Selenium vs Testcomplete
By Amod Mahajan
Test automation is one of the most cost-effective and time-saving methods to test software products with long maintenance cycles. TestComplete and Selenium are the two most important automation testing tools which provide an open platform for you to easily build continuous testing frameworks to test non-stop with a lightweight execution engine and distributed testing.Let’s dive deeper and understand these popular automated testing toolsets with their differences.1. TestCompleteTestComplete is an Automated UI Testing Tool developed by SmartBear Software. TestComplete has the ability to create automated functional tests for desktop, web, and mobile applications. It also has native support for Behavioral Driven Development (BDD).This tool is said to be very easy to use with Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is fast and easy to create, maintain, and execute functional tests which will increase test coverage and ensure you ship high-quality, battle-tested software.It has unmatched hybrid object recognition engine with artificial intelligence. Its object recognition combines property-based and AI-powered visual recognition to find dynamic UI elements quickly, easily, and accurately.It is also called a Script or Scriptless tool. The reason behind this is that if you want to script, you can presently do so in seven different languages (JavaScript, Python, VBScript, Jscript, DelphiScript, C#, and C+). If you do not want to script, then you can use its record and play feature. It is a paid tool by SmartBear. You can bundle options or customize your order. You can view its price here.Brief History:-TestComplete was developed in 1999 by AutomatedQA which is currently based in Somerville, Massachusetts. The current stable version of TestComplete is 14.0 which was launched in January 2019. SmartBear Software is one of the subsidiary companies of AutomatedQA corp.Career Aspects:-It is a highly paid tool which makes it difficult for many organisations to use it. They provide a 30 days free trial. Some good product-based companies use this tool. There are fewer job openings on this tool currently. It is always difficult to learn a paid tool on your own. Although it is a very powerful tool, it is not widely used. TestComplete resources are paid more. It will have less career growth as this tool has everything inbuilt in it and can drastically reduce the number of resources needed to write automated tests.If you are planning to start your career in TestComplete then taking up Automation Testing using Testcomplete Training will be an added advantage.Cons of TestComplete:-License cost is high.Only supports Windows.No much help available through open communities.Not easy to start with official documentationThe tool has stability issuesCheaper than QTP but not as powerful and stable as QTP2. Selenium:Selenium is a suite of tools to automate web browsers which means it can be used to automate an only web-based application. The more precisely only front end of a web application across different browsers and platforms. It can be used with many programming languages and testing frameworks.Different tools in Selenium:-Selenium consists of four tools:-Selenium IDESelenium RCSelenium WebDriverSelenium Grid.Currently, Selenium 4 is about to launch and the alpha version is already launched as of this article is being written.History of Selenium:-Selenium was developed by Jason Huggins in 2004 at ThoughtWorks in Chicago. Later it was made open source and it has become a more powerful and popular tool for web application automation.Career Aspects:-Selenium is an open source tool which increases its popularity in organisations which are mainly service based. Its flexibility of integration with major programming language makes it more adaptable.Selenium has more future growth and a higher number of job openings. You can easily learn and practice as so many free online tutorials and help communities are available. Also, you can take up Selenium training to advance your career.Let’s Compare TestComplete and Selenium :-As we have seen a basic introduction about TestComplete and Selenium, you must be confused about which of these tools is the best and how you can select a tool which properly suits your requirements. Don’t worry, we will compare both tools here so that it could solve your problem.Comparison BasisTestCompleteSeleniumSoftware TypeIt is a Windows-based tool. TestComplete is essentially Windows-based application and thus cannot run on Linux/Unix systems.It is a set of APIs which can be used on at least three major operating systems:- Windows, Linux, and Mac.CostIt is a highly paid tool. You can bundle options or customize your order. You can view its price here.Open Source/Free tool. You can download and use it for free. You can