There is an endless debate going on in the testing world regarding the strategy for automation testing. What to use, scripting or record/paly back tool?

Before commenting which one is best, we need to understand what are the pros and cons these two.

Let us see pros and cons of scripting

pros
1. Standard scripting language and standard library
2. No vendor scripting
3. Version Control
4. Running with own testsuite or with standard library

cons
1. Need to build from scratch
2. Time consuming process
3. Suited for individual need. May not be applicable to other software
4. Need to identify the elements from source manually.

For record/playback tool,

pros
1. Easy identification of elements
2. Maintenance will be taken care by vendor
3. Will come with utilities to run the test suite
4. Easy setup and running

cons
1. Maintaining the scripts is difficult.
2. Version control may not be available.
3. Vendor scripting may have a deep learning curve

Both the options offer some advantageous. If we can combine both, we can reduce time and do the things in a hassle free manner. That will offer best of both worlds, then it is easier to do automation, Isn't?

So the ideal tool should have the version control, minimal vendor scripting, options for one or more standard scripting languages. Next time when you evaluate an tool, check these options in it.

Rajasankar
rajasankar at zohocorp dot com