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The application development life cycle now heavily relies on test automation. With an expanding reach, the testing industry is seeing the emergence of new test tools for automation. People are utilizing test automation tools to automate repetitive work. Automation tools increase root-cause investigation, speed up test creation, and boost stability.
Previously, the marketplace was dominated by proprietary tools like Selenium, but now new open-source tools are taking charge. Among the numerous test automation tools in the market, Playwright is the new one. Playwright has transformed the way developers test their applications, it has made testing simpler, quicker, and more reliable. Playwright automated testing, however, may be difficult if not done properly, despite its many advantages.
Developers frequently make errors while attempting to automate their testing process, which can result in inaccurate results or even the failure of an application. To ensure that Playwright’s automated testing is effective, in this article, we will look at the six common mistakes to avoid. Let’s first define Playwright, explore why to use it, and find out about its features before continuing.
Playwright
Microsoft recently released Playwright, an open-source, cross-browser test automation library designed for end-to-end testing. It was originally designed as a Javascript-based library, but it has since grown to support languages including Java, Python, C#, and NodeJS. The playwright is most popular with NodeJS and Javascript/Typescript and is released under the Apache 2.0 License.
Playwright Node.js aims to bring automation that is quick, dependable, and stable enough to easily perform the demands of modern web apps. Developers and testers may automate their web apps across the three main browser engines of today—Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit—using a single API. Developers who are developing JavaScript code can make new browser pages, mimic user activities, run automated tests, extract data from online apps, access URLs, and then engage with page elements by utilizing these APIs. To avoid frequent errors that can produce false results and waste time, Playwright must be used carefully.
The Chromium DevTools Protocol, which forms the foundation of Playwright’s design, enables it to command and manage web browsers using high-level API calls. One of its important characteristics is its capacity to execute multi-page scenarios and its reliable auto-wait feature, which can reliably intercept network activity and eliminate flaky tests.
Linux, Windows, and macOS are just a few of the many operating systems that Playwright is compatible with. Major CI/CD tools like Jenkins, Azure, CircleCI, TravisCI, and others as well as testing frameworks like Jasmine, Jest, JavaScript, and Mocha can easily be integrated with it. The playwright is incredibly helpful when testing complicated applications across many browsers. It provides extensive coverage and moves quickly and accurately.
Why choose Playwright
Playwright has grown in popularity despite being a relatively new tool in the market. Based on user feedback, Microsoft continuously updates and improves it. Playwright supports various programming languages, including C#, Java, and Python, making it easy for users to switch from another automation testing solution to it. Programming languages are not a barrier, therefore.
Instead of offering an API with a wide range of pre-defined functions, Playwright offers a collection of JavaScript modules that may then be assembled in a way that best satisfies the requirements. This method preserves the simplicity required when developing automated custom browser tests while providing the flexibility and power of node-style programming.
Since it is based on Node.js, it can be quickly installed on servers and integrated into desktop or mobile applications that require access to huge amounts of data at specific times of the day.
Developers can utilize Playwright to assist in building websites and applications across all platforms. It seeks to automate the browser and make it simpler to connect scripts written in different programming languages like JavaScript and TypeScript as well as frameworks like React, Angular, and Vue.
It enables developers to create interactive web scripts that mimic user actions like button clicks and form fills. Support for iframes and built-in reporters like HTML reports are other noteworthy capabilities.
Features of Playwright
An open-source JavaScript framework called Playwright provides robust user integration testing features for web applications. It enables testers to mimic user interactions with the application under test and confirm that it functions successfully and according to expectations. Contributors to the playwright are quite active and constantly release new features. A few of Playwright’s testing framework’s distinctive characteristics are:
Cross-browser frameworks- Playwright can be used to test web applications created in any major programming language. It is cross-platform and operates in any modern browser, including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. Additionally, it can operate concurrently across several browsers. A wide variety of applications, including advanced web and mobile applications, are built with the aid of Playwright.
Assertions and test scripts- Playwright makes it simple for testers to write or change the test scripts they want to run. They can create their template using JavaScript, which is especially useful if they are testing a specific website or application, or they can use pre-existing templates that Microsoft has provided for various web page controls. The playwrightAdditionally, Playwright supports a variety of assertion libraries and allows for live server testing.
Support for multiple tabs or browser windows- Playwright enables real-user interaction with multi-page, multi-tab websites and provides simple frame and browser event management. Some test cases require opening a new window, checking the scenario, and then returning to the original window. Playwright is capable of handling any kind of test scenario.
Fewer limitations and modern features- The Playwright is a user-friendly, highly adaptable automation testing tool that offers strong and flexible snapshot comparisons, which aids in quickly and efficiently detecting visual regressions. It enables testers to imitate how real users would navigate the website, click links, fill out forms, and otherwise interact with the browser.
Built-in reporters- The Playwright structure offers logical, informative, and insightful reports in a format that is simple to read. List, Line, Dot, JSON, JUnit, and HTML Reporters are just a few of the useful reporters that are included by default.
Single socket communication: Playwright is an automated tool for collaborative application testing that enables the creation of test cases in plain text. The goal of Playwright is to run the tests concurrently rather than sequentially. It offers an interface for testing web applications from end to end, including automatically launching virtual browsers, adding the necessary information, and verifying that it appears as expected.
