frameworks. Multilingual for Asian, eastern and western European languages. 
•       WebInject:- Open source tool in PERL for automated testing of web applications and services. Can be used to unit test any individual component with an HTTP interface (JSP, ASP, CGI, PHP, servlets, HTML forms, etc.) or it can be used to create a suite of HTTP level functional or regression tests.
•        Site Test Center :-Functional and performance test tool from Alliance Software Engineering. Has an XML-based scripting capability to enable modifying captured scripts or creating new scripts. Utilizes a distributed testing model and consists of three parts: STC Administrator, STC Master and STC Master Service. 
•       jWebUnit :-Open source Java framework that facilitates creation of acceptance tests for web applications. Provides a high-level API for navigating a web application combined with a set of assertions to verify the application's correctness including navigation via links, form entry and submission, validation of table contents, and other typical business web application features. Utilizes HttpUnit behind the scenes. The simple navigation methods and ready-to-use assertions allow for more rapid test creation than using only JUnit and HttpUnit. 
•       SimpleTest :- Open source unit testing framework which aims to be a complete PHP developer test solution. Includes all of the typical functions that would be expected from JUnit and the PHPUnit ports, but also adds mock objects; has some JWebUnit functionality as well. This includes web page navigation, cookie testing and form submission. 
•       WinTask :-Macro recorder from TaskWare, automates repetitive tasks for Web site testing (and standard Windows applications), with its HTML objects recognition. Includes capability to expand scope of macros by editing and adding loops, branching statements, etc. (300+ commands); ensure robustness of scripts with Synchronization commands. Includes a WinTask Scheduler.
•       TestCaseMaker/Runner :-Test case document driven functional test tool for web applications from Agile Web Development. Maker creates test case documents, and Runner executes the test case document; test case documents are always synchronized with the application. Free including source code. 
•       Canoo WebTest :-Free Java Open Source tool for automatic functional testing of web applications. XML-based test script code is editable with user's preferred XML editor; until recording capabilities are added, scripts have to be developed manually. Can group tests into a testsuite that again can be part of a bigger testsuite. Test results are reported in either plain text or XML format for later presentation via XSLT. Standard reporting XSLT stylesheets included, and can be adapted to any reporting style or requirements. 
•       TestSmith :-Functional/Regression test tool from Quality Forge. Includes an Intelligent, HTML/DOM-Aware and Object Mode Recording Engine, and a Data-Driven, Adaptable and Multi-Threaded Playback Engine. Handles Applets, Flash, Active-X controls, animated bitmaps, etc. Controls are recorded as individual objects independent of screen positions or resolution; playback window/size can be different than in capture. Special validation points, such as bitmap or text matching, can be inserted during a recording, but all recorded items are validated and logged 'on the fly'. Fuzzy matching capabilities. Editable scripts can be recorded in SmithSript language or in Java, C++ or C++/MFC. 90-day evaluation copy available. 
•       TestAgent :-Capture/playback tool for user acceptance testing from Strenuus, LLC. Key features besides capture/playback include automatically detecting and capturing standard and custom content errors. Reports information needed to troubleshoot problems. Enables 'Persistent Acceptance Testing' that activates tests each time a web application is used. 
•       MITS.GUI :-Unique test automation tool from Omsphere LLC; has an intelligent state machine engine that makes real-time decisions for navigating through the GUI portion of an application. It can test thousands of test scenarios without use of any scripts. Allows creation of completely new test scenarios without ever having performed that test before, all without changing tool, testware architecture (object names, screen names, etc), or logic associated with the engine. Testers enter test data into a spreadsheet used to populate objects that appear for the particular test scenario defined.
•       Badboy :-Tool from Bradley Software to aid in building and testing dynamic web based applications. Combines sophisticated capture/replay ability with performance testing and regression features. Free for most uses; source code avalable. 
•       SAMIE :-Free tool designed for QA engineers - 'Simple Automated Module For Internet Explorer'. Perl module that allows a user to automate use of IE via Perl scripts; Written in ActivePerl, allowing inheritance of all Perl functionality including regular expressions, Perl dbi database access, many Perl cpan library functions. Uses IE's built in COM object which provides a reference to the DOM for each browser window or frame. Easy development and maintenance - no need to keep track of GUI maps for each window. For Windows. 
•       PAMIE :-Free open-source 'Python Automated Module For Internet Explorer' Allows control of an instance of MSIE and access to it's methods though OLE automation . Utilizes Collections, Methods, Events and Properties exposed by the DHTML Object Model. 
•       PureTest :-Free tool from Minq Software AB, includes an HTTP Recorder and Web Crawler. Create scenarios using the point and click interface. Includes a scenario debugger including single step, break points and response introspection. Supports HTTPS/SSL, dynamic Web applications, data driven scenarios, and parsing of response codes or parsing page content for expected or unexpected strings. Includes a Task API for building custom test tasks. The Web Crawler is useful for verifying consistency of a static web structure, reporting various metrics, broken links and the structure of the crawled web. Multi-platform - written in Java. 
