Is Appium the best choice for Mobile Automation Testing?

Usually testers have to learn several programming languages to evaluate the efficiency of a particular mobile app over various platforms. However Appium enables the experts for testing mobile apps with Selenium WebDriver. Therefore, they've choice to write tests by using various programming languages that works with the WebDriver such as perl, Python, PHP, Java, Objective-C, C#, Ruby, & JavaScript with Node.js. Additionally, they may choose any kind of testing framework to improve the speed as well as the ability of the testing work. Several organizations depend upon open source testing automation tools such as Appium for automation both the native & hybrid mobile apps. Currently, Appium is supporting many platforms such as iOS, Android & FirefoxOS. Therefore, the developers could easily automatighte both the native & hybrid apps by focusing on various platforms. Additionally, Appium also is considered as very flexible in the mobile app automation.

The user even have choice to get the advantages of Appium Inspector, a record & playback tool for automate the native apps. This particular tool is created in an approach much to Selenium IDE for the Web browsers. This generates test scripts based on the steps carried out in inspector. Appium may even check the DOM, and also generate test scripts in the programming language chosen from the user. But, the Appium Inspector isn't compatible in Microsoft Windows currently. Being an HTTP server, Appium works well in creating & handling WebDriver sessions. It could additionally create & handle several WebDriver sessions for many platforms such as iOS & Android. This tool could be used to begin a test case on a device which starts communication from the server, and also gets proxy commands by the primary Appium server. Then again, the manner and the mechanism in order to run test case in the device is different in each mobile platform. Hence it runs the test case simply by listening the commands by the server. Monkeyrunner alternatively is an API built on Python, enables to generate programs that can manage certain devices with the user point of view.

Some other testing frameworks found currently are Robotium & Robolectric. Robotium runs tests within emulators for all those against Android API. On the other hand Robolectric is an unit test framework. This runs within IDE. One more testing framework is called Espresso which is used for the certain purpose. This is an API used in order to test against the Android UI. Yet another well known testing framework which has been preferred for many years known as Flurry. For those who would like to get a report and detailed crash reports, can choose Flurry. Although the above testing alternatives are great, while building a hybrid app, you may not be able to utilize those at all. When you are in for the cross platform automation framework that can help you building tests in whatever language you want both for Android and also for iOS, you may then opt for Appium.

Stephen Janaway is a Test Manager by profession. He works on mobile & web testing, test automation & software delivery optimisation. He has mentioned in a blog that he has used Appium and found it to be good. Since it went to version 1.0 it seems to have become more stable. He further stated that the important fact in mobile automation currently stands where it had been since five to six years back with web automation. There are plenty of solutions, few works better than the other, few are better supported than the others, and few are high priced than the others. He stated that they opt Appium simply because it is cost-free as well as it is open source, it features a well-supported and active Google group, it doesn't need anything to be installed in the device and no server or even code changes not required, it works with the two Android & iOS. It is more challenging to carry out some gestures, and others compared to several of the other solutions available that we piloted Calabash that was good in this respect, he concluded. To get maximum benefits of testing, you may consider hiring services of a Appium testing company.

We provide quality assurance testing services. If you would like to get your application tested by our expert automation testers, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.