How to Test IFrame with Selenium

In this Selenium article, we will learn How to Test IFrame with Selenium. When you run tests on your web applications with Selenium, it’s not unheard of that some iFrames “confuse” the kit. This often results in more effort on the tester’s end. If you find yourself stuck or even pouring too much effort into a Selenium iFrame test scenario, you’re already defeating the automation agenda.

This post reviews common Selenium iFrame testing pitfalls and a few applicable workarounds. We’ll briefly discuss how Selenium goes about testing iFrames to show from where each problem emanates.

Let’s set the tone with a few definitions.
 

What Is an iFrame?

An inline frame, or iFrame, is used by HTML to embed content from a remote source into the view. Think of it as a webpage running inside another page, much like a nested function of sorts.

Here’s a simple iFrame example:

iframe from youtube

When rendered, this page shows a media file from YouTube:

While this is merely an example, it should become apparent how this page is treated as we go through the various challenges Selenium faces processing it.

Testing iFrames With Selenium: Common Issues

This part counts for Selenium as much as it does for a lot of other test automation tools. Most Selenium issues shared in technical forums will be due to its rather rigid form. For example:

1. Moving through iFrames in an HTML page
2. Returning to the parent level
3. Browser-related Selenium iFrame errors

These are just a few of the plethora of issues that regularly plague testers. However, they should suffice to prove our point.

Issue #1: Moving Up and Down iFrames

When testing an HTML page containing iFrames, the default navigation methods for Selenium are index, frame ID, or element name. However, when you reach the start of an iFrame, Selenium will treat any encapsulated content as a different page (which it is, by definition). But it hits a bump when moving up and down frames.

Solution: The main page on which the iFrame is declared is the parent. Selenium can navigate in a 2D manner on this plane without too many glitches. When depth (a third dimension) is added, you should take time to implement a function that changes focus to the target inline frame:

 

1	Driver.Switchto.Frame(#frame identifier as arg)

If we used the demo of nested iFrames above, you’d rely on the titles of each element (i.e., frame0, frame1, or frame2) for navigation.

The problem with this is that you often hold little control over the dynamic content in each frame. This problem increases complexity if the frame you’re targeting has embedded content. All of this should be tested in what becomes a semiautomatic process.

Issue #2: Returning to Parent

When you have aced the navigation and testing of iFrames as deeply as they’re nested, you’ll need to return to the surface before proceeding with the rest of the page. Failure to specify the next destination can result in long, winding tests. Not that any testing will be underway, but it’ll be a time-drain with a long pause.

Fix: Simply add the default content navigator to the switch to function, and you’ll come to the surface.

Driver.Switchto.defaultContent();

Issue #3: Browser-Related Selenium iFrame Errors

Another common Selenium iFrame issue is with identical sets of code (and their compiled apps), resulting in errors when tested in different browsers. You may find Mozilla Firefox or IE flagging an error where the same app tested successfully in Google Chrome.

This potential source of headache has nothing to do with the code. As such, even when Selenium core tools are said to be cross-browser, the results when you bridge across to any number of browsers won’t always be the same. You’ll most likely need to run the same test in that browser but with a different test automation solution.

Resolving Selenium iFrame Issues

It’s often the case that no human interaction is possible when tests run as part of a CI/CD workflow. This removes the monitoring and code writing entity from the equations and issues we’ve discussed so far. The result would delay deployment with tests brought to a halt.

Keep in mind that iFrames are far from the most complex problem areas in a typical web application. We won’t take away from the history and respect so far garnered by Selenium. But there must be a better way to test iFrames. The problems above don’t have to be your predicament as more intuitive automated testing solutions eliminate Selenium-related issues.

Drumroll! Enter Testim.

Let’s quickly shine a spotlight on the features that make wrangling with iFrames a thing of the past.

iFrame Testing With Testim

The core feature you’ll find impressive when you test iFrame-containing source files and applications is that it uses AI. The suggestions and DOM analysis recognize each iFrame (every element, really) and their depth, if nested. Already, we have canceled the navigation issue.

Making changes to test scripts on the fly introduces the potential of errors in logic that can see bugs pass the testing stage. This is why it’s more productive to generate scripts from recorded tests in any language your developers are comfortable with, as is the case with Testim’s test automation suite.

Let’s turn our attention to the incompatibility problem (issue #3) developers encounter when testing across different browsers. Testim’s root cause feature should help you analyze test progression on a per-frame basis. This also highlights the exact moment and element that causes test stops, if any.

