Top 10 Debugging Techniques in Automation Testing

Debugging errors in automated tests can be a real pain. As a software tester, you need to make sure your tests run smoothly and accurately, but sometimes things just do not go as planned. In terms of Selenium and Java, there are some debugging techniques that can help you identify and fix errors in your tests.

Top 10 Debugging Techniques in Automation Testing

Top 10 Debugging Techniques in Automation Testing

Here are some of the most effective debugging techniques for fixing errors in Selenium + Java automated tests:

1. Console Log: System.out.println()

In Selenium, this technique is especially useful when trying to debug a failed test. By adding System.out.println() statements to your code, you can print messages to the console that give you an idea of what is happening at various stages of your test. For example, you can print the values of variables or the result of conditions to see if they are as expected.

Here’s an example of how you can use System.out.println() to debug a failing test in Selenium:

WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
driver.get("https://www.google.com");

// Find the search box element
WebElement searchBox = driver.findElement(By.name("q"));
System.out.println("Search box element found");

// Enter a search term
searchBox.sendKeys("Selenium debugging techniques");
System.out.println("Search term entered");

// Submit the search
searchBox.submit();
System.out.println("Search submitted");

// Get the search results page title
String title = driver.getTitle();
System.out.println("Search results page title: " + title);

// Verify that the title contains the search term
if (title.contains("Selenium debugging techniques")) {
    System.out.println("Test passed");
} else {
    System.out.println("Test failed");
}

In this example, we are using System.out.println() to print messages at various stages of the test. These messages will give us a clear idea of what’s happening at each step, and if something goes wrong, we can quickly identify the issue.

2. Using Breakpoints

Another useful technique is to use breakpoints. You can set breakpoints in your code where you want the execution to pause. This allows you to inspect the state of your variables and understand what’s going wrong. You can also step through your code line by line to understand what’s happening.

The following example shows you how to add a breakpoint

To add a breakpoint in Selenium code in Eclipse, follow these steps:

Navigate to the line of code where you want to add the breakpoint.
Right-click the line number on the left side of the editor and select “Toggle Breakpoint” or simply press “Ctrl + Shift + B”.
The breakpoint will be indicated by a red dot on the left side of the line number.

3. Exception Handling

Exception handling is an important debugging technique that is very useful when automating tests with Selenium and Java. Exception handling helps in handling runtime errors that may occur during test execution and makes the automation process more robust and reliable.

In Selenium, exceptions are thrown when a condition is not met or when an unexpected event occurs.
For example, if a test case tries to access an element that is not present on the page, an exception is thrown.
By handling these exceptions, we can ensure that our tests run smoothly and don’t break in the middle of execution.

Java provides a comprehensive exception-handling framework that makes it easy to handle exceptions in your code.

We can use try-catch blocks to handle exceptions.
A try-catch block consists of two parts – a try block and a catch block.
The try block contains the code that might throw an exception, and the catch block contains the code that handles the exception.

Here’s an example of how to handle an exception in Selenium:

try {
    // Code that might throw an exception
    WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("elementId"));
} catch (NoSuchElementException e) {
    // Code to handle the exception
    System.out.println("Element not found: " + e.getMessage());
}

In the example above, the try block tries to find an element using the driver.findElement method.
If the element is not found, a NoSuchElementException is thrown.
The catch block catches the exception and prints a message indicating that the element was not found.

4. Assertion

Assertions are used to check the state of the application under test, such as whether a particular element is present on the page, or whether the text of an element matches expectations. By using assertions, you can ensure that your tests are running as expected and detect any errors or problems early in the development process.
In Selenium, the JUnit and TestNG frameworks provide a convenient way to write assertions. For example, in JUnit you can use the assertEquals method to verify that two values are equal:

String actualText = driver.findElement(By.id("elementId")).getText();
String expectedText = "Hello World";
assertEquals(actualText, expectedText);

In the example above, the actualText variable is assigned the text of an element on the page.
The expectedText variable is the expected text that we want to verify.
The assertEquals method is then used to check that the actual text and expected text are equal.
If they are not equal, the test case will fail and an assertion error will be thrown.

5. Debugging with Logging

Logging is the process of recording messages about the execution of a program and can be used to track what’s happening in your tests and identify areas where improvements can be made.
you can use various logging frameworks, such as log4j or java.util.logging, to log messages.

Here’s a simple example using the java.util.logging framework:

private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(MyTestClass.class.getName());

// ...
logger.info("Test case starting");

// Code for the test case

logger.info("Test case ending");

In the example above, the logger object is created using the Logger.getLogger method.
The info method is then used to log messages indicating that the test case is starting and ending.

