The application testing life cycle includes both logging and reporting as essential components. Logging is an essential part of reporting because it offers the comprehensive information required to back up the findings and insights offered in the test report. Therefore it is the responsibility of testers to identify defects in web applications and report them to the development team or higher management.
To ensure that everyone on the team can understand the information, it is crucial to extract the relevant information from the tests and present it in-depth in test reports. Selenium automation testing makes it easier to determine the scope, parameters, and tests that were run.
However, while using Selenium for testing, utilizing the best reporting solution to create a thorough Selenium test report can greatly improve the testing process. Test reports created with Selenium reporting tools provide in-depth analysis of testing accuracy and activity, such as the progress of test scenarios.
It is crucial to have a strong logging framework while maintaining automated Selenium tests since logs inform stakeholders about the state of the application. Additionally, an excellent logging framework facilitates easy debugging and failure detection of the Selenium scripts.
It is widely acknowledged that the purpose of test automation tools is to facilitate successful test execution. However, numerous other elements also contribute significantly to the success of test automation. Logging and reporting are two of the most important components of any test automation system because they aid in determining the outcome of the test cases. We will talk about Selenium's logging and reporting in this article. But before doing that, it's crucial to comprehend what Selenium is and how significant it is for web automation testing.
Selenium is the most popular open-source framework for automating web testing. Its main application is for automating the testing of websites and web apps to check that everything functions as intended.
To test the functionality of web-based applications, it enables testers to create automated tests in a variety of programming languages, including Java, Python, Perl, Ruby, and C#. Therefore, a programmer who is familiar with any of these can carry out Selenium automation testing with ease.
Testing across browsers is supported by Selenium. This means that Selenium tests can be conducted on a variety of operating systems, such as Windows, Mac, and Linux, as well as on a variety of browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and IE.
Selenium has emerged as the top choice among testers and developers for web-based automated testing. This is due to its ability to handle a wide range of programming languages, operating systems, and web browsers. Selenium offers comprehensive solutions to many testing challenges and needs.
Selenium is not a single tool; rather, it is a suite of tools that addresses many testing requirements of the tester. Three primary components make up the Selenium suite.
The Selenium suite's simplest framework is Selenium IDE. It is a Firefox add-on that aids testers in automating the browser through the function of recording and replay. In addition, a built-in debugger makes it possible for testers to identify issues in the tests.
The Selenium suite's most popular tool is Selenium WebDriver. It is an open-source tool designed to automate user interaction with web browsers. This supports a wide range of programming languages, including Java, C#, Python, and Perl.
It has several expensive features, such as a robust and flexible test automation framework that enables the creation of automated tests that accurately simulate how users interact with a web application, as well as tools that automatically find objects on a web page and take screenshots of the tests as they run.
Selenium Grid is an essential component of the complete Selenium testing suite. Testers use Selenium Grid to conduct parallel tests across numerous browsers to quickly scale the test automation.
To verify that a web application is of the needed quality and complies with criteria, testing is crucial. Numerous testing tools are available on the market, but Selenium has remained at the forefront among them because of its many built-in benefits like,
When test cases are executed, test reports are examined by testers who want to find out about failures and how the tests were executed. However effective logging in the code is required if they want to find out why the errors occurred.
Let's talk about logging and reporting separately and why they are crucial in Selenium.
The term "logging" describes the procedure of recording every aspect of the testing process. This includes information logs on how the applications may or may not have operated or been implemented. It provides an accurate evaluation of application performance, including any problems that might have arisen during testing.
Logging is primarily used to preserve a record of the testing procedure. Therefore, the testing team can analyze the results and assess if the application satisfies the quality. The goal is to make a post-execution examination of application errors and flaws available.
An effective logging framework will provide a clear knowledge of how the test suite is run. One such logging framework that assists in capturing data in the form of logs or log files is Log4j in Selenium.
Selenium uses the Java-based logging framework Log4j. By providing details about everything that occurs throughout the execution of the test, it offers a simple method for logging. Insight into potential errors during application execution or automation is also provided by Log4j.
The three components of the Log4j logging framework are as follows.
All the information required to be created by the framework is present in the logger Log4j. Its logger class and log-level methods can be used to fully comprehend how it operates.
Based on the action being taken, log severity varies.Log4j offers 5 different severity log-level options. Their names are ALL, ERROR, WARN, DEBUG, INFO, and FATAL.
Now that it specified what the logs will be, appenders will choose what will happen to those logs. Log events will be sent to the desired folder. For Log4j, there are four primary categories of appenders. FileAppender, ConsoleAppender, RollingFileAppender, and DailyRollingFileAppender are each of them.
The layout offers several options for formatting logs. It determines how log messages will be formatted. One can utilize a variety of layouts for log messages. The main three of them are XML Layout, Pattern Layout, and HTML Layout.
Selenium is a wonderful application for using Log4j as a logging system. By maintaining logs, its robust design and distinct components make it simpler to track, monitor, and debug automation tests. , Selenium uses the Log4j logging framework for the following reasons:
The Log4j logging framework may make application debugging simple. It records every step of the testing procedure in detail, including what was tested, who tested it when it was tested, and the test cycle's outcomes. Furthermore, it is simpler to categorize information by categories when there are various log levels.
The open-source logging framework can assist with troubleshooting problems that develop during testing in various contexts. This ultimately assists in identifying the underlying causes of problems and taking appropriate action to fix them by looking at the logs. Thus, facilitating the QA team's ability to prioritize issues. Especially, those to fix quickly before release, hence enhancing application performance.
It is more accessible for quicker debugging because the setup is simple and cost-free. It is also simpler to use and configure log4j in Selenium with three components and clear usage.
The ability to share test logs with cross-functional teams encourages collaboration. This makes sure there are no communication gaps and helps to guarantee that the QA team, the development team, and the product team are all on the same page and aware of everything that is going on.
To execute the testing successfully a flawless test automation solution is a requirement. Additionally, a variety of criteria are crucial in the development of a strong automation framework. One of these components is reporting. The automated report not only informs of the success or failure but also aids in identifying any potential flaws.
The Selenium test reporting tool aids in defining the steps that are executed throughout the test life cycle for any release. So that testers can examine the output and, in the situation that any problems are discovered, troubleshoot them at the moment the test cases fail.
Selenium reporting tools create reports that serve as a health certificate for the testing application and provide information on the testing scope, tests carried out, errors found, and general quality suggestions. Once it presents to management, they can decide whether to send it to the users or allow the team to concentrate on the report's shortcomings.
JUnit Reporter Log, Extent Reports, TestNG Reporting Tool, Allure, and many other tools are among the greatest automation reporting solutions for Selenium.
The following are some benefits of using Selenium reporting tools.
Web and mobile applications are becoming more and more common. The demand for automated web testing services grows as a result. Selenium automated testing has established itself as one of the best and most cost-effective forms of web testing, and it is constantly being enhanced. For automated testing on mobile or websites, Selenium is the standard option.
Remember that each Selenium test needs to run on real devices and browsers to accurately simulate real-world situations. However, a large concern every developer and tester has is device fragmentation. Globally, a huge variety of different devices access the internet. This is why businesses must optimize all applications, whether web-based or mobile, for various configurations, viewports, screen sizes, and resolutions to function properly.
If access to an internal device lab is not possible or local installations and setups with expensive hardware and infrastructure are challenging, choosing a cloud-based testing provider that offers a wide variety of real devices and browsers is an excellent choice.
LambdaTest is an AI test orchestration and execution platform that provides an online Selenium grid of more than 3000 real devices, browsers, and operating systems. Each has its own version, for manual and automated testing of web and mobile apps.
The following are some advantages of utilizing LambdaTest:
In conclusion, it can be stated that Selenium automated testing includes logging test reporting as a fundamental component. Logging is an essential part of test reporting, and creating a thorough test report with the appropriate Selenium reporting tool is crucial. It offers the in-depth data businesses need to support the findings and insights into the testing activity shown in the test report.
