Difference between Selenium and Cucumber Testing
Software testing is an integral part of the entire development process. Various techniques like Selenium and Cucumber testing have emerged which help in the complete debugging of code. In this blog, we will be discussing the difference between Selenium and Cucumber testing.
Is Software Testing Really that Important?
As a software developer, it is your responsibility to deliver an error-free project to your clients. You can achieve this by installing a proper testing framework in your development cycle.
Here are a few reasons why software testing is important.
- Testing Keeps Customers Happy: A happy customer is a retained customer. If your application has bugs that deter a good customer experience, it is more likely to be disliked by them. The only way to avoid this is by testing the software properly before deploying.
- Testing Keeps Data Safe: Cyber threats and data leakage are the most pressing modern problem of our world today. When software has bugs and errors, it is more prone to such threats. Software testing can help you avoid such catastrophes and gain customer’s trust.
- Testing Helps in Saving Money: Software development has many stages. It is always better that you catch bugs in the earlier stage as it is more cost-effective. Bug-fixing in the later stages is always costlier. Thus, a proper testing process can help you save money in the long run.
Software testing and Quality assurance have plenty of interesting techniques to work with.
Selenium and Cucumber testing are the most popular amongst them. Let us discuss them and try to understand their difference.
Also Read :- 7 Principles of Software Testing
WHAT IS SELENIUM TESTING?
Selenium is an open-source tool for automated testing for web applications ranging across different browsers and platforms.
As stated earlier, it is a suite which comprises of the following-
- Selenium RC: Even though it is now considered obsolete, it is important to speak about it as it was the first Selenium tool. It can help develop test cases in various programming languages but is extremely time-taking and slow.
- Selenium IDE: Developed in 2006, it is a Firefox plugin which creates test cases by recording a user’s interaction with the web browser and playing it again. This sounds like a great system, however, the hitch here is that the plugin supports only Firefox.
- Selenium Grid: This allows the parallel running of multiple test scripts on different machines. This process takes place by a Hub-Node architecture where one machine is the hub and rest are nodes. Hub is the controlling force of all the scripts running on different machines.
- Selenium Webdriver: Finally, let us speak about the suite which represents the present Selenium Automation Testing scenario. Webdriver is the face of selenium testing and provides a programming interface to create and execute test cases. It is based on RC but is more efficient and faster because it is directly connected to every browser which has its driver for running applications. Not to forget, it also allows cross-browser testing.
Benefits of Selenium Testing
- Cost-Friendly: As we told you earlier, it is an open-source framework. It means that there’re no direct costs involved. You can download it for free without any licensing cost. Also, there’s immense support from an international community.
- Supports Many Languages: It can support many languages like Ruby, Python, Java, C#, Perl, JavaScript. As a result, you do not have to learn a new language and can easily work with your preferred programming language.
- Supports Many Operating Systems: The most important benefit of Selenium is its compatibility with various platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux, UNIX. You can create a test case on one platform and run it on another. This helps in further saving time and cost.
- Constant Updates: Due to its open-source nature, it keeps on updating with the latest development. Moreover, these updates are readily available and don’t require you to take specific training.
- Easy to Implement: It has a user-friendly interface which Selenium offers a user-friendly interface that helps in creating and executing the tests easily. You can script your own extension and customize actions as per your requirements.
WHAT IS CUCUMBER TESTING?
Cucumber testing combines the ease of readability with the process of software testing. It is a behavior-driven development model and helps in writing software tests that anybody can understand.
The behavior-driven development (BDD) model helps in the collaboration of non-technical staff by making test codes readable in easy language. It uses Gherkin language which is basically plain text. By adopting cucumber testing, anybody in the organization can read the tests.
BENEFITS OF CUCUMBER TESTING
- Easy Collaboration: Thanks to the easy readability of the cucumber test codes, it helps in bringing every stakeholder on board in the development process. From the client to the tester, everyone can write behavior scenarios for the software.
- Simple & Clear: Cucumber testing is scenario-based which concentrate on how a product will behave under a certain circumstance. They’re all described in simple language without any technical jargon. This simplicity brings in clarity and eliminates any chance of confusion.
- Fast Speed: It helps in streamlining the entire process by centering the process around simple-explained scenarios like acceptance criteria, test cases and test scripts. All of these combined reduces bugs and speed up the entire process.
- Shift-Left: Shift-Left is the most popular concept in the world of software testing right now. It refers to the process of shifting testing to the early stages of the development lifecycle. In cucumber testing, the process of testing begins as soon as behavior scenarios are defined. Thus, it helps in making testing an integral part of the early stages.
- Variation: In Cucumber testing, you can use the same behavior scenarios with different combinations of inputs. This way, you can extend the test coverage without getting into code duplication which is a bad practice in software testing.
Also Check:- Micro-service Testing Course
Differences Between Selenium and Cucumber Testing
| SELENIUM TESTING | CUCUMBER TESTING |
| It is an automated testing tool. | It is a BDD (Behavior Driven Development Tool). |
| It is free and open-source. | It is also a free and open-source tool. |
| It supports languages like Java, .net, etc. | It supports many other languages like Java Scala, Ruby. |
| It works comparatively slower in plugins. | It is faster in the plugin. |
WRAPPING UP:
Both selenium and cucumber testing form an important crux of the software testing process. Knowledge of both of these can help you secure a successful career in this field.
If you want to learn more about them, feel free to drop us a query mail.
Until then, happy coding.
