Crawljax For Testing AJAX Applications

Wouldn't it be nice to finally have a tool that solves all the problems we encounter with automated testing? So often we find test teams going down the path of automating individual test cases knowing that the cost to maintain each of those individual test cases will grow. And for those that have looked at advanced automated testing methodologies, such as model-based and keyword driven testing, they know there's a better way, yet they proceed with developing large suites of automated test cases that end up creating a maintenance nightmare later on when things changes.

In 2010, we will continue to work with our clients to use open source frameworks that solve some of the problems inherent with developing automated tests.  In particular, we recommend FitNesse for anyone testing web applications and TestOptimal for those interested in using model-based testing.  For those of you that have already invested in using Selenium, you should consider FitNesse as THE framework for delivering a more effective automated test development and execution capability.

As for that new tool that will solve all our problems?  We haven't found it yet, but we will keep looking.  And this year, as we develop more FitNesse automated test solutions for our clients, we'll be keeping an eye on new tools like Crawljax.  Crawljax is yet another open source tool that has received great attention through Google's Test Autotmation Conferences. It  is a tool for crawling any AJAX/GWT application (GWT = Google Web Toolkit). It uses WebDriver to navigate through the different states of a web application. It creates a state-flow graph of the dynamic DOM states and the transitions between them. This inferred state-flow graph forms a very powerful base for many types of automated web testing. With plugins and invariants Crawljax can be used to perform various automated tests. For example: security testing, regression testing, accessibility testing, performance testing, cross-browser testing.

And as with most new open source tools, it takes time to create polished marketing and support material - the developers wisely spend their time making the tool better and better.  The video below has a lot of information and detail on Crawljax. The audio is not great, but if you're motivated to see if Crawljax can solve some of your automated testing problems, then this video is worth watching. And you'll probably want to supplement what you watch with more info at this link.