Testing Web Applications

How many times have you been on a project and seen changes to code cause the application to blow up, and yet the Unit Tests all succeeded? To avoid this situation I use HtmlUnit, an open source project distributed under the Apache License.

HtmlUnit emulates a browser that is visiting your web application. Coupled with JUnit, it allows you to write tests that click through the application just as QA does. It ensures that the functionality you put into your pages exists and works properly.

With HtmlUnit and Junit I am able to test most functionality in the web tier : page flow, form population and submission, javascript, popups, dialogs, and AJAX calls. I even created a suite of convenience methods to work with my Trinidad components.

The one shortcoming has been the ability to test Flex animations. These were always a black box to my test suites. However, Gorilla Logic has now released FlexMonkey, which is also based on HtmlUnit, and allows you to test the flex animations from an easy to use test suite.

I use these tests as both integration and unit tests. I ensure the application can be "clicked through"; that all pages appear at the correct time, and that interactions in the page all function correctly. I also test various scenarios that will occur in the application, and ensure that the application responds correctly based on the processing of the data passed in.

I no longer worry about the application blowing up in meetings or demos:

IT'S BEEN TESTED!!