Automated testing has long been part of the software development life-cycle. The testing is not only limited to an individual function but is conducted for entire processes. A tester may even conduct interactive testing using pre-recorded test scripts which are designed to simulate human interaction with the system under tests.
Not only do automated tests save time and effort, they also ensure minimum defects in the system. Web development requires professional PHP tools for web development at every step.
SeleniumHQ
Selenium is a free and open source web application automation tool. It is also called as the Functional Testing web application automation tool. It supports more than one language like Java, C# (.net), Ruby, Python, and PHP etc.
Selenium has different flavors and they are:
#1) Selenium core
#2) Selenium RC(Selenium1)
#3) Selenium IDE
- Selendroid- only for android.
- Appium- both Android and Apple.
Tool Features:
- Supported by all Operating System like Windows, Mac, Linux etc.
- Regression Test cases can be automated by selenium.
- Most widely used automated tool used for automating code in PHP or Java or other programming languages.
- It has its own Web Driver API.
Pros:
- Cost is low.
- Cross Browser Testing with its Compatibility.
- Supports different Testing Frameworks.
- Easy to Integrate with a different programming language.
- Used with TDD (Test Driven Development).
- Useful for Comprehensive Testing.
Cons:
- Difficulty in searching Locators.
- Only limited Browsers are supported.
- You cannot write Manual Scripts.
- Performance is slow.
Pricing:
As it is an open source tool, it is available at no cost in the market.
Click here for the Download link.
=> We have published a hands on tutorial on Selenium, click here for more details.
Cucumber
It is a Behavior Driven Development (BDD) framework that is used for testing a software.
As it is BDD, it is very easy and human readable and understandable too. Test cases are so easy to understand with cucumber. It is an efficient tool for testing. It is written in Ruby programming language.
Tool features:
- Plugin in cucumber helps to work it faster.
- It is a free and open source.
- It is a Behavior Driven Development framework which is human readable.
- It supports different programming languages.
- It supports web and client-server application.
Pros:
- Test cases are easier to understand as it supports BDD framework for testing.
- It focuses on end-user experience.
- Execution is fast and easy.
Cons:
- Cannot insert images, hyperlinks etc.
- Complex due to Ruby programming language.
- Domain-object mapping feature is not available.
Pricing:
As it is an open source tool, it is available at no cost in the market.
Click here for the Download Link
Atoum
It is used for unit testing. It is a simple, easy and intuitive tool for PHP testing. Security level for execution of Test cases is high in Atoum. It supports mock native PHP functions. It produces various reports like TAP, xUnit, clover, etc.
Tool Features:
- It supports data providers and autorun.
- Test cases run parallel.
- Easy, simple and flexible structures.
- Supports meaningful assertions.
Pros:
- Security is high.
- Helps to write mocks.
- It is integrated with all PHP systems.
- It has a lot of extensions available to use with different languages.
Cons:
- Mocking is complicated.
- Tests every part of the software but not assuring to work each part correctly.
Pricing:
As it is an open source tool, it is available at no cost in the market for hands-on practice.
Click here for the Download link.
Kahlan
It is used for end to end functional as well as unit testing for PHP. It uses describe-it syntax. It allows mocking dynamically. Workflow is customized and extensible. It has built-in reporters and exporters.
Tool features:
- Supports BDD testing framework.
- It supports monkey patch to your code.
- Checks called methods are present.
- Dynamic mocking is present i.e. stubs.
- It requires Xdebug and phpdbg.
Pros:
- End to end functional testing is done.
- Codes are customized and easy to understand.
- Human-readable English makes understanding easier.
- The speed of execution is high.
- It helps in Semantic versioning to maintain CHANGELOG.
Cons:
- If new then it takes time to understand the tool for testing.
- Xdebug and Phpdbg are required for code coverage.
- It supports PHP 5.5+ only.
Pricing:
As it is an open source tool, it is available at no cost in the market.
Click here for the Download Link.
PHPUnit
It is an open source testing tool used for PHP code.
It is the most widely used framework for unit testing. The code is tested unit by unit to find out the errors and defects in the code. The Process is a little bit slower and it takes a long time but the chances of getting a bug at the end are less due to unit wise testing.
Tool Features:
- Used with cmd i.e. Command line.
- You can extend the Test cases as per the requirements.
- It uses code assertion to test the behavior of a unit.
- Simple and easy unit testing frameworks.
- It is the xUnit architecture for the Unit testing framework.
