What is Selenium Functional Testing

WHAT IS SELENIUM TESTING

Selenium is a web testing tool that runs tests directly in a browser using simple scripts. "It automates browsers," to put it simply. It is a portable web application software testing platform that includes a record/playback tool for designing tests without having to learn a test scripting language (Selenium IDE).

It also includes a test domain-specific language that can be used to build tests in C#, Java, Groovy, Perl, PHP, Python, and Ruby, among other popular programming languages. Selenium is available for Windows, Linux, and Macintosh computers.

Selenium is a strong test automation framework. It's been around since 2004, therefore it's a well-established system. Selenium employs test scripts to ensure that your user interface is functional. The script merely lists the commands that should be run on the user interface. The Selenium architecture is depicted in the diagram below.

The Selenium server receives the test script. To interact with the proper Web Driver, JSON is used. The Web Driver then sends the command to the browser, which executes it and provides the result.

WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL TESTING

Testing a software application against business requirements to ensure that all functionalities work as intended is known as functional testing. Because users are now vertically centered, functional testing is carried out from the user's perspective to ensure maximum coverage and reduce the possibility of problems.

Black box testing is a type of functional testing in which quality assurance specialists focus solely on software functionality and do not test the internal code structure. This style of testing focuses solely on software requirements and specifications, ignoring the system's structure and just testing module operation and behavior. Any software must go through functional testing to ensure that it is ready for deployment.

Functional testing entails ensuring that your software performs as intended. It's a broad term that refers to a variety of topics. However, from the standpoint of user interface design, it has a more precise meaning. Smoke testing, integration testing, and regression testing are common examples. Because the complexity of today's user interfaces necessitates automating your testing, here's a quick primer on Selenium functional testing.

The purpose of functional testing is to guarantee that the web application's performance meets the functional requirements or specifications. You test all of the functions of a web application to ensure that the web application meets the requirements.

It uses black box testing approaches and has nothing to do with the application's source code. The User Interface, Database, APIs, Client/Server connection, Security, and other tiny components are all tested during functional testing.

Functional testing can be done both manually and automatically. You test the functioning of a web application via functional testing. These tests include evaluating the web application's primary functionality as well as verifying basic usability by ensuring that users can browse the online application without difficulty. You must also ensure that the appropriate error messages appear if an error circumstance arises.

TYPES OF FUNCTIONAL TESTING

UNIT TESTING

It is usually carried out by developers (who write the application's unit codes) to accomplish specialized functionality for each unit. During unit testing, each component of the web application is checked to ensure that it functions properly.

Unit tests supplement functional testing by identifying the components that could cause a failure. It is always preferable to detect flaws as early as possible in the process, as diagnosing failed tests as a whole becomes more difficult. Unit tests are one of the most common types of automated functional testing, as developers frequently write them to ensure that the various units are bug-free. Early testing promotes a faster turnaround time and higher quality.

SMOKE TESTING

Any new release of the program undergoes smoke testing to confirm that the web application's basic functionality is operational. The most critical components and functionality of the program are covered during smoke testing.

The goal is to ensure that an application's important feature is operational.

Only if the web application passes the smoke test is it regarded as stable and dependable. Once it's stable, testers can undertake functional testing on the new features before moving on to regression testing depending on the scenario.

If the smoke testing fails, it indicates that the current release isn't stable and has to be addressed.

REGRESSION TESTING

When new code, enhancements, or features are added to a web app, regression testing guarantees that the program's functionality is not harmed. Regression testing's main goal is to detect flaws that may have crept into an existing build after new features or functions were added.

Let's imagine you're working with a visitor management system, and the most recent release has a new feature that provides a report of all visitors based on the category they fit into. After you've completed the smoke testing for this release, you'll need to run regression testing to check that the code from the previous version doesn't introduce any new bugs.

Regression testing can be time-consuming and demanding for testers because they are required to undertake it every time a new feature is added to the program. By switching to Selenium test automation, you can quickly solve this problem. With the help of Selenium Grid, you can not only automate your repetitious tests but can also scale them to expand your test coverage.

SANITY TESTING

Sanity testing confirms that the changes in the new build have resolved the issues without introducing any new bugs. Most testers get sanity and smoke testing mixed up since they sound so similar.

However, there isn't much of a difference between the two tests. Sanity testing is used to evaluate new functions of a web app, whereas smoke testing is used to verify the end-to-end functionality of a web app.

INTEGRATION TESTING

Integration testing ensures that when an application's modules are combined, they work properly and do not include any problems.

Integration tests allow operational commands and data to work together as a whole system rather than as separate components. It's usually used to discover problems with user interface activities, operational timing, API calls, data formats, and database access.

SYSTEM TESTING                                             

System testing is the process of checking a full, integrated application to see if it meets the requirements. It is carried out following the completion of integration testing. It is also not accomplished by testers who are involved in the development of the program; rather, it is accomplished by individual testers.

It's an important aspect of functional testing because it determines whether or not the application fits the operational, practical, and business criteria.

CROSS-BROWSER TESTING

When your app is ready to go live, you might assume that it would work the same way on all platforms. However, this isn't always the case because each browser's rendering engine produces a web app differently.

ADVANTAGES OF AUTOMATED FUNCTIONAL TESTING

It has a number of advantages for developers, including the ability to provide a high-quality product that fulfills end-user needs while guaranteeing that they are satisfied with the end results. Produces a bug-free software product while assuring that all of the application's features are operational. Enhances the application's overall security and safety. Reduces the chance of losing money on the web app/software product.