Case Study: HTML5 Robot

Background

HTML5Robot was a tool that resulted from solving a common problem. That problem was: “How to I write web browser based tests against an HTML5 web application, which don’t break as soon as even the most minor change is made.” The difficulty with HTML5 based web applications is that they 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 XPath statements that are several hundred characters in length. These XPath statements are not only unreadable to humans; they are also prone to breaking the next time the page is loaded.

Design & Refine

HTML5 Robot solves the problems with unreadable and unmaintainable XPath and CSS Selector statements by using a methodology for getting an HTML component, where you simply specify what you want, like a button, and how to find it, like by the text on that button. You then can perform a list of predefined activities with the component once it is located, such as to type text into it, click it, or drag and drop it.

To further simplify the HTML component location process, HTML5 Robot has predefined all possible HTML components such as inputs, buttons, and tables, as well as all possible Sencha/Ext JS components such as grids, sliders, color pickers, and dialogs. The result is that instead of having to dedicate time and resources to understanding how to interact with the various components of a Sencha/Ext JS web application, you can start building tests right away by just specifying what you want, how to get it, and what to do with it. For example, “I want to drag and drop the only slider in the page by 20.” In comparison to building a Selenium based in-house solution yourself, the HTML5 Robot Java API is ready to go and can be used to write tests using 88% less code, and is estimated to allow test case creation at a rate of 8 times faster. The Gwen human-language approach can be used to write tests using 96% less code, and is estimated to allow test case creation at a rate of 25 times faster.

Deliver

HTML5 Robot comes with extensive online user documentation, as well as with working examples in both Java and Gwen. Users are not left on their own though to figure things out, because since HTML5 Robot is backed by a software development consultation company you can work out a customized support and/or training arrangement that fits your company’s specific needs. Whether you require specific training, software development integration work into your own frameworks, general consultation, or something else there is a solution for your company.

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 application 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.