Resolving Application Test Errors

As easy as we’ve made the changes to code whenever Selenium encounters an iFrame, in reality, you’d have to search through long scripts and run tests on tests before proceeding. No clear-thinking team should have to endure the waits and edits explained in this post. Yet they’re just the tip of the iceberg of possible snags testers encounter when using Selenium.

The best course of action will uphold the original goal of saving time while following the highest standards of application testing. Testim.io embodies both causes completely. Better still, Testim doesn’t require intricate workarounds for complex sets of problems common to the Selenium way of running tests.

Schedule a demo and discover how other developers have shaved huge chunks of time and effort from their testing operations.

Original article sourced at: https://www.testim.io

#selenium 

What is GEEK

Buddha Community

What's New in Selenium 4?

The newly released Selenium 4 is creating a lot of buzz and the complete testing community is looking forward to exploring its updated features.

Selenium has gone through a tremendous evolution since its introduction and that’s the reason today it is the most popular and powerful automation testing tool. The newly released Selenium 4 is creating a lot of buzz and the complete testing community is looking forward to exploring its updated features.

Before we dive into Selenium 4, let’s have a brief introduction to its previous versions. Selenium 1 was declared as the free open source automation testing framework in the year 2004 consisting of selenium IDE, RC, and web driver. Whereas, the Selenium 2 released in 2011 consisted of the IDE, Web driver, and Grid. The RC server was merged with the web driver, as the web driver facilitated easy automation scripting for the browsers. Selenium 3 was officially released in 2016. One of the most noticeable changes in selenium 3 was the replacement of the selenium core with the web driver-backed option, the introduction of the gecko driver, and W3C web driver integration.

With the aim of executing much seamless, accurate and faster test automation, Selenium 4 was released on 24th April 2019. So let’s unleash all the major features of selenium 4 which sets it apart from the earlier versions delivering better test automation. There are a lot of exciting features in Selenium 4 across the complete suite i.e. Selenium IDE, Webdriver and Grid. In Selenium 4 though the Webdriver captures the spotlight, we will cover the updated features of selenium IDE and selenium grid. So first of all let’s define the different user groups for the Selenium suite.

Selenium is a suite of tools that caters to the various requirements of the project such as:

• Selenium IDE (Integrated Development Environment) Supports Rapid test development. This record/run tool helps in preparing test cases. Selenium IDE is an easy-to-use tool from the Selenium Test Suite which is used for developing automated test cases for web applications.
• Selenium Webdriver provides flexible and seamless automation through a friendly and flexible API. It can perform automation in almost all programming languages.
• The grid helps in providing automation testing by distributing and running the test cases in multiple machines simultaneously.

Let us explore the features of Selenium 4 across the different Selenium Tools.

#selenium #automation testing #selenium automation #selenium automated testing #selenium test automation #selenium 4

6 Popular Challenges In Automation Testing using Selenium

Selenium is one of the most popular automated testing frameworks, with a market share of about 26.4% in the software testing tools category. This open-source testing framework enables you to automate user actions on your software application under test.

Using this free testing framework, you can also verify & validate your software products across multiple browsers. Additionally, you can create Selenium test scripts using various programming languages such as C#, Java, Python, etc.

The Selenium automation software consists of a host of software tools to cater to an organization’s different quality engineering needs. These are:

1. Selenium IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
2. Selenium RC (Remote Control)
3. Selenium WebDriver
4. Selenium Grid

Even though Selenium is among the most preferable web-app testing frameworks, it is not completely flawless. This automation framework has its fair share of challenges that developers face while working with it. Let us discuss some of the most common challenges and how you can tackle each of them.

#selenium #selenium-webdriver #selenium-automation-testing #test-automation #software-testing-tools #deployment-challenges #software-quality-assurance #software-testing

Top 10 Automation Testing Tools: 2020 Edition

The demand for delivering quality software faster — or “Quality at Speed” — requires organizations to search for solutions in Agile, continuous integration (CI), and DevOps methodologies. Test automation is an essential part of these aspects. The latest World Quality Report 2018–2019 suggests that test automation is the biggest bottleneck to deliver “Quality at Speed,” as it is an enabler of successful Agile and DevOps adoption.

Test automation cannot be realized without good tools; as they determine how automation is performed and whether the benefits of automation can be delivered. Test automation tools is a crucial component in the DevOps toolchain. The current test automation trends have increased in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to offer advanced capabilities for test optimization, intelligent test generation, execution, and reporting. It will be worthwhile to understand which tools are best poised to take advantage of these trends.****

#automation-testing #automation-testing-tools #testing #testing-tools #selenium #open-source #test-automation #automated-testing

How To Get Attribute Value In Selenium WebDriver

While you are automating your test cases with Selenium automation, here is how to start implementing Selenium getAttribute() method to get the best results.

