I have executed many automation projects and also developed various automation frameworks using different tools like Silktest, QTP, Selenium, CodedUI, MS UIA, VisualTest (dead) and Winrunner (dead). Tried few open source frameworks and found RobotFramework as the best one. Successfully completed five projects using RobotFramework. Main advantage is, I'm able to integrate with different test tools and libraries. It is neither related to IBM Rational tools or any other commercial tools.
Summary in RobotFramework Homepage
Robot Framework is a generic test automation framework for acceptance testing and acceptance test-driven development (ATDD). It has easy-to-use tabular test data syntax and utilizes the keyword-driven testing approach. Its testing capabilities can be extended by test libraries implemented either with Python or Java, and users can create new keywords from existing ones using the same syntax that is used for creating test cases.
Robot Framework is open source software released under Apache License 2.0. Its copyrights are owned and development supported by Nokia Siemens Networks.
Robot Framework Features
- Advanced Keyword Driven framework
- Enable functional team contribution for automation
- Reusable/custom keywords
- Dynamic variables
- Easily extendable by Python, C# & Java
- Supports few test libraries including Selenium
- Provides simple and powerful Results Reporting
- Multiple Operating Systems support
- $ Free
Links for Robot Framework Resources
Robot Framework Home Page
Robot Framework User Guide
Robot Framework Quick Start Guide
Robot IDE
Robot Selenium Library
Robot Framework - Introduction
Robot Framework - Articles
Simple tutorial for Robot Framework
In last 6 months, many updates are happened on Robot framework and its related libraries. It is supporting many of my generic automation framework features.
Headers | Features | Robot Framework |
| Supported Frameworks | Functional Decomposition | Yes |
| Data Driven | Yes | |
| Keyword Driven | Yes | |
| Table Driven | Yes | |
| Independent to | Operating System | Yes |
| Application | Yes | |
| Technology | Yes | |
| Test Scripting | Recording | No |
| Parametrization | Yes | |
| Suite Setup Module | Yes | |
| Suite TearDown Module | Yes | |
| Test Setup Module | Yes | |
| Test TearDown Module | Yes | |
| Database Integration | Yes | |
| Scripting | Yes | |
| Environment Library | Yes | |
| Test Execution | Multiple OS | Yes |
| Multiple platforms | Yes | |
| Parallel Execution | No | |
| Test Timeout | Yes | |
| Based on Priority | Yes | |
| Grouping Tests | Yes | |
| Running Failed tests | Yes | |
| Result Analysis | Detail reporting for each step execution | Yes |
| Snapshots for failed tests | Yes | |
| Test level reporting | Yes | |
| Compiled report | Yes | |
| Results by category | Yes | |
| Expected Benefits | Less effort to automate | Yes |
| Less dependence on highly skilled automation professionals | Yes | |
| Exception handling | Yes | |
| Easy to Maintain | Yes | |
| Easy to Integrate with Other tools | Yes | |
| Support to CI (Continuous Integration) tools | Yes | |
| Additional Expectations | Dynamic conditions | Yes |
| Dynamic Loop support | Yes | |
| UI to Edit data | Yes | |
| UI to execute tests | Yes | |
| Update test metrics automatically | Yes | |
| Update captured defects automatically | Yes |