Pros:
- Confine to every part of the program for unit testing.
- Most widely used across the organization for unit testing.
- Test various types of Controllers without extending.
- Different and multiple types of test reports are created.
- Tests results are customized.
Cons:
- It cannot run directly with a web browser.
- It is less Functional.
- For API testing it is not good for use.
Pricing:
As it is an open source tool, it is available at no cost in the market.
Click here for the Download link.
Behat
Behat is a Behavior Driven Development (BDD) framework for PHP. It was built entirely for PHP, and it has many core PHP modules in it. The code is usually written in simple English language, easily understandable by all the stakeholders in the project. The BDD structure usually contains the Context, Action, and Outcome, and this format is called Gherkin. Below is a simple example of writing tests in the Gherkin language.
| 12345 | Scenario: Login into Facebook and verify if the user is successfully logged in Given the user enters his username and passwordWhen the user clicks sign in buttonThen the user should be successfully logged into his Facebook homepage |
These scenarios are written in a file with extension features. For example, loginTest.feature in the above case. Behat is an executable that is used to run the tests from the command line for testing the application exactly similar to the execution of feature files.
Steps To Install
To setup Behat framework make sure you have installed the below prerequisites-
Step 1: PHP latest version.
Step 2: Composer which manages all the PHP dependencies for the project.
Step 3: If you don’t have a Composer, you can easily set up the framework by downloading the latest version of behat.phar.
Advantages Of Using Behat Framework
- Easy to install and implement.
- Easy to understand the test cases as everything is written in BDD. The tests are written in simple English language, which helps all the project stakeholders understand the requirement and the test cases mapped to it. The scenarios are written in a feature file and consist of the context, the subsequent action, and the final expected result. These are written using the Given, When and Then keywords in Gherkin language.
- Detailed documentation which helps everyone to implement the framework easily.
- It is an open source testing framework.
Atoum
Atoum is another one of the popular PHP testing frameworks which is used for Unit testing. It is very simple and easy to implement, and it is amongst the new PHP frameworks you will come across. Also, it’s among the best PHP frameworks. It provides various inbuilt execution engines such as the inline engine, isolation engine, and concurrent engines. Those are used to execute test cases one by one, one after another test case each time in a new process, and run all the test cases in parallel simultaneously in different processes separately. Atoum also provides advanced features that help to mock the build, minimizing the dependencies for running the tests.
Now let us see the steps involved in the installation of the Atoum framework along with its advantages.
Steps To Install
Before installation, make sure you have the latest version of PHP installed in your system. You can set up an Atoum framework by either one of the ways.
Step 1: By using Composer which can be downloaded from their official website.
Step 2: By using a PHAR file which can be downloaded from this link.
Step 3: By cloning from the Git repository
http://github.com/atoum/atoum.git
Advantages Of Using Atoum Framework
- Easy to write test cases based on our convenience.
- It provides multiple assertions, which makes them highly effective when implemented in test cases.
- Mocking can be quickly done using the Atoum framework, which reduces the waiting time for resolving our dependencies and makes test execution faster.
- Generate test reports in different formats.
- Atoum Framework can also be integrated with continuous integration tools like Jenkins, Travis CI, CircleCI, etc.
- Several plugins can be added to this framework, thereby making the testing framework more stable. Some of the extensions are-
- json-schema-extension – for validating the JSON tags
- bdd-extension – for writing BDD style test cases which has better readability
- reports-extension – for writing code coverage reports
SimpleTest
SimpleTest is a PHP testing framework that could be used for unit testing. Apart from unit testing, it is also used for website testing and for mocking objects for PHP web development. This framework’s unique feature is that it has an inbuilt web browser that allows users to navigate to different web pages and perform testing.
Steps To Install
Step 1: Setting up the SimpleTest framework requires the latest version of PHP to be installed in the system.
Step 2: Once it is done you may setup the framework by downloading from their official website.
Advantages Of Using SimpleTest Framework
- SimpleTest is very useful for unit testing.
- It provides an extensive support for forms, SSL, frames, proxies, and basic authentication.
- It has an inbuilt web browser, which helps in testing web applications.
- Using this PHP testing framework, tests can be executed through the browser as well as the command line.
- It can also be used in collaboration with PHPUnit, another one of the best PHP testing frameworks we discussed above.
- SimpleTest is highly flexible as it allows result or output customization.
Interesting Read: How To Run Junit Tests From The Command Line
Phpspec
Phpspec is another Behavior Driven Development (BDD) framework that is used to write and execute tests written in PHP. It is well-known for driving the design according to the specifications provided by the developer.
