Test Automation is the way to strengthen the Quality Assurance process. Development tools are evolving, so has been testing tools. We all know the big changes made by Selenium in test automation -now time has changed for new tools. Test automation tools and frameworks are emerging every day. In this blog we are going to discuss Cypress.io which is now considered as an alternative to Selenium. Perfomatix is a top software testing company with expertise in both Manual and Automation testing.
What is Cypress?
Cypress is an Open Source, All-in-one, Test automation tool which is fast, easy and reliable testing for anything that runs in a browser. It provides a complete end-to-end testing experience with new standard in front-end testing that every developer and QA engineer needs.
There is no need to install 10 separate tools and libraries to get your test suite setup. Cypress makes setting up, writing, running and debugging tests easy.
“Test your code, not your patience.” ~ Cypress
Most end-to-end testing tools are Selenium-based, operating by running outside of the browser and executing remote commands across the network, which is why they all share the same problems. Cypress is the exact opposite. Cypress is executed in the same run loop as your application. Cypress runs as fast as your browser can render content. You can watch tests run in real time as you develop your applications. These architectural improvements unlock the ability to do TDD with full end-to-end tests for the very first time.
Is Cypress a Game changer in Test Automation?
Yes. Cypress came up with many awesome features which we have been looking for a long time in every test automated tool.
Time travel – Cypress takes snapshots as your tests run.
Except Cypress, no automation tool have this feature at present. Cypress takes snapshots of your application and enables you to time travel back to the state it was in when commands ran. Simply hover over the command and see what happened.’
Debugging – Stop guessing why your tests are failing
Debugging the test script is always a headache. No feasible solution for debugging in any automation tool, other than adding breakpoints. Cypress save your time on debugging. Readable error messages help you to debug quickly. The pinned Snapshot shows the before and after state of an element. You also have access to all the browser’s developer tools.
Automatic waiting – No more asynchronization issues
A core feature of Cypress that assists with testing dynamic web applications is retry-ability. It allows the tests to complete each command as soon as the assertion passes, without hard-coding waits. If your application takes a few milliseconds or even seconds to render each DOM element – no big deal, the test does not have to change at all. Cypress automatically waits for commands and assertions before moving on.
Note: Cypress only retries commands that query the DOM: cy.get(), .find(), .contains(), etc. Commands are not retried when they could potentially change the state of the application under test. For example, Cypress will not retry the .click() command, because it could change something in the application.
Spies, stubs, and clocks – Verify and control the behavior of functions, server responses, or timers.
These commands are useful when writing both unit tests and integration tests.
cy.stub() – A stub is a way to modify a function and delegate control overs its behavior to you. You generally stub a function when it has side effects you are trying to control.
cy.spy() – A spy gives you the ability to “spy” on a function, by letting you capture and then assert that the function was called with the right arguments, or that the function was called a certain number of times, or even what the return value was or what context the function was called with.
cy.clock() – There are situations when it is useful to control your application’s date and time in order to override its behavior or avoid slow tests. With cy.clock() you can control Date, setTimeout and setInterval.
Network traffic control – You can stub network traffic however you like.
Cypress helps you test the entire lifecycle of XHR requests within your application. Cypress provides you direct access to the XHR objects, enabling you to make assertions about its properties. Additionally you can even stub and mock a request’s response.
Within Cypress, you have the ability to choose whether to stub responses or allow them to actually hit your server. You can also mix and match within the same test by choosing to stub certain requests, while allowing others to hit your server.
Programmatically take shortcuts – no longer have to use your UI to build up state!
That means you no longer have to visit a login page, type in a username and password and wait for the page to load and/or redirect. Cypress gives you the ability to take shortcuts and programmatically log in. With commands like cy.request(), you can send HTTP requests directly, yet have those requests synchronized with the browser. Cookies are automatically sent and applied back. Worried about CORS? Don’t be, it’s completely bypassed. The power to choose when to test like a user and when to skip slow and repetitive parts is yours.
Perfomatix | Software Testing Company
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