Web Automation Simplified By Virtual Ninja (Robot Framework)

Talk of the town! Automation is the latest trend. Many Managers are chasing good-quality automation guys to set up an automation suite for their project. But to pick the right match of language and automation tool is the biggest defiance for them. Have undergone circs when projects failed by choosing wrong tools and technology. Question arising, what factors should be pondered while making the choice for the automation tool?

Some managers look towards clients for the answer, but to me this is not a handy approach at all. How can a person, who is not a techie can counsel you on this puzzle? Manager should be aware of his team's skillset and capabilities well. If team members are more into manual and they don't have a smashing command over technical language then Robot Framework can be a best-fit for his team.

Being an Automation freak, I used to look-around for the several automation tools available in the tech-space. I am fond of learning new technologies and the new stuff. And it was a freezing winter weekend, I decided to explore Python and Robot Framework. Reason providing it as a resolution for automating manual processes, so far as it's fair-dealing and easy to use nature is concerned.                                        

Let's go through the radical technical aspects of Robot Framework. Few points popping up in my mind that will justify my choice, writing them down:

   

Robot Framework is freeware: Not many things are free in our ecosystem these days.

It utilizes keyword-driven testing approach: It means half of the work is already done (HOMOSAPIENS - We the breed which always want to work less and to be paid more), code is already there we just need to fit the blocks rightly.

ROBOT: This word fantasized me throughout my childhood. Many science fiction blockbusters like Terminator, Star Wars, RoboCop, Metropolis etc. have Robots as the main character, a virtual artificial agent that can make our life easy. We can hope the same from Robot Framework as well, give it a try mate!

Its testing capabilities can be extended by test libraries implemented either with Python or Java, and users can create new higher-level keywords from existing ones using the same syntax that is used for creating test cases.

• The first version was developed at Nokia Siemens Networks in year 2005.
• Robot Framework is operating system and application independent.
• Robot Framework project is hosted on GitHub where you can find further documentation, source code, and issue tracker. Downloads are hosted at PyPI. 
• The framework has a rich ecosystem around it consisting of various generic test libraries and tools that are developed as separate projects. 
• The core framework is implemented using Python and runs also on Jython (JVM) and IronPython (.NET).

(Reference - http://robotframework.org/)

Intentionally, I keep it simple for this blog. Will try to write a technical blog on Robot Framework, all about code if time would allow.

Feel free to ask queries or share your thoughts in comments or email me. Happy Learning :)