download it from here.Developed BySmartBear Software (A subsidiary of AutomatedQA)Initially developed by ThoughtWorks later made as open source.Application TypeIt supports desktop, web, and mobile applicationSelenium can be used only for Web-based applications. However, WebDriver based tool called Appium can be used for mobile applications.Application LayerTestComplete can be used to automate front end and API of the application.Selenium can be used to test only the front end or interface layer of a Web Application.Supported LanguagesIt supports seven different languages including JavaScript, Python, VBScript, Jscript, DelphiScript, C#, and C+Java, C#, Ruby, Python, Perl Javascript, R, etc.Supported BrowsersChrome, Firefox, IE, EdgeIE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Headless browsersSupported Operating SystemsOnly Microsoft WindowsIt supports Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, LinuxSupported IDESupports only inbuilt TestComplete IDEEclipse, Intellij and any other IDE which supports JavaSupported TechnologyYou can test web applications developed with any programming language, server-side technology, and frameworks including HTML, DHTML, CSS, JavaScript, HTML5, Web Components (Shadow DOM and Custom Elements), AngularJS, ASP, ASP.NET (including Web Pages, Web Forms and MVC), Ajax, Backbone.js, CGI, JavaServer Pages (JSP), PHP Ruby on Rails.Selenium struggles while automating SAP, Salesforce, mainframe applications.Supported Testing TypesFunctional (or GUI) Testing, Regression testing, Unit testing, Keyword testing, Web Testing, Mobile application testing, Distributed Testing,Functional and load testing of web services, Coverage Testing, Data-Driven Testing, Manual TestingFunctional (or GUI) Testing, Regression testing, Unit testing, Keyword testing, Web Testing, Data-Driven TestingObject Recognition EngineIt has an unmatched Object Recognition Engine now including Artificial Intelligence.There is no such feature provided by Selenium.Record and Play FeatureYou can easily build automated GUI tests using the script-free record-and-replay function in TestComplete.Selenium IDE provides Record and Play GUI tests only for Web-based applications on Chrome and Firefox browsers only.Built-In FrameworkTestComplete has several built-in sample projects for desktop, web, and mobile test automation, to help you get up and running quicker than ever before.Selenium has no built-in framework ready to use.Test ReportWith TestComplete, you can get real-time information on the progress and status of your desktop, mobile, or web functional GUI tests from a single interface. The tool enables you to share images, videos, or detailed logs that you captured during test execution, or even export your logs in multiple formats such as JUnit, HTML or MHT, to easily share details with other team members.Selenium needs to be integrated reporting tools to generate test reports.IntegrationSelenium can be easily integrated with TestComplete which can be integrated with many third-party tools.Selenium needs to be integrated with many other tools to make a powerful framework.Technical SkillsTestComplete is best suited for both Technical and Non-technical resources.You must be good in the programming language to start working with Selenium.Test Development and Execution TimeIt saves a lot of test execution time as it has a powerful record and playback feature, AI-based object recognition, scriptless test creation, etc.You need to spend a lot of time in creating test scripts. Chances of creating faly test cases are more. You need good programming skills to write better tests using Selenium.Test Script MaintenanceMaintenance is easier compared to Selenium.Maintenance becomes challenging with growing test scripts.SupportSince it is a paid tool, so SmartBear provides good and proper support.Since it is an open source tool, no professional support is provided. But Selenium has a larger community volunteer.Career GrowthFewer jobs, limited scopeMore jobs, more growthOfficial Websitehttps://smartbear.com/product/testcomplete/overview/https://www.selenium.dev/Conclusion:- TestComplete is a script-less tool which does not require mandatory programming skills to start with. It is very easy to use and helps in creating robust scripts. It is much more powerful and feature-rich compared to Selenium. But the cost of TestComplete is higher and companies go for open-source tools like Selenium. Selenium has more career growth and learning opportunities as you need to be good at programming. TestComplete has fewer job openings as like Selenium, you do not need more resources in a project.So TestComplete is best suited for an average-skilled team and restrict timeline projects for faster creation of test scripts. Project budget can be adjusted by reducing the number of resources needed.
