Unlike desktop (client) applications, the Web poses specific challenges that go beyond the local machine. For instance, a web page may not display the intended content correctly with regard to content, format, layout, and even functionality, due to missing or corrupted resources located on a remote server. An application server, a database server, a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS), and a configuration or JavaScript file (.js
) are among the resources that may have an impact on the web application functioning. Other challenges include the integrity of the links, JavaScript bugs, and caching effects, to name a few. Security issues may also prevent web pages from displaying contents properly, as is the case with images loaded across domains.
Automating tests for the GUI of a web page poses challenges related to script page synchronization, object identification, and checking dynamic content, among others. This chapter describes various common automation tasks related to the testing of...