Introduction to Test Automation with Selenium and Cucumber

Selenium has made significant progress toward being the preferred automated testing tool for DevOps. Selenium is one of the best ways to automate testing on web browsers, but it does require some technical expertise to set up and operate. Selenium can also be customized and made to work more efficiently by integrating with other programs and devices. Yet in recent times, there has been a lot of excitement surrounding the Cucumber tool.

Selenium and Cucumber testing is quickly gaining popularity for automating web application tests. Although Selenium is typically used for functional and regression testing, the Cucumber testing tool enables you to create simple test cases that Selenium runs on several browsers. Understanding the foundations of various testing methodologies can give you the information you need to make wise decisions, regardless of whether you hire a software testing company to manage your QA or you’re trying to deploy new technologies internally.

Introduction to Cucumber

Regardless of technological proficiency, Cucumber test automation supports Behaviour Driven Development (BDD), a method in which test cases are written in straightforward English words. In reality, if the test case requirements were written in Cucumber using Gherkin, everyone in the organisation could comprehend them.

The Gherkin language is used to describe the behaviour of the application as part of the Cucumber test framework. You can use any programming language you’re comfortable with because Gherkin has straightforward syntax and supports several different languages, including Java, Ruby, and Python. In addition to integrating with Selenium, the Cucumber automation tool also works with Ruby on Rails, Watir, and other web-based testing technologies.  Also note that as Cucumber is open source, downloading and installing it is free.

What Is Behaviour Driven Development (BDD)?

The application flow is simple to read and comprehend because of Cucumber. The test cases are designed prior to the development of the code in the Behavior-driven development (BDD). This outlines the system’s intended behaviour from the viewpoint of the user, as well as what they hope to accomplish with the program. Business analysts, non-technical experts, and development resources are connected through Cucumber. Everyone who comprehends the logic of the application can contribute to the testing process because writing test cases doesn’t require any coding knowledge. The BDD framework in Selenium is an important concept to know.

Benefits of using the BDD model

Every known method and model for software development includes advantages and disadvantages that ultimately determine which is better in a given situation. For the time being, let’s look at the positive aspects of BDD and its benefits.

• The team writes comprehensible tests that analysts and project managers can all comprehend. All stakeholders can take part in building and upgrading test scenarios thanks to simple language.
• BDD blends test requirements with software specifications. In other words, when you define a feature as “given – when – then,” you simultaneously express a requirement’s specification and produce a fully-functional test scenario.
• In Gherkin, it is simple to design a scenario that fails. Simply convert an issue description into a test scenario to complete the task. Its simplicity makes the QA process even more user-focused by allowing a QA team to concentrate on the behavioural aspects of a product rather than the technical execution of test scenarios.

Why Cucumber and Selenium? 

Selenium’s Cucumber framework enables the execution of automated acceptance tests created using the BDD methodology. Its capacity to comprehend descriptions written in plain text is one of its best advantages. The tests created in Feature Files, which are simple and non-technical, are used to execute Cucumber Selenium testing.

In this case, Cucumber is the BDD tool to test at the user interface layer, and Selenium is the actual testing framework.

Testing a login page that is based on the following activities is a simple Cucumber test case example.

• Given I am on the login page 
• When I enter valid credentials 
• Then I should see my account 

Since each team member’s levels of knowledge vary, cucumber can make use of skills. While some testers on the same team might be very technical, others might not have any technical expertise at all. No matter their skill level, every team member can contribute to the creation of automation tests, which can range from those based on business logic and workflow to those involving the creation of objects and calls and the definition of data sources.

Cucumber makes it possible for anyone who can read English to create a test case for the web app’s interface, in contrast to Selenium, where setting up test cases can require more technical expertise. Selenium is a Java-based open-source framework for automated testing. It communicates with the browser to interpret Cucumber’s test instructions.

Differences Between Selenium And Cucumber 

• Cucumber is a testing tool based on BDD, while Selenium is a browser automation testing tool.
• Selenium test scripts are created in languages like Java, C#, etc. Cucumber test scripts are written in English text using the syntax of the Gherkin language and resemble processes more than anything else.
• Cucumber does not support conditional statements, but Selenium does. While Cucumber offers BDD so you can write the scenarios first working with the business team, Selenium automated UI testing on browsers. 

Conclusion

Both Cucumber and Selenium can be downloaded for free. Cucumber and Selenium integration makes use of DevOps and business area expertise for a BDD approach to UI testing. This combination can enhance the DevOps CICD process, speed up testing, and involve those with more business expertise because Selenium automates cross-browser testing. Automation is now crucial for minimising manual and repetitive work and preserving software quality. And as more QA testing businesses opt to utilise Selenium to have the upper hand in software testing, it’s because it provides automation, security, usability, and performance. 

Moreover, Behavior Driven Development is gaining popularity as a way to test critical user scenarios with greater business input. This method outlines in simple words the expected behavior of a feature. For everyone to have a common idea of what needs to be done, BDD encourages collaboration between the business and development teams. Selenium and Cucumber help you know the importance of Software testing, so learning them is an advantage to you.