In previous blog, we discussed about types of testing. In this blog, we will discuss about various platforms used in Mobile application and different tools used for testing these applications.
Various Platforms
As the desktop computer runs on different platforms or operating systems like Windows, Linux, and Mac OS; similarly the mobile device runs on different OS or platforms. The brief details of the various mobile platforms or OS are as follows:
Android: Android from Google Inc. is an open source Linux derived platform. Till date we have 7 releases of Android, the latest being 2.3. This platform is growing by leaps and bounds and in a year from 2009 to 2010 the market share rose 850% from 1.8% to 17.2%.
iOS: iOS from Apple Inc. is a closed source proprietary platform. The applications made on this platform are popular for the rich user interface it provides. iPhone and iPad are the most popular running products using this platform. Third party applications were not supported until the 2.0 release in July 2008.
Blackberry OS: Blackberry OS from RIM (Research in Motion) is a closed source proprietary platform. This platform majorly focused on ease in use and was majorly targeted for business purposes and did not provide many multimedia supporting features. RIM’s future strategy focuses more on the newly acquired QNX where they have already launched a blackberry playbook with running version of QNX and expect the first lot of smartphones to be launched in early 2012.
BREW / BREWMP: BREW is a platform run by Qualcomm which is used by some mobile manufacturers and service providers. However people using the phone do not come to know that the platform is BREW as there is no branding involved from BREW side. This platform just runs in the background with custom “skins” of mobile manufacturers or operators on the top. Nowadays in many of the phones where BREW was used, it has been replaced by BREWMP.
Bada: Bada is a closed source proprietary platform lately introduced by Samsung electronics to replace the feature phones to smartphones. The first device to run on bada is “Wave”. With this device Samsung has also launched an app store containing more than 3000 applications.
Windows7: Windows 7 is again a closed source proprietary platform introduced by Microsoft with a completely new UI inspired by Microsoft’s “Metro design language”.
Various Tools
1. Simulator
With Mobile applications becoming so popular and going hand in hand with the desktop and web applications, rigorous testing on the devices has become as much important and mandatory as the web and desktop applications. However procuring and purchasing so many devices will really involve a lot of cost to the company. Hence the use of simulators has become very popular. Simulators are a piece of software which simulate the behaviour of the device with respect to some of its properties and help us to test and debug the application to see the behaviour of the application with respect to its functionality. Please note that testing using simulators does not give 100% accurate results but just act as an alternative to the device where the device availability is difficult due to many reasons.
2. Device Anywhere
This platform is a cloud based platform for testing and monitoring the functionality, usability, performance and availability of the mobile applications. This platform is a perfect example of testing on the actual device without the device being physically present with us.
Test Centre one of the main products of Device Anywhere is a fully-equipped, cloud-based lab for the manual testing of the mobile apps. Test Center enables us to quickly and easily connect to and control virtually any mobile device and network – over the Internet – to complete all your app testing needs.
This has a plethora of devices across all platforms; OEM’s and service providers in US. This platform definitely comes with a cost but is definitely a very good platform in absence of the actual physical device
3. Fonemonkey
This tool is used to test the IPhone applications. The features are as follows
- Ability to record, edit and playback the user interface tests.
- Creation of test suite that automates the user operation sequences and verifies the results.
- It is a standalone, interactive recording and playback tool.
4. Robotium
Robotium is a test framework created to make it easy to write powerful and robust automatic black-box test cases for Android applications. With the support of Robotium, test case developers can write function, system and acceptance test scenarios, spanning multiple Android activities. Robotium is released under Apache License 2.0.
5. M-EUX
The M-Eux Test software allows the user to automate, monitor and maintain mobile test cases. M-Eux Test recognizes the GUI elements of the device resulting in test cases that are:
- Device model independent.
- Completely re-useable across different versions of the service/application under test.
M-Eux test integrates flawlessly with existing well known environments such as Eclipse, QuickTest Professional and Visual Studio. This approach results in scripts that are easy to create and maintain
M-Eux Test supports now iPhone and iPad. Tests based on recognition of the iOS UI elements are made possible. These test cases are highly re-usable for regression testing.
6. TestQuest CountDown
TestQuest CountDown is designed specifically to help you meet the challenges of today’s complex, fast-moving mobile and wireless marketplace. As the ultimate test platform for launching mobile devices and applications, TestQuest CountDown integrates test design, management and execution while enabling collaboration among distributed development teams. With its codeless graphical interface for test design and other powerful features, TestQuest CountDown helps you accelerate the time-to-market of your latest mobile products. For more details refer to http://bsquare.com/testquest-countdown.aspx
7. TestQuest Pro
TestQuest Pro adapts to almost any test environment, providing a complete automated test solution for quality assurance and development groups across the organization. TestQuest Pro, our original test automation tool, is widely used to test embedded systems, including: enterprise computing/information automation, digital entertainment and consumer electronics, telecom/datacom, military/aerospace and medical devices. It delivers a broad range of applications, including regression, stress, performance and interoperability testing. TestQuest Pro can simultaneously run different tests on multiple - and different - target devices. For more details refer to http://bsquare.com/testquest-pro.aspx
This blog on Mobile Application Testing is a collaborative efforts by Ashish Panpaliya and Amol Umate.
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