The six most common mistakes testers make when utilizing Playwright
Not Making Appropriate Use of Selectors
When using Playwright to run tests, selecting the right selectors is crucial since it has a big impact on how reliable and accurate automated testing is. Selectors are tools for finding and interacting with website components; when used improperly, they can produce unexpected and falsified test results.
Selectors can be used effectively to reduce false positives and negatives, improve test stability, and enable successful automated testing.
Testing data with hard coding
Hard coding test data is the practice of including particular data values in the test script directly, instead of using external data sources or variables. Hard coding test data is a typical error that might happen while Playwright automated testing.
Hard coding test data can be problematic since it might limit the flexibility and maintenance requirements of test scripts. The script must be manually updated, which can be time-consuming and error-prone, if the test data needs to be modified.
Additionally, because the test data could not precisely reflect the range of values that the system may see in production, hard-coded data can result in false positives or false negatives in test results.
When defining test data for Playwright automated testing, it’s crucial to leverage external data sources or variables to avoid making this error. Making a data-driven test that iterates over a set of test data values and executes the same set of actions for each value is one approach to using external test data. Since data can be updated or changed independently of the test script, test data management is made more flexible as a result.
Not waiting for page elements to load
Playwright automation testing mistakes frequently involve failing to wait for page components to load. As a result of this error, automated tests may fail or provide incorrect results since the script might try to interact with page elements before they have finished loading.
Using appropriate waiting techniques, such as waiting for a certain element to appear, for the page to finish loading, or for a specific amount of time before proceeding with the script, helps to avoid making this error.
When waiting for page elements to load, Playwright provides several alternatives, such as waiting for a single element to appear, for the page to fully load, or for a predetermined time before moving on with the script.
Not integrating Playwright with additional testing frameworks
Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit browser testing can be automated using the Playwright testing automation framework. To maximize the effectiveness of the tests, Playwright should be combined with other testing frameworks like Mocha, Jest, and Cucumber.
Improper exception handling
Handling exceptions is a critical component that must be considered in Playwright automated testing. Exceptions happen when an unplanned or unexpected event happens while the test is being executed. Incorrect inputs, network connectivity problems, server faults, or unexpected system behaviors are just a few causes of this.
Incomplete and unreliable test results can come from failing to manage exceptions, which can have a substantial impact on the effectiveness of the testing procedure.
Additionally, it might cause false-positive or false-negative test outcomes.
Managing exceptions during the Playwright automation testing process ensures that everything goes according to plan and that any errors are dealt with correctly, producing reliable and precise test results. Developers may rapidly find and address any application problems by handling exceptions correctly, ensuring that the program is prepared for deployment.
Neglecting browser compatibility
A website or application must be cross-browser compatible to work properly across a variety of web browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, and Google Chrome. It is an important component of web development since people can visit the same website using several browsers on multiple devices, including computers, tablets, and mobile phones.
Ignoring cross-browser compatibility in the context of Playwright Automation Testing can result in several problems, including failing functionality. For instance, various browsers may interpret HTML, CSS, and JavaScript differently, causing the website or application to behave inconsistently. As a result, a certain feature or functionality of an application could operate as intended in one browser but incorrectly in another. By ignoring cross-browser compatibility, these problems can go unnoticed, making a website or application only work in particular browsers.
Use the LambdaTest platform to expedite Playwright’s automation testing
LambdaTest is a digital experience testing platform that provides answers to the above-mentioned errors. This platform enables scaled Playwright automated testing across numerous browser settings. As a result, the website or application is guaranteed to work with all popular browsers and allows developers to recognize and isolate problems that could be unique to particular settings.
To quickly find any compatibility problems or defects, LambdaTest offers online access to a cloud grid of more than 3000 real devices, browsers, and operating system combinations. On the LambdaTest cloud testing platform, testers may also perform parallel tests using Playwright Scripts to shorten testing times and detect any compatibility issues across a range of browsers and operating systems.
Developers can accelerate their testing procedures and guarantee that their applications are fully compatible with various browsers and devices by utilizing LambdaTest real device cloud without the requirement for a physical device or local infrastructure. When resources or testing budgets are restricted, this enables more effective and affordable testing.
LambdaTest supports numerous testing frameworks, including Selenium, Cypress, Playwright, Puppeteer, and others, as well as with well-known CI/CD tools like Jenkins, TeamCity, Travis CI, etc. Additionally, it gives users access to a huge library of pre-built connectors, some of which are well-known issue-tracking tools like JIRA and Trello. This makes it easier for testers to find and fix errors rapidly.
Conclusion
It may be concluded that Playwright automated testing is a robust tool that helps developers test and enhance the quality of web applications. To prevent typical errors and guarantee precise and reliable outcomes, it’s crucial to approach them with caution and attention to every aspect. In addition to testing on all supported browsers and separating test data from scripts, testers must also wait for page elements to load, manage errors, use reporting and analytics to keep track of any problems and test on all supported browsers. The right approach to automation testing aids in the development of high-quality applications that are user-friendly.
