Selenium or Katalon Studio – As a software tester, you might need clarification about which tool to use for Data-Driven Testing. While most website owners prefer Selenium, Katalon Studio has emerged as another great alternative! While both offer excellent capabilities to test website stability and functionality, they have a unique automation testing approach.
“Selenium testing framework is code-based and supports multiple programming languages. Kantu is a free browser automation tool that follows a no-code visual scripting approach.”
As a software tester, you can utilize these QA Automation testing tools to automate the repetitive and time-consuming testing processes. But why are they significant for data-driven automation testing? Today, we’ll explain everything related to a data-driven framework and how to use Selenium or Katalon for such testing.
So, let’s get started!
What’s The Purpose Of Data-Driven Testing?
A data-driven framework runs multiple testing scripts using different sets of test data files. Each file contains varying data sets that validate the application functionalities under different scenarios. As this testing technique executes testing scripts continuously, you can verify other application functionalities within just a few minutes.
The main advantages of performing data-driven software testing include:
- Reusability: You can reuse the testing scripts using different data sets and reduce redundancy.
- Scalability: You can scale tests to cover various scenarios without creating new scripts.
- Maintainability: You can focus on testing only for the application changes by updating the testing data.
A data-driven testing framework enhances test coverage using various data combinations. This lets you quickly detect your application’s data-related bugs and functionality defects.
Now, let’s explore how to use Selenium or Katalon to conduct data-driven application testing.
How Do You Begin Testing Your Web With Selenium?
Selenium gives you complete flexibility to execute data-driven tests. But, you require an open-source library to develop your test cases. As most Selenium automation companies prefer using Apache POI or any Java library, you can choose a library you have experience with. Next, let’s set up your Selenium environment!
Step 1: Install Selenium WebDriver In Your Selenium Environment
Selenium WebDriver is the tool you need to execute your test scripts from the web browser. Once you install it in your Selenium environment, you can initiate programmatic interactions with the web browser. Once you install Selenium WebDriver, select a Java-based framework for scripting. Later, you will write the test cases in Java and execute them using Selenium WebDriver.
Step 2: Complete Data Source Integration
You need a structured repository for conducting Data-Driven Testing that can quickly transfer the required data files for testing. So, integrate a stable data source, such as Excel or a database, to efficiently organize and manage different data sets. Based on the data source you use, you can change the test scenarios with a diverse range of inputs.
In Selenium, you can leverage Java-based frameworks like Apache POI to interact with your data sources. It allows data extraction and manipulation based on dynamic inputs. Thus, you can maintain the scalability performance of your automated tests.
Step 3: Parameterize Testing Scripts
It is a crucial step as you only use dynamic inputs based on different scenarios. If you need assistance with this step, you can choose Selenium testing services to modify your scripts. Dynamically fetch test data from the data source and pass it to the script. Thus, you can easily maintain a stable testing solution even after the application receives a few updates.
Step 4: Implement Data-Driven Tests
Create a loop structure to iterate through different sets of test data. You can execute the testing scripts for each iteration. It will always validate the application behavior and confirm if it performs as expected. Further, you can use an advanced reporting mechanism to capture the outcomes of each test data. Later, you analyze them based on different data sets.
How To Use Katalon Platform For Data-Driven Automation Testing?
Data-driven testing with Katalon Studio is a different process than using Selenium Framework. As it follows an interactive visual scripting method, you can use Katalon Studio without prior programming experience. Now, let’s discuss the steps of using the Katalon Studio.
Step 1: Install Katalon Studio & Create a Test Case
Visit the Katalon site to download the packaged software in your local system. Now, launch the studio to set up the initial project. Once you create a project, create a test case for execution. Consider taking assistance from a test automation company to simplify the testing. They can assist you with the browser driver setup and preparing automated tests with custom keywords and test listeners. Finally, you need to identify parameters that need to be data-driven.
Step 2: Prepare The Testing Data
You’ll need to define your data sources to create the test data. You can create a CSV/Excel file or a database and populate it with necessary testing data. You must specify the variables you will use to run the test scripts in the future.
Step 3: Set Up Data Binding
Utilize Katalon’s data-driven functionality to bind external data sources. Associate your test data with the test case using the CSV or Excel file you prepared. This process is data binding as you connect the test data with your test cases. Select your test suite and then opt for the Test Case Explorer. You can view the data binding and add the test data using variable binding.
Step 4: Design Data-Driven Tests & Execute
Use Katalon’s scripting capabilities to implement the Data-Driven Testing logic. Katalon has a unique scripting language called Groovy. It is easy to use for implementing sophisticated data-driven logic. You can create dynamic test scenarios using Groovy to adapt to various data sets. Iterate through data sets and perform validations within the test case. Finally, run the data-driven test and observe the outcomes. You can use Katalon’s reporting features for comprehensive result analysis.
Best Practices for Executing Data-Driven Tests With Selenium & Katalon
- Maintain Organized Test Data: Keep your data sources well-structured to quickly extract the required data sets.
- Automate Repetitive Testing Tasks: Take assistance from Selenium testing companies to automate a few testing processes that require maximum manual effort.
- Update Test Data: Make sure to update your test data whenever your application gets a new upgrade. It helps to keep your data sources up to date.
- Analyzed Test Results: Always put extra effort into researching the test results. It’s crucial to identify potential defects and uncover critical bugs.
Let’s Review The Topic
Modern web-based solutions need high-level data-driven testing to deliver what today’s customers expect. Selenium and Katalo are the two best automation tools for web-based testing. Even though both have different functionalities, both are perfect for running dynamic test cases leveraging additional test data. Now you know how to use both, it’s time to level up your web-based testing approach!
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