Most of the time, applications supported on multiple platforms have similar functionalities, from an end-user perspective. However, from a test automation perspective, there might be slight variations in the appearance of controls or the way they behave. These slight changes may require additional coding, which increases the complexity of the code. The biggest challenge in the test automation of multi-platform applications is that for each platform, different drivers and libraries are required to write the scripts. This necessitates a separate script for each platform.
Having multiple scripts for the same functionality poses numerous challenges:
- Increased time & effort for creating multiple scripts on different platforms
- Increased Tester workload & frustration
- Separate library for each platform.
- Numerous Test Interfaces
- Heavy test scripts maintenance
- Additional test data maintenance for different scripts depending upon the platform
- Extra efforts in collating test execution results from different platforms
The ‘Unicode’ Solution
The use of an automated solution that leverages a ‘Unicode’ (Single) script model to map equivalent UI elements on different platforms is a best-fit approach to automate testing an application that is supported on multiple platforms. This solution should have a single test script for each functionality and this single script can be used to test specific functionality across platforms (Windows, Android, iOS). With this solution in place, a user can run a single automated test script on desktop machines, mobile devices, emulators, simulators, as well as on different operating systems and browsers with different versions.
The functional aspect of an object in an application is to remain the same even if we change the platform. This allows the use of these common objects in the script, which can be executed across the platforms. However, there may be a need to save the definition of the object in a platform-specific object repository, due to the inherent changes in the operating system.
This approach will help testers write a Unicode (Single) test script having multiple platform-specific object repositories, which will allow the script to run on Windows and Mobile (iOS & Android) applications. Single test scripts of the same functionality can be run on multiple browsers, Operating Systems, simulators/emulators, or even on a cloud platform.
Integrating Unicode test automation solutions can reduce the testing efforts and really enhances the overall test efficiency. You wonder how? Read our whitepaper for a better technical understanding.
‘Unicode’ Approach Benefits
The expectations from the ‘Unicode’ automation solution are not only limited to performing cross-platform application testing but also providing various features for ease of use, integration, and fast turnaround time in delivering test execution reports. Some of the key benefits are:
- Decreased tester workload and improved productivity
- Decreased time & effort for developing a Unicode script
- Common library to cater to each specific platform
- Single test script for the same functionality across platform makes maintenance easy
- The tester can easily run a test script concurrently on a specific platform by changing parameters in the test suite
- Common test data consumed in the script, which reduces test data maintenance
As more and more organizations are leveraging cross-platform solutions for their applications, a Unicode Automated testing strategy will help them to get the results they need quickly, with complete coverage and minimal effort. Pyramid Consulting’s automated testing solutions can make the testing process seamless.