Introduction

Testing a web page can be a gargantuan task, considering all the elements and variables that come together to make a page work. Selenium automation is a great way to overcome these challenges and automate everything you would manually do. For example, Selenium makes it so much easier to take a screenshot using Python instead of doing it manually every time you come across a website issue.

Similarly, there are multiple scenarios while writing automation test cases when we need to verify a specific attribute on the web page. To ease our execution, the method to getAttribute() in Selenium comes to the rescue. In this blog, we will understand what an attribute is and how we can handle web elements’ attributes using the Selenium getAttribute() method.

Let’s get to it, shall we?

#selenium #webdriver #selenium automation testing #selenium automation #selenium - web browser automation #selenium automated testing #get attribute

Testing Microservices Applications

The shift towards microservices and modular applications makes testing more important and more challenging at the same time. You have to make sure that the microservices running in containers perform well and as intended, but you can no longer rely on conventional testing strategies to get the job done.

This is where new testing approaches are needed. Testing your microservices applications require the right approach, a suitable set of tools, and immense attention to details. This article will guide you through the process of testing your microservices and talk about the challenges you will have to overcome along the way. Let’s get started, shall we?

A Brave New World

Traditionally, testing a monolith application meant configuring a test environment and setting up all of the application components in a way that matched the production environment. It took time to set up the testing environment, and there were a lot of complexities around the process.

Testing also requires the application to run in full. It is not possible to test monolith apps on a per-component basis, mainly because there is usually a base code that ties everything together, and the app is designed to run as a complete app to work properly.

Microservices running in containers offer one particular advantage: universal compatibility. You don’t have to match the testing environment with the deployment architecture exactly, and you can get away with testing individual components rather than the full app in some situations.

Of course, you will have to embrace the new cloud-native approach across the pipeline. Rather than creating critical dependencies between microservices, you need to treat each one as a semi-independent module.

The only monolith or centralized portion of the application is the database, but this too is an easy challenge to overcome. As long as you have a persistent database running on your test environment, you can perform tests at any time.

Keep in mind that there are additional things to focus on when testing microservices.

• Microservices rely on network communications to talk to each other, so network reliability and requirements must be part of the testing.
• Automation and infrastructure elements are now added as codes, and you have to make sure that they also run properly when microservices are pushed through the pipeline
• While containerization is universal, you still have to pay attention to specific dependencies and create a testing strategy that allows for those dependencies to be included

Test containers are the method of choice for many developers. Unlike monolith apps, which lets you use stubs and mocks for testing, microservices need to be tested in test containers. Many CI/CD pipelines actually integrate production microservices as part of the testing process.

Contract Testing as an Approach

As mentioned before, there are many ways to test microservices effectively, but the one approach that developers now use reliably is contract testing. Loosely coupled microservices can be tested in an effective and efficient way using contract testing, mainly because this testing approach focuses on contracts; in other words, it focuses on how components or microservices communicate with each other.

Syntax and semantics construct how components communicate with each other. By defining syntax and semantics in a standardized way and testing microservices based on their ability to generate the right message formats and meet behavioral expectations, you can rest assured knowing that the microservices will behave as intended when deployed.

Ways to Test Microservices

It is easy to fall into the trap of making testing microservices complicated, but there are ways to avoid this problem. Testing microservices doesn’t have to be complicated at all when you have the right strategy in place.

There are several ways to test microservices too, including:

• Unit testing: Which allows developers to test microservices in a granular way. It doesn’t limit testing to individual microservices, but rather allows developers to take a more granular approach such as testing individual features or runtimes.
• Integration testing: Which handles the testing of microservices in an interactive way. Microservices still need to work with each other when they are deployed, and integration testing is a key process in making sure that they do.
• End-to-end testing: Which⁠—as the name suggests⁠—tests microservices as a complete app. This type of testing enables the testing of features, UI, communications, and other components that construct the app.

What’s important to note is the fact that these testing approaches allow for asynchronous testing. After all, asynchronous development is what makes developing microservices very appealing in the first place. By allowing for asynchronous testing, you can also make sure that components or microservices can be updated independently to one another.

#blog #microservices #testing #caylent #contract testing #end-to-end testing #hoverfly #integration testing #microservices #microservices architecture #pact #testing #unit testing #vagrant #vcr