Selenium or Rational Functional Tester

Question

What do you recommend for testing purposes in Java environment (Selenium or Rational Functional Tester)? Could you write some pros and cons? I heard about MicroFocus TestPartner, do you have experience with it?

Answer 1

Please clarify 'Java environment'.

If Java environment == a web based application delivered through a browser, then you have tons of choices at your disposal, not just Selenium, Rational Functional Tester and TestPartner. There are a number of open source and commercial tools for testing web apps.

If, however, Java environment == standalone Java application, that runs on your desktop, then your choices are more limited. Selenium will not work, as Selenium only supports browser-based web apps. Functional Tester and TestPartner are both good tools, I have worked extensively with both, and both support the Java platform. There are other tools, such as HP QuickTest Pro, and there are probably some Java-specific open source tools.

Answer 2

Since you mentioned TestPartner which is a commercial tool.
QTP and TestPartner have a comparable pricing level. So you should consider other important factors: integrity of the tool, learning curve, level and quality of commercial support, level of community support.
You may also want to look at TestComplete, which is also very powerful, and incorporates support for Load Testing, and Unit Testing, but has significantly lower price.
Generally, I would say, automation success is much more dependant on automation skills of a person rather than on capacities of a specific tool.

Thank you,
Albert Gareev
http://automation-beyond.com/

Answer 3

Take a look at TestMaker by PushToTest.com . It's written in Java and runs Java and Selenium scripts as well as soapUI, Groovy, Ruby, Python, PHP, VB and .Net. TestMaker allows you to take the Selenium scripts and run them as automated regression tests, load or performance tests and production SLA monitoring scripts without having to write the tests in multiple languages or for multiple tools. You can also run them in clouds such as EC2, GoGrid, Rackspace and CollabNet.

There is a free community version and a commercial Enterprise Version. When you purchase the Enterprise version, you get support for the tools including support on Selenium. You can download TestMaker from the website.

If you're not sure, there are free webinars several times a month on how to get the most out of the latest proven Open Source Testing tools. Definitely worth checking out.