My thoughts about Test Automation Framework

Nowadays most of the people are talking about the framework. But most of them are not clear about the framework concepts. Here I'm writing my view about the framework.

Automation Framework is a concept, similar to OOPs. Automation Framework is an advanced thought from Record&Playback or writing some functions and executing them.

Automation Framework is a discipline and should have proper design/architecture. You can understand and implement. Automation Framework should have some of following components.

Components of a Framework
1. AUT Specific libraries
2. Tool wrapper function libraries.
3. Execution Engine (Script Execution should be drived
based on given test data) - Data Driven 4. Results
reporting mechanisms (PASS & FAIL for each
testcases/procedures and compiled results for all. It
would be better, if it captured AUT's snapshots) 5.
Planning for long term automation.
6. Keeping GUI objects info/declarations dynamically
or static.
7. Planned approach of unattended execution.

Also framework design differs by tool, scripting languages and type of AUT etc,. Now a days, people are using PERL, PYTHON, TCL/TK for CLI (Command Line Interface) automation. This design will vary much from GUI specific tool automation's design (QTP, Winrunner, Silktest,Robot and QARun etc).

You can go through following links. Each link is giving different set of components for Automation framework.
http://www.sqa-test.com/w_paper1.html
http://safsdev.sourceforge.net/FRAMESDataDrivenTestAutomationFrameworks.htm
http://www.qacity.com/NR/QACity/Documents/Automation_Framework.PDF
http://www.softwaredioxide.com/testing2004/papers/pankaj_cognizant.pdf
http://www.cbueche.de/FRM_DOC/webhelp_eng/Basic_Concepts.htm

I have developed different frameworks for Rational Visual Test, Winrunner and SilkTest. Some free frameworks are available freely on the net. EMOS is available for Winrunner and QTP. SAFS(http://safsdev.sourceforge.net) gives support for Winrunner and Robot. STAF(http://staf.sourceforge.net) will differ from SAFS.