Know All About What Is Test Data And Its Importance

In this blog, we will learn what is test data, what is data-driven testing, data-driven testing using selenium, and selenium framework design in data-driven testing. So let’s get started!!

What Is Test Data?

Test data is data that has been specifically distinguished for use in tests, generally of a PC program. Some data might be used as a part of a supporting way, normally to check that a provided set of contributions to a given capability stimulates some normal outcome. Other data probably be used as a part of a proposal to challenge the capacity of the program to respond to unusual, exceptional, extreme, or unexpected input. 

Test data might be built in an engaged or efficient way as is ordinarily the case in space testing, or by using other, less-engaged methods, as is typically the case in high-volume randomized computerized tests. Test data might be developed by the tester, or by a program or function that leads the tester. Test data might be documented for re-utilize, or utilized once and after that ignored. As we have learnt now what is test data so let’s look at what is a data-driven testing?

What is a Data-Driven Testing?

Data-Driven Testing is a testing procedure in which the same series of test steps are performed frequently using a data source to drive the input values of those steps and the values to anticipate when performing verification steps. Test Studio can be utilized for data-driven testing.

It assists five different data sources:

1. Local Data Source
2. Excel spreadsheet
3. XML file
4. CSV file
5. SQL database

Also Read: Differences Between Keyword-driven Testing And Data-driven Testing

Why are Data-Driven Tests important?

There are two main benefits to this:

1. They lessen the cost of adding modern tests and changing them when your company rules change. This is completed by creating parameters for different strategies, utilizing data sets that the same code can run against.
2. They enable us to recognize what data is most crucial for tested behavior. By segregating first-class scenario data into parameters, it becomes evident what matters most to the test. This makes it easy to remember how something functions when creators need to alter it.

What Is Test Data Generation? How Can We Generate It?

Test data generation, a crucial piece of programming testing, is the means toward creating a set of data for testing the adequacy of new or updated programming applications. It might be the genuine data that has been obtained from past operations or counterfeit data made for this explanation. Test data generation is an incomprehensible issue and though a lot of sets have reached, the majority of them are restricted to toy programs.

Test data can be developed :

1. Manually
2. Huge copy of data from production to testing environment
3. Total copy of test data from legacy client systems
4. Automated Test Data Generation Tools

Why Is Data-Driven Testing Necessary?

After generating test data, you will like to enforce them for various testing goals. This time is to assess approaching data-driven testing. The term “Data-driven testing”, is utilized in the testing of computer software to define testing achieved using a table of conditions rapidly as test inputs and verifiable outputs, also the method where test environment settings and constraints are not hard-coded. The katalon studio supports data-driven testing that enables users to define big data testing sets and enforce test scripts that practice these data sets.

The advantages of data-driven testing include:

1. We can prepare our script notwithstanding when application development is also processing
2. Redundancy and excessive duplication of test scripts are decreased
3. Generates test scripts with a smaller amount of code
4. All information like outputs, inputs, and the expected result is saved in the form of properly managed text records
5. Gives flexibility in application maintenance
6. In case of any modification in functionality, we just require to adjust that particular function script.

Data-Driven Testing Using Selenium

Data-Driven Framework is one of the prominent Automation Testing Framework in the current market. Data-Driven automated testing is a procedure in which the test data set is built in the excel sheet, and is then imported into automation testing tools to sustain the software under test. Selenium Webdriver is a tremendous tool to automate web-based applications. However, it does not help read and write operations on excel files. A Data-Driven Framework in Selenium is a method of segregating the “data set” from the real “test case” (code). Before the test case is segregated from the data set, one can effortlessly alter the test case of a specific functionality without making any modifications to the code. For instance, if one has to change the code for login functionality, they can modify it by only the login functionality rather than having to modify any other characteristic dependent on the same code. One can easily heighten the number of test parameters by developing more username and password areas to the excel file or other sources. Now let’s look at the advantages of a data-driven testing framework. 

Advantages of Data-Driven Testing Framework

1. It permits testing of the application with many sets of data values during regression testing
2. It segregates the test case data from the implementable test script
3. It allows reusing of Actions and Functions in different tests
4. It produces test data automatically. This is useful when big volumes of random test data are essential
5. Results in the innovation of substantial code that is flexible and easy to maintain
6. It lets creators and testers separate the logic of their test cases or scripts from the test data
7. Allows implementation of test cases various times which helps to decrease test cases and scripts
8. It does not allow changes in test scripts to affect the test data.

By incorporating data-driven testing using Selenium, testers can improve their test cases for more productive execution. This shortens timelines, creates their lives easier, and consequences in more completely tested and better quality software by answering the question, “what is test data?”

We can establish three types of test framework using Selenium WebDriver. They are Data-Driven framework, Keyword Driven framework, and Hybrid test framework. We can accomplish a Data-driven framework using TestNG’s data provider. In a Keyword driven framework, keywords are jotted down in some exterior files like excel file, and java code will call this file and implement test cases. The hybrid framework is a combination of keyword-driven and data-driven framework.

Also Read: Guide For Test Data Management