Amod Mahajan
Amod Mahajan a Senior Software Engineer and is expert in Selenium, java and many other technologies. He is having his own blog.
Posts by Amod Mahajan
Selenium vs Testcomplete
By Amod Mahajan
Test automation is one of the most cost-effective and time-saving methods to test software products with long maintenance cycles. TestComplete and Selenium are the two most important automation testing tools which provide an open platform for you to easily build continuous testing frameworks to test non-stop with a lightweight execution engine and distributed testing.Let’s dive deeper and understand these popular automated testing toolsets with their differences.1. TestCompleteTestComplete is an Automated UI Testing Tool developed by SmartBear Software. TestComplete has the ability to create automated functional tests for desktop, web, and mobile applications. It also has native support for Behavioral Driven Development (BDD).This tool is said to be very easy to use with Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is fast and easy to create, maintain, and execute functional tests which will increase test coverage and ensure you ship high-quality, battle-tested software.It has unmatched hybrid object recognition engine with artificial intelligence. Its object recognition combines property-based and AI-powered visual recognition to find dynamic UI elements quickly, easily, and accurately.It is also called a Script or Scriptless tool. The reason behind this is that if you want to script, you can presently do so in seven different languages (JavaScript, Python, VBScript, Jscript, DelphiScript, C#, and C+). If you do not want to script, then you can use its record and play feature. It is a paid tool by SmartBear. You can bundle options or customize your order. You can view its price here.Brief History:-TestComplete was developed in 1999 by AutomatedQA which is currently based in Somerville, Massachusetts. The current stable version of TestComplete is 14.0 which was launched in January 2019. SmartBear Software is one of the subsidiary companies of AutomatedQA corp.Career Aspects:-It is a highly paid tool which makes it difficult for many organisations to use it. They provide a 30 days free trial. Some good product-based companies use this tool. There are fewer job openings on this tool currently. It is always difficult to learn a paid tool on your own. Although it is a very powerful tool, it is not widely used. TestComplete resources are paid more. It will have less career growth as this tool has everything inbuilt in it and can drastically reduce the number of resources needed to write automated tests.If you are planning to start your career in TestComplete then taking up Automation Testing using Testcomplete Training will be an added advantage.Cons of TestComplete:-License cost is high.Only supports Windows.No much help available through open communities.Not easy to start with official documentationThe tool has stability issuesCheaper than QTP but not as powerful and stable as QTP2. Selenium:Selenium is a suite of tools to automate web browsers which means it can be used to automate an only web-based application. The more precisely only front end of a web application across different browsers and platforms. It can be used with many programming languages and testing frameworks.Different tools in Selenium:-Selenium consists of four tools:-Selenium IDESelenium RCSelenium WebDriverSelenium Grid.Currently, Selenium 4 is about to launch and the alpha version is already launched as of this article is being written.History of Selenium:-Selenium was developed by Jason Huggins in 2004 at ThoughtWorks in Chicago. Later it was made open source and it has become a more powerful and popular tool for web application automation.Career Aspects:-Selenium is an open source tool which increases its popularity in organisations which are mainly service based. Its flexibility of integration with major programming language makes it more adaptable.Selenium has more future growth and a higher number of job openings. You can easily learn and practice as so many free online tutorials and help communities are available. Also, you can take up Selenium training to advance your career.Let’s Compare TestComplete and Selenium :-As we have seen a basic introduction about TestComplete and Selenium, you must be confused about which of these tools is the best and how you can select a tool which properly suits your requirements. Don’t worry, we will compare both tools here so that it could solve your problem.Comparison BasisTestCompleteSeleniumSoftware TypeIt is a Windows-based tool. TestComplete is essentially Windows-based application and thus cannot run on Linux/Unix systems.It is a set of APIs which can be used on at least three major operating systems:- Windows, Linux, and Mac.CostIt is a highly paid tool. You can bundle options or customize your order. You can view its