The mobile phones are one of the most used and demanding consumer items that have taken over every other gadget present in the modern world. The expectations of the customers have also taken a high leap along with the passing time and enhanced technology. The users expect the applications and software to offer the latest facilities along with a worm-free interface. They also expect it to be extremely responsive and of low cost. The ones that fail to meet the expectations are not downloaded, even uninstalled and given a lower rating that negatively affects the ranking, as well as the reputation.
How to Solve the Concern Effectively?
In order to eliminate the chances of getting rejected by the customers, it is important to run random performance tests before releasing it to the market. If the application stands up to the expectation level, then it has high chances of surviving through the elevated demands of the customers. The process of testing the application from the user’s point of view is called the UI acceptance testing. Since it is operated manually it calls for a huge budget and a team of competent manpower.
Due to the high demands, this is not accessed by most of the people. In this scenario, Xamarin test cloud plays an essential role, which is a cloud-based solution. It offers tools that aid in automated UI Acceptance Testing for the applications in mobile devices and is compatible with numerous diversified devices. Apart from this, it also ensures that all the applications are running in a perfect order across various devices in exchange for a minimum effort. The maintenance, as well as the acquisition effort, is also eliminated from the test clients as it is a cloud-based application. This allows them to focus on the development of the application.
The Components of the Xamarin Test Cloud Ecosystem
The Xamarin test cloud ecosystem consists of the following components:
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UI Test– It is a framework that enables the tests to be drafted in C# with the help of famous NUnit testing library. It is suitable for the tests that are already developing their applications with Xamarin.
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Calabash– It is a framework that enables the tests to be drafted in Cucumber and Ruby.
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Test Cloud– It is a service that allows countless mobile devices and is cloud-based. The users install the application as well as tests to the test cloud in order to execute the tests fruitfully. After the tests are accomplished, the results are published in a web-based format.
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Xamarin Test Recorder– It is a great tool for the people who are a novice in this field. The communication between the mobile app and the users are recorded to utilize it to obtain the actual result.
You may like to watch a video by Xamarin:
Xamarin Test Cloud Agent on Various Platforms
Android and iOS have various properties and its own UI automation framework. The two demands designing different cross-platform testing format, which is a challenging job for the testers. Therefore, Device Agent and Xamarin Test Cloud Agent are downloaded along with the application to support the performance. Let’s have a look at the functionality in two different platforms:
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Android: In this platform Xamarin Test Cloud Agent is accountable to use Android automation APIs for controlling the user interface. It also identifies the view in order to enable the tests that communicate with them. It is coagulated in a separate APK so that it runs in a separate way in an automated manner. When a test is opened in a mobile gadget, Calabash signs both the applications with a similar key, which enables this process.
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IOS: The Xamarin Test Cloud Agent plays a distinct role in this platform and doesn’t automate the test. It encounters the active window and captures information from the viewer’s preferences. This view information is then returned to the test scripts that automate the iOS application with the assistance of the component named Device Agent. This component boosts the test’s action and can also return it to the tests as well, if necessary.
Visual Studio recently Tweeted that, “Ship higher-quality #iOS, #Android, Windows and macOS apps with confidence by automating UI tests using popular frameworks such as Appium, Espresso, and XCUITest: http://msft.social/1iUWDY” with a GIF:
Running the Xamarin Test Cloud Agent for the Mobile Testing
Executing the test cloud agent is equivalent to running it on a local platform with an exception that it is hosted by Xamarin Test Cloud Agent and runs only on selective devices. To enable this operation, the tests are also installed along with the applications. Once downloaded, it resets the gadgets to a clear state and executes the test after installing the application. The various testing frameworks like Calabash that runs in Ruby and Xamarin. UI Test that runs on C# is the prime contributors to this testing method.
It has been accepted globally among users as well as Software Testing services providers for its immense benefits and ease of usage. It also works in an automated way in Android and also in iOS with the help of the component named Device Agent. Since it is a cloud-based testing method, the low maintenance also contributes to the huge popularity. It is foreseen that the Xamarin Test Cloud will take over the market for mobile application testing in no time.
