Codeless Automation Trends, Appium, PerfOps, and More

What trends have I been seeing that may mean codeless automation testing is the future?

Have you heard the latest on Appium?

And what is PerfOps?

Find out in this Test Guild New Show Newsletter edition for a recap of the week of July 9th.

So, grab your favorite cup of coffee or tea, and let's do this.

Visual Validation Testing Must Have

Are you looking to take your automation projects to the next level? Look no further than Applitools and their Visual AI Validation testing platform. Trust me; I've used it in the past, and it is a game-changer. Plus, you could try it out yourself now by creating a free account using this?special link now.

Preflight + Applitools

In a significant move in the field of AI-powered test automation, Applitools, a pioneer in the industry, has announced its acquisition of Preflight, a leading low-code test automation platform. This strategic acquisition aims to democratize the testing process, enabling individuals of varying technical capabilities to create, run, and maintain automated tests swiftly and efficiently. Integrating Preflight's low-code testing solution into Applitools' platform will allow a more comprehensive testing life cycle, from authoring tests to execution and maintenance. The move is expected to enhance AI-driven test authoring, execution, and analysis capabilities, allowing teams to automate their tests more quickly, easily, and accurately than ever before.

API Testing Using NightwatchJS

In a recent blog post, Kablamo Engineering shared a quick and efficient guide to API testing using NightwatchJS. The post highlights the lightweight and easy setup of NightwatchJS, enabling API testing in as little as 15 minutes. The author, Millan Kaul, walks readers through a two-step process: setting up the environment and running the test. The prerequisites include the latest LTS version of NodeJS. The setup involves creating a directory for the project, installing NightwatchJS, and adding Nightwatch API testing dependency. The run step involves creating a simple API test and executing it. The post also includes a bonus feature on automated HTML report generation. This guide provides a straightforward approach to API testing, making it accessible even to those new to the field.

Appium 2.0 Is Officially Released!

The OpenJS Foundation has officially released Appium 2.0, an open-source test automation framework for native, hybrid, and mobile web apps. This new version reimagines Appium as a platform where drivers and plugins can be easily created and shared, facilitating automation across multiple platforms. Appium 2.0 introduces a new system for developing and sharing Appium drivers, plugins that can extend or modify any of Appium's behaviors, and the ability to install drivers and plugins from across the ecosystem with a single command. This major update is expected to enhance the tool's versatility, which is already used by companies like GEICO, Charles Schwab, and Walmart.

Appium Must Know New Plugin

In an exciting development for the Appium community, a new plugin that promises to transform mobile app testing has been launched. The Appium Gestures Plugin, introduced by developers Sai Krishna and his team, allows users to easily perform basic gestures such as swiping, tapping, and long pressing using the W3C Actions API. This innovation is set to enhance the user experience in mobile app testing significantly. Furthermore, the decoupled architecture of Appium 2.0 allows users to select the drivers and plugins that best meet their needs, offering a fully customizable testing experience.

HTMX

In the rapidly evolving world of web development, HTMX (HTML Extended) is making waves as a powerful tool that simplifies the creation of dynamic web applications. Toni Ramchandani, a seasoned web developer, explores how HTMX, a small JavaScript library, allows developers to create AJAX, CSS Transitions, WebSockets, and Server-Sent Events directly in HTML, eliminating the need for complex JavaScript code. This simplifies web application development and has significant implications for automation testing. By reducing complexity, HTMX streamlines test cases, enhances performance and facilitates better configuration and reduced dependencies. As HTMX continues to gain traction, it will significantly impact the future of web development and automation testing.

API Mocking with Playwright

Explore the power of API mocking in Playwright tests. Debbie O'Brien, a Dev Advocate at Playwright, explains the importance of mocking third-party APIs, especially those beyond your control, to ensure efficient development and testing. With Playwright, you can intercept API calls and return mock responses without additional libraries. The article provides practical examples of how to mock API calls, modify API responses, and even use HAR files for more complex mocking scenarios. This technique allows developers to test against real API data without making the API call each time, enhancing the efficiency of the testing process.

Waldo Acquired

In more significant code-less development in the field of mobile test automation, Tricentis, a global leader in continuous testing and quality engineering, has announced the acquisition of Waldo, a SaaS-based, no-code, zero-footprint mobile test automation platform. This acquisition is set to enhance Tricentis' mobile testing offerings with new test automation capabilities, including native, hybrid, and web mobile application testing using virtual devices supporting iOS simulators and Android emulators. Waldo's SaaS-based test automation simplifies mobile test authoring, management, and execution directly from a browser, addressing the challenges of managing a mobile test infrastructure as part of a continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipeline. This acquisition is expected to deliver higher-quality mobile applications at the speed and scale businesses require.

PerfOps

Harinder Seera, a renowned AWS Community Builder and Performance Test Consultant has developed the 'PerfOps Framework' to address the challenges of performance testing and engineering in complex service domains. The framework aims to provide visibility into application performance, standardize reporting across different stakeholders, foster a culture of shared responsibility, ensure shared accountability, and facilitate application optimization. It also focuses on identifying trends and patterns, capacity planning, cost optimization, and improving customer experience. This innovative approach is expected to enhance the efficiency of performance engineering and foster better decision-making based on data.

Security Test Application

In today's security news, delve into the world of ethical hacking with a fascinating walkthrough of ParaBank, a deliberately vulnerable online banking application. This pseudo-banking app, developed by Parasoft, serves as a practice ground for budding ethical hackers. The author, Edward Lichtner, guides us through exploiting vulnerabilities, such as Broken Object Level Authorization (BOLA), and demonstrates how these can lead to unauthorized access and potential misuse of banking apps. This exploration is a stark reminder of the importance of robust security measures in online banking systems. Remember, this is a controlled learning environment and does not endorse hacking real-life banking apps.

Next Step

In my new book?Automation Awesomeness: 260 actionable affirmations to improve your QA and automation testing skills, I hope to inspire you through the insights of some of the smartest testers I've had the privilege to interview over nine years on my Test Guild podcasts.

I aim for you to glean an actionable tip, tool, best practice, or mindset every business day that you can apply to your daily software testing and career. Drawing from over 600 interviews conducted across nine years, I've distilled bite-sized, actionable daily advice for your benefit.

Get your copy now

As always, test everything and keep the good.