price here.Open Source/Free tool. You can download and use it for free. You can download it from here.Developed BySmartBear Software (A subsidiary of AutomatedQA)Initially developed by ThoughtWorks later made as open source.Application TypeIt supports desktop, web, and mobile applicationSelenium can be used only for Web-based applications. However, WebDriver based tool called Appium can be used for mobile applications.Application LayerTestComplete can be used to automate front end and API of the application.Selenium can be used to test only the front end or interface layer of a Web Application.Supported LanguagesIt supports seven different languages including JavaScript, Python, VBScript, Jscript, DelphiScript, C#, and C+Java, C#, Ruby, Python, Perl Javascript, R, etc.Supported BrowsersChrome, Firefox, IE, EdgeIE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Headless browsersSupported Operating SystemsOnly Microsoft WindowsIt supports Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, LinuxSupported IDESupports only inbuilt TestComplete IDEEclipse, Intellij and any other IDE which supports JavaSupported TechnologyYou can test web applications developed with any programming language, server-side technology, and frameworks including HTML, DHTML, CSS, JavaScript, HTML5, Web Components (Shadow DOM and Custom Elements), AngularJS, ASP, ASP.NET (including Web Pages, Web Forms and MVC), Ajax, Backbone.js, CGI, JavaServer Pages (JSP), PHP Ruby on Rails.Selenium struggles while automating SAP, Salesforce, mainframe applications.Supported Testing TypesFunctional (or GUI) Testing, Regression testing, Unit testing, Keyword testing, Web Testing, Mobile application testing, Distributed Testing,Functional and load testing of web services, Coverage Testing, Data-Driven Testing, Manual TestingFunctional (or GUI) Testing, Regression testing, Unit testing, Keyword testing, Web Testing, Data-Driven TestingObject Recognition EngineIt has an unmatched Object Recognition Engine now including Artificial Intelligence.There is no such feature provided by Selenium.Record and Play FeatureYou can easily build automated GUI tests using the script-free record-and-replay function in TestComplete.Selenium IDE provides Record and Play GUI tests only for Web-based applications on Chrome and Firefox browsers only.Built-In FrameworkTestComplete has several built-in sample projects for desktop, web, and mobile test automation, to help you get up and running quicker than ever before.Selenium has no built-in framework ready to use.Test ReportWith TestComplete, you can get real-time information on the progress and status of your desktop, mobile, or web functional GUI tests from a single interface. The tool enables you to share images, videos, or detailed logs that you captured during test execution, or even export your logs in multiple formats such as JUnit, HTML or MHT, to easily share details with other team members.Selenium needs to be integrated reporting tools to generate test reports.IntegrationSelenium can be easily integrated with TestComplete which can be integrated with many third-party tools.Selenium needs to be integrated with many other tools to make a powerful framework.Technical SkillsTestComplete is best suited for both Technical and Non-technical resources.You must be good in the programming language to start working with Selenium.Test Development and Execution TimeIt saves a lot of test execution time as it has a powerful record and playback feature, AI-based object recognition, scriptless test creation, etc.You need to spend a lot of time in creating test scripts. Chances of creating faly test cases are more. You need good programming skills to write better tests using Selenium.Test Script MaintenanceMaintenance is easier compared to Selenium.Maintenance becomes challenging with growing test scripts.SupportSince it is a paid tool, so SmartBear provides good and proper support.Since it is an open source tool, no professional support is provided. But Selenium has a larger community volunteer.Career GrowthFewer jobs, limited scopeMore jobs, more growthOfficial Websitehttps://smartbear.com/product/testcomplete/overview/https://www.selenium.dev/Conclusion:- TestComplete is a script-less tool which does not require mandatory programming skills to start with. It is very easy to use and helps in creating robust scripts. It is much more powerful and feature-rich compared to Selenium. But the cost of TestComplete is higher and companies go for open-source tools like Selenium. Selenium has more career growth and learning opportunities as you need to be good at programming. TestComplete has fewer job openings as like Selenium, you do not need more resources in a project.So TestComplete is best suited for an average-skilled team and restrict timeline projects for faster creation of test scripts. Project budget can be adjusted by reducing the number of resources needed.