6. Use of Inspector Tools

Inspector tools are very important tools for debugging in Automation Testing. Whether you’re automating tests, developing a web application, or debugging an issue, inspector tools can help you understand what’s happening on a page and identify areas where problems might be occurring.

you can use inspector tools to inspect the HTML and CSS of a web page, view the source code, and see how elements are structured on the page.
This information can be valuable when debugging your tests, as it can help you identify elements on the page, determine the best way to interact with them, and validate that your tests are working as expected.

In addition to inspector tools in your browser, there are also various tools and plugins available for inspecting elements in your Java code. For example, the Eclipse IDE provides an “Outline” view that shows the structure of your code, making it easier to understand and debug.

To see the Outline view in Eclipse, follow these steps:

Open Eclipse and the Java file for which you want to see the Outline view.
Go to the “Window” menu and select “Show View”.
From the list of views, select “Outline”.
The Outline view should now appear in the Eclipse window, usually on the right side.
If not, you can add it by going to “Window” -> “Perspective” -> “Customize Perspective” and checking the “Outline” option.

7. Use of the Developer Console

The Developer Console is a powerful debugging tool that helps you troubleshoot automation tests. Whether you’re automating tests or developing a web application, the Developer Console provides a wealth of information about the state of your code, making it easier to identify and fix problems.
The developer console can be used to log messages and view the output of your tests. For example, you can use the console to see the stack trace of an exception, or to log messages about the state of your code.

How to open Developer Console view in Webpage

Right-click on any element on the web page and select “Inspect.”
The Chrome DevTools will open, and you can access the JavaScript console by clicking on the “Console” tab.

8. Use of Debugging Proxies

Debugging proxies are a powerful tool for debugging automation tests. They allow you to intercept and examine network traffic between the browser and the web server, providing valuable information about the state of your code and the behavior of the web page under test.

Using a debugging proxy, you can intercept network traffic between the browser and the web server and examine the HTTP requests and responses sent and received.
This can help you determine the cause of the problem and troubleshoot the issue.
In Selenium, debugging proxies can be used to intercept and examine the network traffic between the browser and the web server, which provides valuable information about the state of your code and the behavior of the web page under test.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to troubleshoot a problem with a web service or API.

9. Automated Test Reports

Automated Test Reports are documents created by your automated testing framework that contain information about the results of your tests. These reports usually contain information such as the name of each test, the time it took to run, and whether the test passed or failed.
In addition to basic information about the results of your tests, automated test reports can also include detailed information about any errors or exceptions that occurred during test execution. This information can be very useful in troubleshooting your tests and clarifying why they failed.

To use automated test reports in debugging your Selenium tests, you first need to configure your automation testing framework to generate reports.
In Selenium, you can use a library such as JUnit or TestNG to generate reports.
These libraries provide a number of different options for customizing the information included in your reports, so you can focus on the information that is most relevant to you.

10. Test Retries

Test Retries are a feature in many automation testing frameworks that allow you to automatically re-run failed tests. This can be useful in situations where a test has failed for reasons unrelated to a problem in your application or test code, such as network problems or other transient issues

To use test retries in debugging your Selenium tests, you need to first configure your automation testing framework to support test retries.
In Selenium, you can use a library such as JUnit or TestNG to configure test retries.
These libraries provide options for specifying the number of times that a test should be retried, and the conditions under which a test should be retried.

Here is an example of retries using JUnit and Testng:

public class TestRetry implements RetryAnalyzer {
    private int retryCount = 0;
    private int maxRetryCount = 3;

    @Override
    public boolean retry(ITestResult result) {
        if (retryCount < maxRetryCount) {
            retryCount++;
            return true;
        }
        return false;
    }
}

public class TestExample {
    @Test(retryAnalyzer = TestRetry.class)
    public void testMethod() {
        // Test code goes here
    }
}

Annotate the test method with the @Test annotation and include the retryAnalyzer attribute.
Create a retry analyzer class that implements the RetryAnalyzer interface.
Override the retry method in the retry analyzer class to return true if the test should be retried, or false otherwise.
In the test method, check the result of the test and throw an exception if it fails.
In the retry analyzer class, catch the exception and increment a counter.
When the counter reaches the maximum number of retries, return false to indicate that the test has failed.

In summary, debugging is an essential part of the automation testing process. Applying these top 10 debugging techniques will produce more accurate and reliable results. It’s important to choose the right techniques based on your project’s specific needs and requirements, and to continually strive to improve and optimize your debugging process. With the right approach and tools, automation test debugging can be a straightforward and effective way to ensure the quality and accuracy of your software.

Read our blog on : Selenium: The Ultimate Guide To Automated Testing