Getting Started with Open Source Testing Tools

In the not-too-distant past, the only viable options for testing complicated web-based applications were commercial (i.e., expensive) tools. These tools were well designed but difficult to scale without significant investment in both human capital and licensing costs. Now, a number of open-source tools are available, allowing for rich, robust, expressive testing against applications as complicated as any in the world—and they’re free. However, your savings in licensing and support fees can potentially be eclipsed by the cost of maintaining a team of developers to support these "free" tools. But as the tools progress, the industry is starting to shift toward open-source test frameworks to help manage these tools, allowing their support and maintenance to be done through the “community.” This leaves your team with only the challenge of modeling your application. Marcus Merrell presents one such framework, which allows for quick modeling and implementation of a robust, low-maintenance test suite that requires minimal Java skills.