A BDD framework contains specifications written in the English language, which helps in understanding the tests. It describes the behavior of the application using Gherkin language.
Steps To Install
Step 1: Before installing Phpspec, you need to install PHP 5.6 or 7 in your system.
Step 2: Once done, you can install using Composer, which automatically manages all the project dependencies. While installing Composer, make sure that the autoload settings of the composer are correct. Phpspec won’t be able to detect classes unless the settings are correctly specified.
Step 3: Once you have finished installing Composer, you can install Phpspec using the following command-
| 1 | composer require –dev Phpspec/Phpspec |
After everything is done, you will notice that all your dependencies have been successfully installed in the vendor folder. And the executable file will be found in vendor/bin/phpspec.
Advantages Of Using Phpspec Framework
- Phpspec automatically generates skeletons for the classes and the methods.
- It also has a mocking framework.
- It provides 14 in-built matchers to verify the results and describe how our tests should behave. Some of the commonly used matchers are comparison matchers, approximately matchers, type matchers, and identity matchers.
- This framework can be extended by configuring plugins like the DataProvider plugin, framework integration plugin, code generation plugin, and matchers plugin.
Peridot
Peridot is another one of the widely used PHP testing frameworks, which is a type of BDD framework. Some developers even claim that it is one of the best PHP frameworks available for a BDD approach. The tests are written in describe-it syntax in Peridot, which makes it simpler to read, understand, and maintain. It is considered one of the fastest among the PHP framework as it loads and runs the test suites quickly and runs them concurrently.
Below is a simple code for writing tests in Peridot using describe-it syntax
| 1234567 | describe(‘Welcome page’, function() { it(must have a welcome message, function() { $this->getPage(‘http://myTestWebsite.com’); $message = $this->findElementById(welcmeMessage); assert($message->getText() === “Hello”, “should be Hello”); });}); |
Steps To Install
Step 1: You can easily install this using Composer which will manage our project dependencies.
Step 2: It can also be installed manually by downloading the PHAR.
Advantages Of Using Peridot Framework
- Peridot uses the familiar describe-it syntax to create a clear and readable testing language.
- It can be extended with various types of plugins, which can be used for customizing our test framework.
- It can be integrated with WebDriver and databases for executing the tests.
- Peridot is lightweight and is faster when compared to other PHP frameworks like Phpspec and PHPUnit.
- It also helps in executing the integration tests at high speed.
- It has many reporters like Peridot List reporter, concurrency reporter, and code coverage reporter, each of which are uniquely designed for specific purposes.
Kahlan
Kahlan is a unit and behavior-driven PHP framework that uses a describe-it syntax similar to peridot. Without any PHP extensions, we can directly stub or monkey patch our code. It is also an open source framework, which makes it highly preferable for testing purposes.
So, what is a describe-it syntax?
Kahlan uses describe-it syntax for easy maintenance and understanding of the tests. The “describe” keyword usually contains the method specs. The “it” keyword” contains the code to be tested, which should be kept short and clear.
Below is a simple code which provides a clear idea of the describe-it syntax
| 1234567 | describe(“myFunction”, function() { describe(“::match()”, function() { it(“passes if true === true”, function() { expect(true)-> myFunction (true); }); });}); |
Steps To Install
Step 1: Installation of Kahlan requires PHP of version more than 5.5 to be installed in the system. If code coverage analysis is required, phpdbg or xdebug is also required. Xdebug is a PHP extension which could be used for debugging purposes.
Step 2: As a PHP framework it is always recommended to install using Composer as it helps in managing the project dependencies.
You can also manually set up the framework by referring to the official website of Kahlan.
Advantages Of Using Kahlan Framework
- It provides a lot of matchers that can be used for testing various scenarios.
- It provides stub options which can be used to resolve the dependencies.
- It has built in reporters and exporters.
- It is easily extendable and can be customized as per our requirements.
- It allows us to use setUp and tearDown methods like beforeAll, beforeEach, afterEach, and afterAll.
- Kahlan has inbuilt code coverage exporters, which can be used to get detailed information on the code coverage.
Conclusion
There are plenty of reasons to be interested in PHP automated testing. Maybe you’re basically starting your development career or maybe it’s something you tried in the past but wasn’t quite happy with the results. The good news is that there are plenty of tools out there which can help you leverage your time and efforts, whether you’re at the beginner, intermediate, or advanced level.