Selenium and data-driven testing: An interview with Carl Cocchiaro

Data-driven testing has become a lot easier thanks to tools like Selenium. That's good news for everyone in software development. It means you can build better software that works for users much more quickly. While the tension between performance and the need to deliver will always remain, it's thanks to efforts of developers to improve testing tools that we are where we are today.

We spoke to Carl Cocchiaro about data driven testing and much more. Carl is the author of Selenium Framework Design in Data-Driven Testing. He also talked to us about his book and why it's a useful resource for web developers interested in innovations in software testing today.

What is data-driven testing?

Packt: Tell us a little bit about data-driven testing.

Carl Cocchiaro: Data-Driven Testing has been made very easy with technologies like Selenium and TestNG. Users can annotate test methods and add attributes like Data Providers and Groupings to them, allowing users to iterate through the methods with varying data sets.

The key features

Packt: What are the 3 key features of Selenium that makes it worth people's attention?

CC: Platform independence, its support for multiple programming Languages, and its grid architecture that's really useful for remote testing.

Packt: Could someone new to Java start using Selenium? Or are there other frameworks?

CC: Selenium WebDriver is an API that can be called in Java to test the elements on a Browser or Mobile page. It is the Gold Standard in test automation, everyone should start out learning it, it's pretty fun to use.

What are the main challenges of moving to Selenium?

Packt: What are the main challenges someone might face when moving to the framework?

CC: Like anything else, the language syntax has to be learned in order to be able to test the applications. Along with that, the TestNG framework coupled with Selenium has lots of features in Data-Driven Testing, and there's a learning curve on both.

How to learn Selenium

Packt: How is your book a stepping stone for a new Selenium developer?

CC: The book details how to design and develop a Selenium Framework from scratch and how to build in Data-Driven Testing using TestNG and a Data Provider class. It's complex from the start but has all the essentials to create a great testing framework. They should get the basics down first before moving towards other types of testing like performance, REST API, and Mobile.

Packt: What makes this book a must-have for anyone interested in or working with the tool?

CC: Many Selenium guides are geared towards getting users up and running, but this is an advanced guide that teaches all the tricks and techniques I've learned over 30 years.

Packt: Can you give people 3 reasons why they should read your book?

CC: It's a must-read if designing and developing new frameworks, it circumvents all the mistakes users make in building frameworks, and you will be a Selenium Rockstar at your company after reading it!

Learn more about software testing: