Test Scripts shall be in syntax of scripting languages

Posted on Jun 01

By mark

Occasionally I got questions like

Why you didn't build TestWise as Eclipse plugin? Why you built a new IDE from scratch?
Do you support test scripts in Java or C#?

First question is easy to answer: testers don't need the complexity of Eclipse. They just need a tool simple, small, view/edit/run test scripts. Also another important human factor, if testers are using the same tool as developers, it puts programmers on a dominant position. From my experience, minor details count.

The same argument (sharing same tool/langauge with programmers) goes for the second question as well. Test scripts are shall be simple, concise, idealy one line for one operation. It is good to know people (with some programming skills) now move away from expensive record/playback tool for open-source test frameworks, Selenium is a popular choice. However, if the choice is made purely for the benefits of programmers, then I disagree.

Recently at the TIST conference, two people from separate companies told me the similar story: despite of a lot of effort programmers spent providing various ways (such as page-objects, environment selection, data-driven,... etc) to help non-tech testers get engaged, outcome not ideal. That's because the whole approach was programmer-centric.

I think test scripts shall be in scripting languages such as Ruby, Python, not compiled ones such as Java or C#. Why, because it is called 'test scripts' for a reason.