Introducing Telerik Mobile Testing
Telerik Mobile Testing is an automated functional testing solution developed at Telerik. It allows developers to write automated functional tests in JavaScript using a set of APIs we devised to make the process as easy as possible. The environment in which these tests are executed is node.js. If you aren't yet familiar with node.js, I highly recommend checking it out, as I guarantee you will want to use it in one of your own projects.
Basically, node.js is a platform built on the V8 JavaScript Engine. It provides APIs that make it incredibly easy to spin up different types of servers, utilities, etc. In addition to this, since it's based on JavaScript you can run it on each of the big three operating systems, Windows, OS X, and Linux. This is incredibly important in relation to mobile development, because developers need quick access to tools on the operating systems they either choose, or are restricted to during development.
We are leveraging the power of node.js in Telerik Mobile Testing to create a web sockets relay server. This server acts as a bridge between our Test Running tools, and mobile devices. In adopting this architecture, we've afforded ourselves the ability to easily add support for automating new platforms, and the ability to provide a consistent set of automation APIs across platforms.
For this initial release, we have provided support for the following platforms.
Basically, node.js is a platform built on the V8 JavaScript Engine. It provides APIs that make it incredibly easy to spin up different types of servers, utilities, etc. In addition to this, since it's based on JavaScript you can run it on each of the big three operating systems, Windows, OS X, and Linux. This is incredibly important in relation to mobile development, because developers need quick access to tools on the operating systems they either choose, or are restricted to during development.
We are leveraging the power of node.js in Telerik Mobile Testing to create a web sockets relay server. This server acts as a bridge between our Test Running tools, and mobile devices. In adopting this architecture, we've afforded ourselves the ability to easily add support for automating new platforms, and the ability to provide a consistent set of automation APIs across platforms.
For this initial release, we have provided support for the following platforms.
- iOS
- Mobile Safari
- Native Applications
- Hybrid Applications
- Android
- Browser
- Chrome
- Native Applications
- Hybrid Applications
Note that we don't consider this initial support for these platforms THE support for these platforms. We have long term plans to expand this support to the best of our abilities. In the short term we will be adding more support for automating specific controls, and even for performing gestures. In the long term, we plan to adapt our platform support to whatever Apple, Google, or whoever else throw at us.
Getting Started
Telerik Mobile Testing is part of the incredible new Telerik Platform. Don't worry, this isn't the point where you have to pull out your credit card. The Telerik Platform Starter Edition is FREE, and guess what. The full version of Telerik Mobile Testing is included with the starter edition! So, please, go check out the platform, and everything it has to offer. Once you've finished, come back here and we can continue.
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Welcome back! So, now that you've got your Telerik Platform account all set up, let's talk about where you need to go to get Telerik Mobile Testing. In the top right of the Telerik Platform Interface, there is an icon with an arrow pointing down at a rectangle. Clicking on this icon will take you to the downloads page.
The downloads link
Once on the downloads page, scroll to the section titled "Download SDKs & Tools". Once there, click on the "Mobile Testing" rectangle. This will take you to the Telerik Mobile Testing downloads page. On this page, you will see a link to download the Mobile Testing Framework, and links for the iOS, and Android companion apps.
Mobile Testing Framework
This is the core tooling needed for the mobile testing framework. It includes the following.
Companion app for iOS
The iOS companion app, available on the App Store, acts as a gateway to performing testing of Native and Hybrid iOS apps. You simply establish a connection between it, and the relay server provided in the Mobile Testing Framework. Once you've deployed a debug version of your app built with the iOS automation extension, you can launch it and automate it via a JavaScript test executed in one of the test runners.
Companion app for Android
The Android companion app is also available in the App Store. Like the iOS companion app, it acts as the gateway to performing testing of Native and Hybrid Android apps. You simply connect it to the relay server provided in the Mobile Testing Framework download, and use it to launch Android apps that have been extended with our automation extension for testing.
...
Welcome back! So, now that you've got your Telerik Platform account all set up, let's talk about where you need to go to get Telerik Mobile Testing. In the top right of the Telerik Platform Interface, there is an icon with an arrow pointing down at a rectangle. Clicking on this icon will take you to the downloads page.
The downloads link
Mobile Testing Framework
This is the core tooling needed for the mobile testing framework. It includes the following.
- JavaScript automated testing framework
- Automation extensions for each supported platform
- Command line test runner
- GUI test runner
- Demo Applications for each supported platform w/sample tests
- Companion apps for simulators and emulators
Companion app for iOS
The iOS companion app, available on the App Store, acts as a gateway to performing testing of Native and Hybrid iOS apps. You simply establish a connection between it, and the relay server provided in the Mobile Testing Framework. Once you've deployed a debug version of your app built with the iOS automation extension, you can launch it and automate it via a JavaScript test executed in one of the test runners.
Companion app for Android
The Android companion app is also available in the App Store. Like the iOS companion app, it acts as the gateway to performing testing of Native and Hybrid Android apps. You simply connect it to the relay server provided in the Mobile Testing Framework download, and use it to launch Android apps that have been extended with our automation extension for testing.
Documentation
Once you've downloaded all of the above tools, you can refer to our documentation for information about everything you need to know regarding mobile testing. A few key topics I recommend reading include the following.
I hope you've enjoyed learning about some of what Telerik Mobile Testing has to offer. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below, or visit us in the forums!
Telerik Platform Integration
Now that you've gotten your hands dirty, you may be asking yourself, how does this fit into the Telerik Platform? Well, I'm glad you asked! You'll be happy to know that by using the Telerik Platform, you can track the long term health of your application in a single place. You can see how many tests passed or failed over the past month. In addition to this, if there is a test failure, you can drill into it by clicking on it to learn more about why the failure occurred.
Mobile Testing Results in the Telerik Platform
Uploading your test results to the Telerik Platform is as easy as setting an API Key in the GUI or CLI test runner tools. You can retrieve your API Key by clicking the "API Key" link at the top of the test results page.
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I hope you've enjoyed learning about some of what Telerik Mobile Testing has to offer. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below, or visit us in the forums!
About the Author
Robert Shoemate
Robert is a Software Architect at Telerik.
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