Most commonly used software testing tools
Software Testing Tools are products that initiate various software test-related activities like - requirement gathering, planning, build creation, executing tests, test analysis, and defect logging.
Such testing tools check the robustness of software and
its performance. As per stats, a CIOs’ and senior tech professionals’
panel found that most companies spend at least 23% of the budget on QA and
testing. Every company is using automated software testing tools to test the
software. But the major question is - What are the best software testing
tools around? Well, in the market, the QA tester tools are available
in free and paid versions. However, the free tools come with some limitations
on the functionality, while the paid tools come with all required functions.
The demand for delivering software faster is growing.
With organizations adapting to Agile and DevOps methodologies, it is inevitable
that the software must be delivered faster with good quality. According to the
World Quality Report 2018–2019, test automation will be the biggest bottleneck
to deliver “Quality at Speed,” as it is a facilitator of successful Agile and
DevOps implementation. Software testing cannot be appreciated without good
tools since they determine how test automation is performed. With AI and ML
coming into the picture, the current generation of tools is offering advanced
capabilities, intelligent test execution, and comprehensive reporting.
Below are some of the most commonly used
software testing tools listed in random order.
Selenium: Selenium is one
of the oldest and most popular tools in test automation. It is the go-to tool
for web application testing and a great tool for frequent testing. Selenium
Webdriver, a web automation framework, can be used to execute powerful
browser-based regression automation tests. Many organizations prefer Selenium
because the tool is compatible with various programming languages and can be
integrated with testing frameworks. What makes this superior over others is
that it is open-source and can be easily integrated with other tools and
frameworks. Some of the key features are in
several languages, the testing scripts can be written in this software like
Java, Perl, PHP, Python, Groovy, and Ruby. Moreover, the tool can be
deployed on Linux, Windows, and MAC OS. The two available versions of Selenium
are Selenium IDE and
Selenium RC. Selenium Web Driver or RC is used to test the web
applications and Selenium IDE is just a tool to play records. It is quite
easy to use and a popular tool and several online e-books are available to
learn this highly used and popular functional testing tool. Hence, it is one of
the best software testing tools out there.
EggPlant: EggPlant
is a black-box GUI test automation tool. For software testers, Eggplant offers
an assortment of test automation tools utilizing which you can perform various
types of testing. There is EggPlant Functional for functional testing and
EggPlant Performance for load, stress and performance testing. It can also be
easily integrated with popular test management tools. With a single test
script, EggPlant can create multiple device scenarios. You can use it for
manual testing, automation testing, or functional testing to enhance the
overall productivity of a mobile app. Explore manual testing vs automation
testing to understand the key differences. Also, it can work on different
operating systems as per the requirement. You can test any technologies on any
other platform like - UI, APIs, cloud, IoT, and robotics. There is a provision
for testing environments on the cloud to scale testing capacity. It is based on
the Object-based approach that usually follows the image-based search
techniques.
TestComplete:
TestComplete is a functional test automation platform developed by SmartBear.
TestComplete gives software testers the ability to create automated tests for
web, Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android applications. SmartBear claims
TestComplete to be the easiest to use when it comes to automated UI testing.
The highlight of this tool is that it can execute parallel regression tests
with automation builds and create stable regression tests. It can automatically
schedule and run regression tests without human intervention. It also cuts down
the testing time and training costs significantly. It is one of the important automation testing tool, that is
used to test desktop, web and mobile applications. It is specifically used to
build, test and run functional user interface tests with its much useful record
and playback features. This tool supports all scripting languages such as
JavaScript, Python, VBScript to name a few. The tool supports a wide range of
applications such as .Net, native, hybrid, iOS, and Android apps and also has
parallel testing and cross-browser testing capabilities.
Katalon: Katalon
Studio is another popular open-source test automation tool for the web and
mobile environment. Katalon works on top of Appium and Selenium, thus enhancing
the features of those tools like user-friendly IDE, object repository, object
spy and browser plugin. It can also be integrated with other tools like qTest,
Kobiton, Jira, Git, Slack, and many more. Katalon Studio comes with a free
version and paid option for businesses and enterprises support services.
UFT/QTP: Unified
Functional Test (UFT), formerly known as Quick Test Professional (QTP), is a
leading cross-platform test automation tool. UFT provides regression and
functional test automation for software applications and environments. It can
be used to automate desktop, mobile, web, net, SAP, ActiveX, Flex, Delphi,
Java, Oracle, Visual Basic, PowerBuilder, PeopleSoft, Siebel, Stingray and many
other applications. UFT is a preferred tool because of its distinguishing
features such as being a keyword-driven framework, business process testing,
robust checkpoints, XML support, and test results.
JMeter Apache JMeter is an open-source
application or tool based on the Java platform and
is mainly considered for performance
testing. You can create functional and load test plans through
this tool. The tool can also be loaded into a server or network to analyze
certain conditions and to test them as well. Initially, it was launched to test
the web application, but later the scope of the tool has been widened. The
functional performance of Java resources like Servlet, Java Objects, Perl
Scripts can be easily tested through JMeter.
Jira: Jira is a
popular testing tool for agile apps and it is highly suitable for software
engineers or project managers working on an agile project. For better
understanding, read our blog on the JIRA tutorial guide for beginners, that
will clear your doubts and enable you to approach it from a practical
perspective. The tool can manage tracking defects. You can generate reports
from it. As one of the best automated software testing tools, it can manage an
agile project development process, and more. It is based on agile
methodologies, mainly Scrum and Kanban.
Squish: This is an effective GUI
automation tool for all kinds of cross-platform desktop, mobile, embedded and
web applications. This tool is used to automate the functional regression tests
and system tests of their GUI and Human machine interfaces (HMI). It is a 100%
cross-platform tool used for GUI testing for AWT, SWT, RCP, Swing and JavaFx
applications including support for Webkit content.
Ranorex:
Ranorex is a commercial automation tool for web, mobile, and
desktop testing. The tool features advanced capabilities for GUI recognition,
reusable test scripts, and record/playback. The tool supports Selenium
integration for web application testing. Testers can distribute the execution
of their tests across platforms and browsers using Selenium Grid. Ranorex
offers a low-pricing model for businesses. It is an all-in-one GUI test
automation tool from Ranorex Studio. Ranorex is used for end-to-end testing on
mobile, desktop and web application. The smart object recognition feature,
which can automatically detect any change in the UI, is the standout feature of
this tool. Other prominent features include early bug finding, reusable code
modules, easy test recording, seamless integration with other tools, and the easy-to-use
editor. It has a robust reporting feature and it is easy to use for beginners
with a codeless click-and-go feature. It is also used for cross-browser
testing.
Appium:
Appium is the most popular and open source tool for mobile app testing(both iOS
and Android), mobile web, and hybrid applications. Appium supports multiple
programming languages that have Selenium client libraries like- Java, PHP,
Ruby, Python, C#, etc. The good part is you don’t need to modify the
application to make it testable. It i s a great choice for
test automation framework as it can be used for all these different app/web
types. It is considered the best mobile test automation tool in the market
right now. It is customizable and can be used according to our requirement.
Watir:
Watir is an open-source tool for automating web browsers. Though, watir is a
family of Ruby libraries it supports any technology on which your app is built.
It opens the browser as a normal way how the user opens it. Unlike Selenium,
Watir does not have an official IDE for recording and editing test scripts. To
use Watir Webdriver one needs to write test scripts by hand using Ruby. It is
among the best free software testing tools. You will get active support from
this testing tool’s community. It is one of the testing automation tools that
support various browsers on multiple platforms. It is a lightweight &
powerful tool.
Telerik
Test Studio: Telerik Test Studio is an automated functional testing
solution. Telerik Test Studio uses C# or VB.Net language whereas several other
testing solutions impose their own proprietary language. It allows test scripts
to be shared with other teammates via source control. The platform offers a
graphical interface, making it easier for developers to interact with developed
applications. Testers can either create tests using record/playback
functionality or the Telerik Test Studio API. It is said to be one of the most
intuitive software automation testing tool to offer robust functional user
interface (UI) testing, exploratory testing, load testing, performance testing.
The tool also supports web and mobile application testing.
Tricentis
Tosca: Simplifying end-to-end functional testing, Tosca automates
tests across all layers of modern enterprise architectures. The layers are from
API to web, mobile and custom/packaged app UIs to BI and data warehouses. It is
designed to embrace and extend your existing tests while enabling continuous
testing within your CI/CD process. Tricentis Tosca, is the leading continuous
testing platform that accelerates testing with a Script-less, no-code approach
for end-to-end test automation. This tool with its support for over 160 +
technologies and enterprise applications, provides resilient test automation
for any use case. It has special features such as dashboards, analytics,
integrations, and effective test executions to support DevOps Continuous
integration practices. This is an effective software test automation tool that
supports all testing activities ranging from test design, test automation to
test reports along with analytics. It has special features such as dashboards,
analytics, integrations, and effective test executions to support DevOps
Continuous integration practices. This tool also offers a user-friendly UI and
a rich feature set for designing, executing, implementing and optimizing API
tests. These API tests can be used to test across all browsers, mobile devices,
and is used to test various other platforms.
SoapUI:
As the name indicates, SoapUI is a widely used open-source test automation tool
for SOAP and REST APIs. SoapUI is a functional testing tool explicitly designed
for API testing by SmartBear. It is known for its asynchronous testing,
reusable scripts, and powerful data-driven testing. The tool comes with an
open-source and premium version. The premium version has some advanced features
like SQL query builder, assertion wizard and form editor. It has been designed
to help test APIs such as SOAP and REST interfaces to ensure interoperability
of different applications. So it is mainly used for WebAPI testing. The tests
you write in SoapUI are very manageable. It provides drag and drop feature
which makes test creation simple and easy.
Conclusion
Many
of these automation tools have unique features to offer in addressing the
growing challenges of automated testing. So take a look at the actual problems
the team is trying to solve. Then find a tool that addresses those risks, works
best considering the skillset of the team and integrates with the work process
and technology stack.
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