These Are the Best Test Automation Frameworks for 2020

In this changing era of technology, automation has become the primary solution for most of the problems in an organization. From communicating with customers to continuous delivery of products, automation plays a vital role in the most complicated tasks of a business; however, it is majorly in software testing.

Automation testing makes it pretty easier for QAs to execute tests for their web applications simultaneously. It ensures faster delivery of software products to the market with continuous integration. Though quality and assurance are two things that automation offers in software testing, it is not easy to achieve it without an automation testing framework.

Choosing a test automation framework is one of the most challenging tasks for testers, as they need to go through a comprehensive list of available frameworks to finalize the best testing framework.

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Best Test Automation Frameworks

What is Automation Testing Framework?

An automation testing framework is one of the crucial components of the automation testing process, as it helps in the execution of automation test scripts. It provides users with multiple benefits in terms of developing, executing, and reporting automation test scripts. In simple words, we can say that an automation testing framework is a combination of coding standards, best practices, guidelines, processes, reporting mechanisms, and other essential components that are crucial in automation testing.

The benefits of an automation testing framework can be defined in multiple ways, such as reusability of code, recovery scenario, maximum code coverage, low-cost maintenance, process definition, ease of scripting, or easy reporting. That’s why developers are advised to use automation testing frameworks while performing continuous testing of their applications.

Types of Test Automation Frameworks

Just like different testing scenarios, there are various types of testing frameworks available in the market. However, these frameworks differ in terms of functionality, language, support, or other critical factors of automation testing.

  • Module-based testing framework
  • Library-based architecture testing framework
  • Data-Driven testing framework
  • Keyword-driven testing framework
  • Hybrid testing framework
  • Behavior-driven development framework

Every test automation framework can be categorized into one of the above terms. Besides, you can also create your own framework based on your project requirements. Here, we will give you a brief idea of the top 7 automation testing frameworks that are best suited for automated testing of web applications.

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Top 7 Test Automation Frameworks

The number of test automation frameworks is increasing in the market every day. But, there are some testing frameworks that are considered to be better than the rest. We have listed the top 7 automation testing frameworks for you that can be used for automation testing of your web applications.

1. Selenium

Selenium is the first name that comes to everyone’s mind while talking about automation testing. After all, it is considered as the best testing framework for user interface or cross browser testing of web applications. Another thing that makes Selenium popular amongst developers is that it is an open-source framework and doesn’t involve any cost.

Selenium is not a single tool; it consists of four different utilities, which include Selenium IDE, Selenium RC, Selenium WebDriver, and Selenium Grid. Each of these utilities is used for specific tasks, such as Selenium IDE is used for browser interface testing, Selenium WebDriver, and Grid are used for cross browser testing.

Individuals who have experience and skills in programming and scripting find it pretty easy to use Selenium. It enables developers to write test scripts in various languages, including Java, Python, C#, Groovy, PHP, Ruby, and Perl. Besides, it is compatible across all the operating systems like Windows, Linux, Mac, and browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, etc.

As mentioned above, Selenium has different tools for various testing processes, which makes it a little challenging for beginners to test their web applications. But don’t worry! You can always leverage selenium benefits with LambdaTest Selenium Grid that is integrated with multiple testing frameworks and provides easy automation testing.

2. Cucumber

Cucumber is a cross-platform behavior-driven development testing framework widely used for applications developed in Ruby programming language. It is ideally used to write acceptance tests for web applications. What makes it an ideal framework for automation testing is its compatibility with other programming languages like Python, C#, Java, .NET, Scala, etc.

Like Selenium, Cucumber is also an open-source automation testing framework that is quick and easy to set up. With Cucumber, you get the flexibility of code reusability, cross-platform application testing, and easy to understand coding. Another excellent advantage of Cucumber is that you can upload both the specification and test documentation in a single up-to-date document.

Besides, if you use Cucumber for automation testing of web apps, then you can also involve stakeholders in the testing process, as the testing reports are written readable English, which is easily understandable even by users who don’t understand code.