7862
- by Amod Mahajan
- 20 Jun 2019
- 8 mins read
Test automation is one of the most cost-effective ... Read More
UFT vs Selenium
By Amod Mahajan
Why Automation?Manual testing of any web-based application and desktop/standalone application takes time, resources and money. Also. it is not possible to quickly test applications at any random time without any manual intervention. Automation comes into picture here to reduce or eliminate the manual testing as much as possible.We have so many tools to automate web-based and desktop applications, with Selenium and QTP being one of them. In this article, we will see a comparison between Selenium and QTP so that you can decide the choose the best for your need.QTP:-Introduction:QTP stands for QuickTest Professional which is a product of Micro Focus. It is Intelligent test automation for web, mobile, API, hybrid, RPA, and enterprise apps. Now QTP is known as HPE UFT ( Unified Functional Testing). Hence, we will be mentioning UFT instead of QTP in this post from now.Functionalities-UFT provides functional, regression and API test automation for software applications and environments for enterprise quality assurance. We can test all the three layers of an application: the interface, the service layer and the database layer from a single console of UFT as it provides a graphical user interface.Automation actions can be performed by an end user on a web-based or desktop application using UFT. We can emulate user’s action like clicking on GUI elements of applications, entering keyboard inputs and much more. In fact, UFT can do it much faster than human if scripted efficiently.Brief History of UFT:-UFT has a long history. UFT was originally developed by Mercury Interactive in May 1998 and the first version of it was known as Astra QuickTest. Later in 2006, HP acquired Mercury Interactive and product was known as HP QTP. In 2011, HP merged two tools named “HP Service Test” and “HP QuickTest Professional‘ and released the tool with a new name, HP Unified Functional Testing 11.5, made available from HP Software Division. In 2016, the entire division was sold to Micro Focus. Since then UFT is designed, supported and maintained by Micro Focus.The latest stable version of UFT is 14.03 as of March 2018.Career Aspects:-UFT is a more powerful tool as compared to Selenium, but because of its higher license cost, many organisations do not adopt this tool for automation. Moreover, the maximum number of tools which could be integrated with UFT are paid as well, reducing its demand and popularity.If you are a beginner in Automation, UFT is not preferable as chances of getting hired is less as well as you can not learn and practice it well with the limited free trial of 60 days. There are very less efficient and updated tutorials available on UFT online which makes it more difficult to learn.Selenium:-Selenium is a suite of tools to automate web browsers which means it can be used to automate only the web-based application. More precisely, only the front end of a web application across different browsers and platforms. It can be used with various programming languages and testing frameworks.Different tools in Selenium:-Selenium consists of four tools:- Selenium IDESelenium RCSelenium WebDriverSelenium Grid.Currently, Selenium 4 is about to be launched, with an alpha version already launched as of when this article is being written.Brief History of Selenium:-Selenium was developed by Jason Huggins in 2004 at ThoughtWorks in Chicago. Later, it was made open source and it has become a more powerful and popular tool for web application automation.Career Aspects:-Selenium is an open source tool which increases its popularity in organisations mainly in Service based. Its flexibility of integration with major programming languages makes it more adaptable.Selenium has more future growth and a higher number of job openings. You can easily learn and practice as so many free online tutorials and help communities are available.Let’s Compare UFT and Selenium WebDriver:-As we have seen the basic introduction about UFT and Selenium, you must be confused which tool is best and how can you select a tool which suits your requirements well. Don’t worry, we will compare both tools here so that it could solve your problem.Comparison BasisUFT ( QTP)Selenium WebDriverSoftware TypeIt is a Desktop based Application.It is a set of APIs.CostPaid Tool. You need to purchase a license to use it. It is available as seat-based and concurrent which costs more. You can see pricing here.Open Source/Free tool. You can download