•       Solex :-Web application testing tool built as a plug-in for the Eclipse IDE (an open, extensible IDE). Records HTTP messages by acting as a Web proxy; recorded sessions can be saved as XML and reopened later. HTTP requests and responses are fully displayed in order to inspect and customize their content. Allows the attachment of extraction or replacement rules to any HTTP message content, and assertions to responses in order to validate a scenario during its playback. 
•       QA Wizard :-Automated functional web test tool from Seapine Software. Advanced object binding reduces script changes when Web-based apps change. Next-generation scripting language eliminates problems created by syntax or other language errors. Includes capability for automated scripting, allowing creation of more scripts in less time. Supports unlimited set of ODBC-compatible data sources as well as MS Excel, tab/comma delimited file formats, and more. Free Demo and Test Script available. For Windows platforms. 
•       HTTP-WebTest :-A Perl module which runs tests on remote URLs or local Web files containing Perl/JSP/HTML/JavaScript/etc., and generates a detailed test report. This module can be used "as-is" or its functionality can be extended using plugins. Plugins can define test types and provide additional report capabilities. This module comes with a set of default plugins, but can be easily extended with third-party plugins. Open-source project maintained by Ilya Martynov. 
•       HttpUnit :-Open source Java program for accessing web sites without a browser, from SourceForge.net/Open Source Development Network, designed and implemented by Russell Gold. Ideally suited for automated unit testing of web sites when combined with a Java unit test framework such as JUnit. Emulates the relevant portions of browser behavior, including form submission, basic http authentication, cookies and automatic page redirection, and allows Java test code to examine returned pages as text, an XML DOM, or containers of forms, tables, and links. Includes ServletUnit to test servlets without a servlet container. 
•       iOpus Internet Macros :-Macro recorder utility from iOpus Inc. automates repetitious aspects of web site testing. Records any combination of browsing, form filling, clicking, script testing and information gathering; assists user during the recording with visual feedback. Power users can manually edit a recorded macro. A command line interface allows for easy integration with other test software. Works by remote controlling the browser, thus automatically supports advanced features such as SSL, HTTP-Redirects and cookies. Can handle data input from text files, databases, or XML. Can extract web data and save as CSV file or process the data via a script. For Windows and MSIE. 
•       MaxQ :-Free open-source web functional testing tool from Tigris.org, written in Java. Works as a proxy server; includes an HTTP proxy recorder to automate test script generation, and a mechanism for playing tests back from the GUI and command line. Jython is used as the scripting language, and JUnit is used as the testing library. 
•       TestWeb :-Test tool from Original Software Group Ltd. utilizes a new approach to recording/playback of web browser scripts. It analyses the underlying intentions of the script and executes it by direct communication with web page elements. IntelliScripting logic removes the reliance on specific browser window sizes, component location and mouse movements for accurate replay, for easier script maintenance; supports hyperlinks targeted at new instances of browser. Playback can run in background while other tasks are performed on the same machine. 
•       Compuware TestPartner :-Automated software testing tool from Compuware designed specifically to validate Windows, Java, and web-based applications. The 'TestPartner Visual Navigator' can create visual-based tests, or MS VBA can be used for customized scripting. 
•       WebKing :-Web site functional, load, and static analysis test suite from ParaSoft. Maps and tests all possible paths through a dynamic site; can enforce over 200 HTML, CSS, JavaScript, 508 compliance, WML and XHTML coding standards or customized standards. Allows creation of rules for automatic monitoring of dynamic page content. Can run load tests based on the tool's analysis of web server log files. For Windows, Linux, Solaris. 
•       eValid :-Web test tool from Software Research, Inc that uses a 'Test Enabled Web Browser' test engine that provides browser-based client side quality checking, dynamic testing, content validation, page performance tuning, and webserver load and capacity analysis. Utilizes multiple validation methods.
•       Rational Functional Tester :-IBM's (formerly Rational's) automated tool for testing of Java, .NET, and web-based applications. Enables data-driven testing, choice of scripting languages and editors. For Windows and Linux. 
•       e-Test Suite :-Integrated functional/regression test tool from Empirix for web applications and services and .NET and J2EE applications; includes site monitoring and load testing capabilities, and record/playback, scripting language, test process management capabilities. Includes full VBA script development environment and options such as javascript, C++, etc. DOM-based testing and validation; 'Data Bank Wizard' simplifies creation of data-driven tests. Evaluation version available.
•       QuickTest Pro :-Functional/regression test tool from Mercury; includes support for testing Web, Java, ERP, etc. 
•       Winrunner :-Functional/regression test tool from Mercury; includes support for testing Web, Java, ERP, etc. 
•       Compuware's QARun :-QARun for functional/regression testing of web, Java, and other applications. Handles ActiveX, HTML, DHTML, XML, Java beans, and more. 
•       SilkTest :-Functional test tool from Segue for Web, Java or traditional client/server-based applications. Features include: test creation and customization, test planning and management, direct database access and validation, recovery system for unattended testing, and IDE for developing, editing, compiling, running, and debugging scripts, test plans, etc.