3. Cypress

It is a developer-centric testing framework that makes it easier for developers to execute test cases in a test-driven development environment. It is helpful in end-to-end testing of web applications, but it is not based on Selenium, which makes it stand apart. Cypress is built in a new architecture that makes it easier for developers to test everything that runs on a web browser. Besides, it is well-suited with other frameworks, such as React, Angular, Vue, Elm, etc.

The test code in Cypress is executed within the browser, which means no matter in what language the website is built, it can be compiled to JavaScript. It uses a Node.js server to read and modify web traffic while functioning on the network layer of tests running in the browser. Moreover, it can also be used to test the mobile view of applications.

As compared to Selenium, it is easier and effortless to set up Cypress. Individuals who already have experience in JavaScript can be testing with Cypress any time they want. The in-built debugging facility is even more helpful for QAs, as Cypress simplifies the error analysis process.

4. Robot Framework

Testers interested in using Python for their web application automation testing can use the Robot testing framework. It is a python-based, keyword-driven automation testing framework that makes it easy for testers to read and write test cases. Also, it is included with many test libraries and tools that are helpful throughout the testing process.

Although it is python-based, you can also use IronPython (.NET) or Jython (Java) for your testing requirements. Furthermore, the Robot framework is not limited to web application testing; it can also be used to test MongoDB Database, FTP, Android, and Appium. The APIs available with the framework allows you to extend it as much as possible.

Robot framework provides easy-to-use tabular test data syntax, reusable higher-level keywords, and rich ecosystem with multiple APIs that consist of generic test libraries and tools, and easy integration with other testing platforms.

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5. Katalon Studio

Katalon Studio is another powerful and dynamic automation testing framework that is useful in testing APIs, mobile, web, and desktop applications. It is integrated with amusing features and functionalities that support almost every operating system and browser. In other words, it is an all-in-one test automation solution for developers.

Katalon Studio offers an integrated environment for testers, making it easier to integrate and deploy other libraries and frameworks to use Selenium and Appium engines. Besides, it is compatible with multiple management tools like JIRA, QTest, Kobiton, Git, Slack, etc.

It is a complete solution for automation testing of API/web services, web, and mobile applications. Moreover, it supports both SOAP and RESTful for API and services testing while providing hundreds of built-in keywords for creating test cases. Testers can easily extend the testing capability of Katalon Studio with multiple plugins available for the framework, such as Katalon TestOps.

6. Postman

Postman is designed explicitly for API automation testing. It is a simple yet intuitive framework that can be installed as a browser extension or a desktop application for Mac, Linux, and Windows. Another reason behind its popularity is that developers use it for both API development and testing.

Postman offers a comprehensive set of features for designing, debugging, testing, documenting, and publishing APIs. It comes with a friendly user interface, which makes it easy to use, even for beginners. Besides, Postman can be used for both exploratory and automated testing due to its extended functionality.

With the latest release of Postman version 7.2, its support has been extended for GraphQL request and schemas, GraphQL Query auto-completion function, and GraphQL variables. So, if you’re into API development or testing process, then Postman is the perfect test automation framework for you.

7. WebDriverIO

If you’re looking for a framework that enables you to leverage the functionality of Selenium while creating test scripts in JavaScript, then WebDriverIO is your best bet. It is a full-fledged automation testing framework that gives you the freedom to write your test cases and execute them quickly in the Selenium environment.

The specialty of WebDriverIO is that it let you write scripts in your favorite language and offers the flexibility of integrating it with most testing tools like Mocha, Chai, etc. Usually, testers need to set up an environment before using a test automation framework. But, WebDriverIO doesn’t require any implementation from scratch, as it gives direct access to the Selenium environment.

In other words, WebDriverIO comes with everything that testers need to build scalable and reliable test suites and offers extensive features that are not available with Selenium. Furthermore, it is easily extendable in terms of custom commands and page objects.

Final Thoughts

Selecting a test automation framework for your testing requirements is a challenging task because it requires in-depth research and analysis of multiple frameworks available in the market. Thus, it is recommended to list your testing requirements before starting your research. It will help you finalize a particular framework. But, even after knowing the testing requirements, it is not that easy to select a test automation framework, as most of them offer the same features. So, to spare your time and reduce your efforts, we have gathered seven different test automation frameworks that can be used for various testing scenarios as per your requirements.

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