TAFPro and Selenium

Selenium is a popular open source tool that delivers an efficient way to generate test scripts, validate functionality and reuse these scripts in automated test frameworks. To get the best use out of Selenium, it is often necessary to use Selenium in conjunction with third-party tools to enable it to become fully functional.

Because of its many advantages, Selenium finds wide usage for UI, regression, unit and acceptance testing. Because of the rapid test development it enables, it is quite popular for quick-cycle development methodologies such as Agile or Extreme Programming. Selenium is also popular with IT staff who automate repetitive, web-based administrative tasks.

Despite these advantages, Selenium is not a complete, comprehensive solution to fully automating the testing of web applications. It has no test management facilities. Test scripts are saved as simple files without attributes.

In order to organise individual scripts and get the most out of your Selenium scripts, a third-party framework is often required. TestPro’s Test Automation Framework (TAFPro) provides an off-the-shelf solution that improves the efficiency and ROI from test automation using Selenium.
TAFPro’s framework provides a method to manage the Selenium test scripts, in conjunction with the various data required by the tests. By managing multiple test data sources, tests can be executed with different data combinations, reducing the number of tests.

TAFPro enables Selenium to continue to use its inherent power for low level scripting while utilising a modular approach to allow test scripts to be used as building blocks for end to end test automation of an application.

With the TAFPro framework, the limitations inherent in the other automation and framework methods are resolved or properly managed.

The modularity:

Increases test maintainability and script reuse
Reduces script rework and maintenance costs
Provides the ability to quickly create test cases or test suites from existing test scripts

Selenium maintains its full capabilities e.g. object recognition and speed so test scripts execute efficiently and quickly.

TAFPro allows multiple test datasets to be attached to test cases for use with different test conditions and situations, or even test environments. To achieve these results, test data is managed efficiently in a database.

TAFPro uses a generic object model that abstracts the data and parameters to a data store with separate data maintenance facilities. This implementation closely integrates with Selenium, whilst leveraging the power and capabilities of its scripting engine.

Together, automation using TAFPro and Selenium can achieve its ultimate potential of providing test management, easy reporting of results, flexibility, script re-usability and testing multiple data combinations with ease.