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 are increasingly popular tools in the field of web application test automation, particularly for teams aiming to enhance test coverage and collaboration. Selenium is widely recognized for its ability to handle functional and regression testing, making it ideal for verifying that applications work as expected across different environments. Meanwhile, Cucumber brings a unique benefit by allowing testers and developers to write test scenarios in plain, human-readable language. To learn more about utilizing both tools effectively, Selenium online courses are available, providing in-depth training on their integration and application in real-world testing scenarios.
This feature, often referred to as behavior-driven development (BDD), enables team members to create test cases in simple, understandable terms.
When paired with Selenium, Cucumber can execute these tests across multiple browsers, making it easier to perform comprehensive cross-browser testing while also enhancing communication within development teams. Together, Selenium and Cucumber provide a powerful, versatile solution for testing modern web applications.
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
Cucumber test automation supports Behavior Driven Development (BDD), making it accessible to team members of varying technical expertise. In BDD, test cases are structured in a clear, straightforward format, often written in simple English using Cucumber’s Gherkin language. This approach allows requirements to be outlined in a way that is easy for everyone in the organization to understand, from developers and testers to business stakeholders.
By translating test scenarios into natural language, Cucumber helps bridge communication gaps and ensures that all team members have a clear grasp of the testing requirements and expected outcomes. This shared understanding fosters better collaboration and alignment within the team, enhancing the quality of software development.
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
Cucumber is an invaluable tool for teams with diverse skill sets, allowing each team member to contribute meaningfully to automation testing, regardless of their technical expertise. In many teams, some testers have strong technical backgrounds, while others may have little to no programming experience.
Cucumber’s simplicity through its Gherkin language bridges this gap by enabling all members to collaborate on test cases. Non-technical team members, such as business analysts or project stakeholders, can help define test scenarios based on business logic, workflows, and expected outcomes, ensuring that the tests align closely with real-world requirements.
Meanwhile, more technical team members can focus on the backend aspects of test creation, such as building objects, making function calls, and defining data sources. This division of labor allows teams to leverage the strengths of each member, fostering a collaborative approach to test automation.
By combining input from both technical and non-technical contributors, teams can create a comprehensive suite of tests that not only cover core functionality but also reflect business-driven requirements and user perspectives, resulting in well-rounded and effective automation testing strategies.
Cucumber enables even non-technical team members to create test cases for a web application’s interface, as it uses plain English syntax for writing test scenarios. This accessibility stands in contrast to Selenium, which, while highly powerful, typically requires a stronger technical background to set up and manage test cases effectively.
Cucumber relies on its Jherkin language, allowing testers to describe application behaviors in a format that all stakeholders can understand, fostering greater collaboration across development and QA teams.
On the other hand, Selenium is a robust, Java-based open-source framework designed for comprehensive automated testing. It works by communicating directly with the browser to execute the steps outlined in Cucumber’s test instructions, allowing for seamless automation across various browsers and operating systems.
Together, Selenium and Cucumber offer a powerful combination, where Cucumber defines the test cases in clear language and Selenium executes them with precision, making it possible to create versatile, easily understood, and reliable automated tests.
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.
Call to Action
Ready to dive into the world of test automation? Join our Introduction to Test Automation with Selenium and Cucumber course at H2K Infosys and gain hands-on experience with two of the most powerful tools in automation testing. Learn how to build and execute functional test cases, harness the power of behavior-driven development (BDD), and create human-readable test scenarios that bridge communication between developers and stakeholders.
Enroll with H2K Infosys today and start your journey to becoming a skilled automation tester. Master Selenium and Cucumber, and open the door to exciting career opportunities in quality assurance and software development!
