Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

testcafe.devexpress.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

1–10 of 32 posts

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#2

Post by jolt »

Haven't used it myself, but i would love to hear from someone who has used this, or something similar. How useful is this kind of testing? I'm thinking that tests would have to be re-recorded a lot, if this is used while developing the site.

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#3

Post by pedalpete »

I'm currently watching the 27minute video. I was expecting a quick sample of what TestCafe does, but it is a full-on tutorial of using all their features. Also it goes into a VERY deep yet simple level (like here's how to change the port#).

I'd recommend a shorter, marketing style video just showing why TestCafe is great. I haven't gotten there yet, at more than 5 minutes in...

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#4

Post by janekk »

pedalpete wrote: post #3

I'm currently watching the 27minute video. I was expecting a quick sample of what TestCafe does, but it is a full-on tutorial of using all their features. Also it goes into a VERY deep yet simple level (like here's how to change the port#). I'd recommend a shorter, marketing style video just showing why TestCafe is great. I haven't gotten there yet, at more than 5 minutes in...

I agree, I don't care about config files, just want to see them write a simple test and see it run.

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#5

Post by janekk »

jolt wrote: post #2

Haven't used it myself, but i would love to hear from someone who has used this, or something similar. How useful is this kind of testing? I'm thinking that tests would have to be re-recorded a lot, if this is used while developing the site.

I'm in the 'something similar' camp. This is functional testing. I use Selenium, an open source library for automating browsers via plugins.

Personally I find it much more useful than unit/integration tests because while those test the programmer's understanding of his own code, functional tests actually drive the app, perform normal user actions by driving the GUI. For example, you could have all of your unit tests passing but without functional tests, your OK button may appear off-screen and you wouldn't know.

It is annoying when you make changes to your app because test runs take much longer than unit tests, so I have one general test that I run after a refactor, and then a full suite that runs after commit.

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#6

Post by wusatiuk »

janekk wrote: post #4
pedalpete wrote: post #3

I'm currently watching the 27minute video. I was expecting a quick sample of what TestCafe does, but it is a full-on tutorial of using all their features. Also it goes into a VERY deep yet simple level (like here's how to change the port#). I'd recommend a shorter, marketing style video just showing why TestCafe is great. I haven't gotten there yet, at more than 5 minutes in...

I agree, I don't care about config files, just want to see them write a simple test and see it run.

definitly, if you want to push the product with a video, it should not be longer than 2, max. 3 minutes and you should only show the key aspects.

additionally, you could have a look at some conversion rate bascis (I cannot find a call to action button above the fold,...) or SaaS marketing tips on how to push your product out.

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#7

Post by janekk »

I like the visual method of writing scripts, but having used Selenium + SauceLabs.com on a real app and dealing with functional browser tests every day, I'm concerned about:

* Timing issues; most of the time spent writing functional tests is knowing when to wait for the next click (e.g. waiting for AJAX response and change in a certain DOM element)... and doing this in a clean way (e.g. WebDriverWait conditions instead of putting Sleep(1000) everywhere).

* Ability to expand the tests to do other things; for example, Selenium can take screenshots of the browser window because it works at a lower level. We use this for regression testing our web pages.

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#8

Post by hugs »

"Yes, we've filed for a patent"

"TestCafé loads websites via a proxy, thus allowing its engine to inject scripts that can access and manipulate the Document Object Model"

That's exactly how Selenium 1 worked when we created it 9 years ago. It also sounds like the approach used in Sahi, Windmill, JsTestDriver -- other web testing tools. Not cool.

"While loading via proxy is not a new idea, our implementation is unique. Our framework is the only one that automatically configures that proxy and allows direct communication with the page via JavaScript."

I look forward to reading your patent application.

Re: TestCafé: Web Testing Framework

#9

Post by hugs »

jolt wrote: post #2

Haven't used it myself, but i would love to hear from someone who has used this, or something similar. How useful is this kind of testing? I'm thinking that tests would have to be re-recorded a lot, if this is used while developing the site.

It sounds like their approach is the same one we took with the first version of Selenium. The approach is JavaScript injection through an HTTP proxy. Because of the same origin policy and JavaScript security model, we abandoned this approach when moving to Selenium 2. Selenium 2 goes for the most native approach for clicks and key events. (Continuing in that native-is-better approach, I'm now experimenting with robots, but that's another story.) I'm amazed they think their approach is better.

I'm surprised they think the Selenium 1 JavaScipt proxy-injection model is a better approach. But hey, I'm getting old... Get off my lawn, yadda, yadda, yadda. But I'm stunned they think it's better and trying to patent it. I really hope I'm missing some new key insight here. Please enlighten me, people.

Post reply on HN