Appium Testing Automation Services for Mobile Applications
Today’s mobile apps utilize a combination of browser interfaces, native and hybrid apps in an increasingly complex network environment, and with sophisticated 3rd party APIs and client libraries. As the test matrix proliferates, effectively testing these apps has never been more important. Finding a standardized, widely accepted mobile test technology and mobile automation framework platform is critical to efficiently address the mobile application testing needs.
XBOSoft, a leader in mobile application testing since the iPhone was released in 2007, uses Appium as one of its primary tools for mobile test automation. To find out how we can help you automate your mobile testing via Appium with the best combination of emulators, real mobile devices, and our time-tested mobile automation framework, contact us today.
What is Appium?
Appium testing is an open-source test framework that covers the automation testing across all three types of mobile applications, native, web, and hybrid. It is also cross-platform and can reuse code between iOS, Android, and Windows test suites with the same API.
Why Choose Appium For Mobile App Testing?
- By using the vendor-provided automation frameworks (XCUITest for iOS, UIAutomationfor Android, WinAppDriver for Windows), there is no Appium-specific or third-party code to be compiled into your app. This means you’re testing the same app you’re shipping.
- By wrapping the vendor-provided frameworks in the WebDriverAPI (aka “Selenium WebDriver”) that specifies a client-server protocol (JSON Wire Protocol), the Appium testing tool enables you to use a variety of frameworks and programming languages. And because WebDriver has become the standard for test automation with web browsers (W3C Working Draft), it’s not necessary to do anything different for mobile.
- As a popular open-source solution, there is ample support from the developer community who are constantly refining it while also discussing and actively solving problems and issues as they arise.
- Appium iOS testing satisfies the requirements that test engineers demand a mobile test platform:
- Commonly used programming APIs can be integrated.
- Can run the app through Appium server without manipulating the app.
- No source code is required (unlike Robotium).
- CI is compatible with Jenkins.
- Runs on Selenium Grid.
- Works with real devices or simulators, or even devices provided by cloud services.
- Doesn’t require an APK.
Some Thoughts to Keep in Mind When Choosing Appium
Using Appium lets you conduct test automation for mobile platforms to increase coverage and relieve your manual testing headaches. It’s a powerful tool, but as with any open-source platform, sometimes it’s not so easy to get past the basics of “Hello World” and you encounter problems. XBOSoft has been using Appium for mobile test automation for several years on many projects. Some of the more common Appium issues we have experienced include:
- Problem 1: iOS testing not supported on Windows.
- Problem 2: Xcode 8 no longer supports UI automation.
- Problem 3: Complicated management of devices and tests.
- Problem 4: Unable to run simultaneous iOS simulators.
If you want to learn more about these problems and their solutions, download our white paper and see how we approached solving them.
How XBOSoft Uses Appium
XBOSoft has been testing software on mobile platforms since 2008. During that time, we’ve tried many different mobile testing tools and technologies and have accumulated deep expertise in using Appium for mobile automation testing as an all-purpose mobile test automation solution for tasks such as compatibility testing against web applications.
- Develop automation test scripts by automating manual test cases with Selenium, TestNG, and then complementing with Appium principles in the code.
- Reuse existing selenium test scripts by adding Appium capabilities to make it able to run across devices and browsers, without re-factoring.
- Execute the automation scripts locally against real devices or simulators in parallel, using TestNG, Selenium Grid, and other frameworks.
- Execute automation scripts remotely with 3rd party cloud services such as Browserstack, SourceLab, or AWS Device Farm that provide real or simulated device clouds.
- Implement continuous integration(e.g. Jenkins) to seamlessly integrate development and testing.
- Test designs and layouts by generating screenshots on 1000+ mobile and desktop browsers with just a click. (with Browserstack) It’s perfect for testing responsive web applications on a range of screen sizes and resolutions instantly, without trying out each browser combination manually.
Native App testing
- Develop automated test cases against iOS or Android native Apps.
- Execute the automation scripts locally against real devices or simulators in parallel, configured by TestNG or Selenium Grid technology.
- Execute the automation scripts remotely with 3rd party cloud services such as AWS Device Farm that provide a real device cloud.
- Implement continuous integration (e.g. Jenkins) to make it seamless between development and testing.