and use it for free. You can download it from here.Application TypeIt supports web, mobile, API, hybrid, RPA, and enterprise apps.Selenium can be used only for Web-based applications. It is a major disadvantage of selenium over QTP.Application LayerUFT can be used to test all three layers of an application the interface, the service layer and the database layer.Selenium can be used to test only the front end or interface layer.Supported LanguagesVBS( Visual Basic Script)Java, C#, Ruby, Python, Perl PHP, Javascript, R etc.Supported BrowsersChrome, Firefox, Safari, IE, and EdgeIE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Headless browsersSupported Operating SystemsOnly Microsoft WindowsIt supports Microsoft Windows, Apple OS X, LinuxSupported IDESupports only inbuilt UFT IDEEclipse, IntelliJ and any other IDE which supports JavaBrowser Area AccessibilityUFT can control the menu and toolbars of the browser.Selenium can control only the visible area of the browser where the web page is loaded.Supported TechnologyIt supports for nearly every major software application and environment, including SAP, Oracle, Salesforce, mainframes, embedded frameworks, headless browsers, and much more.Selenium struggles while automating SAP, Salesforce, mainframes applications.Test ExecutionCombine it with Micro Focus ALM to execute tests synchronously and ALM is also paid one.It can run tests synchronously with the integration of test frameworks such as TestNG which is free of cost.Performance TestingWe can mimic user actions in UFT as the basis for performance tests in LoadRunner. LoadRunner is a paid tool.Selenium is not meant to be performance testing but you can integrate with Jmeter, WebLoad or some paid tool to run your selenium scripts for performance testing.Supported Virtual EnvironmentsDeploy UFT on provisioned Citrix, AWS, and Azure virtual environments, or run web and mobile tests from Docker containers.Selenium can also be integrated with these environments.Required Coding SkillsYou required less knowledge of programming as it offers keyword-driven testing that simplifies test creation and maintenance. Capture flows directly from the application screens and leverage UFT’s robust record/replay capturing technology.You need a good knowledge of programming language. For each binding of Selenium, you need knowledge of that programming language.Test Execution PerformanceIt requires more system resources. It can run on Windows VM which uses more resources and needs more maintenance.Selenium requires fewer system resources and can be used in Windows or Linux VM. Linux VM is lightweight than Windows VM.Object RepositoryIt comes with built-in Object Repository.Selenium has no such feature.Data Driven TestingProvides built-in support for Data Driven Testing by Data tables.Selenium needs good knowledge in programming and integration with test frameworks to achieve it.Tools IntegrationLimited tools and mostly paid.Can be integrated many paid or free tools.Test ReportDefault test reports are generated.Selenium needs to be integrated reporting tools to generate test reportsSupportSince it is a paid tool, so they provide proper support.Since it is n open source tool, no professional support is provided.Career GrowthFewer jobs, limited scopeMore jobs, more growthConclusion:-So we have seen so many differences between UFT and Selenium. The main driving factor is the cost of automation. If you have a project budget and can afford QTP, it is best as it provides various features. If your project has less budget, go for Selenium but you need to put more effort.Selenium is restricted to the browser. If your test scenarios need to interact with desktop in between like uploading a file, downloading a file and verify, etc, Selenium may not work properly in those scenarios while UFT can easily automate those scenarios. Integrating Selenium with Test management tools is not easier than UFT. Selenium needs to integrate with different tools for reporting and managing data which is available by default in UFT. UFT Scripts will be more stable than Selenium. UFT is rich in features as compared to Selenium.UFT can reduce the number of resources required as it has many readymade features available and helps to write scripts. In Selenium, you may need a few more resources and need to write more lines of code. But you will get less support available on online public forums on UFT, but it has proper support as it is a paid tool.
11030
- by Amod Mahajan
- 20 May 2019
- 8 mins read
Why Automation?Manual testing of any web-based app... Read More