Automation testing for ExtJS application

Overview

As developers we can create great software. Unfortunately, we usually introduce a few bugs along the way. Using a testing tool can ensure we catch the bugs and resolve them quickly.

There are many different approaches to testing. Some advocate writing the tests within the application, others suggest a separate testing environment entirely. There are merits to both these approaches. For this blog post, I've focused our attention on Selenium as both Ext JS and Ext GWT and benifit from this "black box" testing methodology.

Selenium provides a powerful mechanism to test your Ext applications. Selenium works by executing tests against your running application within the browser of your choice. Selenium tests emulate the way a user would interact with your application by executing JavaScript to simulate user actions. Selenium tests run as a form of "integration" tests as they execute against your running application.

Both Ext JS and Ext GWT applications can benefit from Selenium tests. In fact, with few exceptions, the tests created for one product should be interchangeable as both products produce the same DOM structure.

Selenium IDE

Selenium IDE is a Firefox extension that allows you to create, edit, and execute your tests. Tests can either be created manually, or by "recording" your actions. Recording can help you get a feel on how the Selenium commands are generated, but in most cases you will want to tweak the generated commands.

A Selenium test is a list of commands. Commands can be seen as actions, such as "click this element", "type into this field", and "assert an element exists".

Selenium Grid

Although it is not used in the tutorial, Selenium Grid is worth mentioning. From the website: "Based on the excellent Selenium web testing tool, Selenium Grid allows you to run multiple instances of Selenium Remote Control in parallel. Even better, it makes all these Selenium Remote Controls appear as a single one, so your tests do not have to worry about the actual infrastructure. Selenium Grid cuts down on the time required to run a Selenium test suite to a fraction of the time that a single instance of Selenium instance would take to run."

Summary

The tutorial demonstrated how load and run tests within Selenium IDE. The test code was ported to Java where it was run using Selenium Remote Control in a JUnit. This tutorial demonstrated the major moving parts involved in Selenium tests. It is recommended to take a look at the Selenium documentation and tutorials for more information.

Many thanks go out to the Selenium Team. There is a slight learning curve getting familiar with the product but I found it straightforward. The time was well spent as it opens up a new approach to testing web applications.

Best Practice for Automation Question Feedback Request:
As we develop better tools for producing “end-user friendly” applications, what can I do as QTP automation specialist to provide the best automation tools for my team? We have found that both Selenium and QTP have trouble consistently locating dynamic html id tagged items. There is power in being able to automate testing, but many techniques use to speed up development negatively impacts our ability to automate effectively

Sencha Team says,

You might look into a tool named “Siesta” made by Bryntum. It automates integration tests in a similar manner to Selenium, but it works much better with the Sencha frameworks for specifically the reasons you mention.

In terms of “best practices” for automated testing, the first thing you need to do is decide what your goals are. Testing can accomplish many things - but I always warn that automated tests should never completely replace physical QA testing

References:

https://www.sencha.com/blog/testing-ext-js-ext-gwt-applications-with-selenium/

http://www.sencha.com/blog/automating-unit-tests

https://www.sencha.com/blog/ui-testing-a-sencha-app

Sencha support team suggest Siesta (3^rd party tool) for Automation testing.

https://www.sencha.com/blog/introducing-siesta-a-testing-tool-for-ext-js/

Jasmine (javascript framework):

http://www.codeproject.com/Articles/662832/Step-by-Step-Guide-for-Unit-Testing-ExtJS-Applicat