HTML5 Robot provides these companies with a way to easily and automatically test their web applications in any version of almost any web browser.
Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) November 12, 2013
Today AppFoundation unveiled a revolutionary new technology suite that can be used to automate the testing of HTML5-based web and mobile applications. These applications are specially designed to work with Sencha/Ext JS. Most software organizations do not have the in-house knowledge and/or experience to automate the testing of HTML5-based web applications, due to the complexity of the generated HTML and JavaScript. Even when organizations are able to write automated tests for these applications, they end up being difficult to maintain and break easily. HTML5 Robot isn’t just a technology suite; it is a methodology for quickly and easily creating automated tests that are maintainable and that do not break with trivial changes.
HTML5 Robot was created by John Valentino of AppFoundation, a Dallas-area full-services software consultation company that specializes in enterprise application development. AppFoundation is best known for its work in the HTML5 enterprise web application space using Sencha/Ext JS with various cloud based Java application server implementations.
“The need for browser-based test automation is hard to ignore,” said Valentino. “Companies are slimming down IT staff, yet these companies still need to know that the latest round of software upgrades didn’t break the business critical web-based application in Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox version 19. Having a staff of human beings manually make these determinations is time consuming, error prone, costly, and ultimately unnecessary.
“HTML5 Robot provides these companies with a way to easily and automatically test web applications in any version of almost any web browser. And it is also easy to write and maintain,” Valentino noted. He added that this new tool comes in two “flavors,” the first of which is a Java library which can be used to augment existing testing frameworks or to just start writing Java based browser tests out-of-the-box. The second of which is a new language called Gwen, which comes with its own integrated development environment for quickly writing human-language style tests declaratively.
Simple Solution to a Complex Problem
The difficulty with HTML5-based web applications is that these applications generate a lot of complex HTML and JavaScript in which current test automation tools do not have a good way to interact. These tools attempt to interact with components using methods that easily break and/or are not readable by humans.
HTML5 Robot solves these problems by predefining component lookups for HTML, Ext JS, and Sencha Touch using a methodology where you simply specify what you want, and how to find it. You then can perform a list of predefined activities with the component, such as to drag and drop it. The result is that instead of having to dedicate time and resources to understanding how to interact with the various components, you can start building tests right away.
Big Savings
In comparison to building a customized Selenium based in-house solution, the HTML5 Robot Java API is ready to go and can be used to write tests using 88 percent less code, and is estimated to allow test case creation at a rate of eight times faster. The Gwen human-language approach can be used to write tests using 96 percent less code, and is estimated to allow test case creation at a rate of 25 times faster.
The ability to start writing tests immediately, the speed at which tests can be written, and the overall maintainability translates into big savings in time, and therefore big savings in money. “Don’t reinvent the wheel,” Valentino added. “Take the time you would spend creating your own framework or for doing manual testing and use it to instead create automated test suites. The savings are both in the short term with test case creation speed, and in the long run with maintainability and the automated testing of your web application.”
Knowledge, Experience, Training, and Support
HTML5 Robot comes with extensive online documentation, as well as working examples in both Java and Gwen. AppFoundation will also work to find a training, implementation, and/or support arrangement tailored to specific needs.
HTML5 Robot is based on years of cumulative enterprise web application development, testing, and consultation experiences. Its simplified approach to interacting with web-based applications is the next step in enterprise development, as it is a necessity to continually change running applications while ensuring that those changes do not break and/or degrade the end user’s experience. End users are running in a wide variety of operating systems, browsers, and browser versions, for which companies need to be prepared.
A 30-day fully functional trial of HTML5 Robot is available for download at http://www.html5robot.com and contains both Java and Gwen testing examples against a live web application.
Media Contact
Chris Giametta
AppFoundation, Inc.
info(at)appfoundation(dot)com
http://www.appfoundation.com