Test Locally or Remotely
The chart below shows how Appium mobile testing works locally and remotely (with 3rd party service).
- Utilize existing test scripts (Selenium WebDriver) that already execute on browsers in PC or Mac, and add Appium Desired Capabilities (in green) to make it work for mobile too.
- With the help of TestNG/Jenkins/Selenium Grid, execute the scripts in parallel and in schedule mode.
- Maintain all client libraries, scripts, mobile devices, simulators, and test environments.
- Apply the same environment to test native Apps locally.
- For remote execution, upload the script and App, without the need to own and maintain the devices and environment (don’t even have to install Appium) as the server will do it for us.
How XBOSoft Uses Appium
XBOSoft has been testing software on mobile platforms since 2008. During that time, we’ve tried many different mobile testing tools and technologies and have accumulated deep expertise in using Appium for mobile automation testing as an all-purpose mobile test automation solution for tasks such as compatibility testing against web applications.
- Develop automation test scripts by automating manual test cases with Selenium, TestNG, and then complementing with Appium principles in the code.
- Reuse existing selenium test scripts by adding Appium capabilities to make it able to run across devices and browsers, without re-factoring.
- Execute the automation scripts locally against real devices or simulators in parallel, using TestNG, Selenium Grid, and other frameworks.
- Execute automation scripts remotely with 3rd party cloud services such as Browserstack, SourceLab, or AWS Device Farm that provide real or simulated device clouds.
- Implement continuous integration(e.g. Jenkins) to seamlessly integrate development and testing.
- Test designs and layouts by generating screenshots on 1000+ mobile and desktop browsers with just a click. (with Browserstack) It’s perfect for testing responsive web applications on a range of screen sizes and resolutions instantly, without trying out each browser combination manually.
Native App testing
- Develop automated test cases against iOS or Android native Apps.
- Execute the automation scripts locally against real devices or simulators in parallel, configured by TestNG or Selenium Grid technology.
- Execute the automation scripts remotely with 3rd party cloud services such as AWS Device Farm that provide a real device cloud.
- Implement continuous integration (e.g. Jenkins) to make it seamless between development and testing.
Test Locally or Remotely
This chart below shows how Appium mobile testing works locally and remotely (with 3rd party service).
- Utilize existing test scripts (Selenium WebDriver) that already execute on browsers in PC or Mac, and add Appium Desired Capabilities (in green) to make it work for mobile too.
- With the help of TestNG/Jenkins/Selenium Grid, execute the scripts in parallel and in schedule mode.
- Maintain all client libraries, scripts, mobile devices, simulators and test environments.
- Apply the same environment to test native Apps locally.
- For remote execution, upload the script and App, without the need to own and maintain the devices and environment (don’t even have to install Appium) as the server will do it for us.
XBOSoft – Whil Case Study on Utilizing Appium for Mobile Test Automation
Over 250 companies use Whil’s digital training services. Supported by 250+ programs and 1500+ audio/video sessions, Whil’s product is built on both web and mobile platforms. Agile development with two-week sprints is employed. Whil needed to augment their QA team to incorporate automation into the QA process. In our Case Studies, learn how XBOSoft utilized Appium to dramatically extend Whil’s mobile testing coverage.
Take Advantage of XBOSoft’s Appium Mobile Automation Testing Expertise:
- Test Automation Framework: Get a mobile automation framework that lasts and will grow with you with optimal maintenance efforts.
- Open Source Software Benefits: Take advantage of the many benefits of open source software and implement an Appium testing framework.
- Start Up Benefits: Get quick start up benefits with XBOSoft, with years of experience under our belts, in solving complex Appium issues and adapting to many customers’ requirements and integrating with Selenium.
- Mobile Test Automation Coverage: Rapidly increase your mobile test automation coverage and associated mobile devices to improve your software quality.
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- When we start a mobile testing project, we go through a standard process developed over the last 13 years to ensure we’ve covered all our bases. Our updated mobile test plan outline covers everything you should do from the start to finish for mobile app testing.
- This comprehensive mobile test plan template ensures the successful execution of your mobile application testing project addressing Installation, Interruption, Network performance, UI, APIs and more…
Get Started With Appium Testing Today
For more information about our Appium software testing services, contact us today.