Welcome to Hit Subscribe’s Monthly Digest! In this edition, we’re excited to share a collection of recent blog posts we’ve written for our clients. Plus, stick around till the end—we’ve included a meme of the month to keep things fun!
Playwright Debug: A Complete Guide
Modern apps are visual. Almost everything has a UI. That means you need a way to test how it actually works in the browser, from start to finish. Playwright helps with that. It makes it easy to write fast, reliable end-to-end tests across browsers like Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.
Most of the time, it works well. But when something breaks and you can’t tell why, it gets frustrating fast. One test fails. The browser shuts down. All you’re left with is an error message that doesn’t say much. That’s where debugging matters.
In this guide, we’ll walk through how to debug Playwright tests, the common issues you might hit, and the tools and tips that make troubleshooting easier.
AI Test Automation vs Traditional Test Automation
Just a few years back, test automation meant hours of writing brittle scripts, long waits for test runs to complete, and debugging cryptic errors that had more to do with flaky selectors than actual bugs. But with the rise of AI, test automation has started to look different. Smarter. Maybe even more approachable. This brings us to the question: Where do we draw the line between “traditional” test automation and the new generation of AI-powered tools?
This post explores AI test automation vs traditional test automation, not to sell you a miracle, but to give you a real-world, developer-informed perspective on how the two compare. Whether you’re a test engineer trying to justify moving away from legacy tools, or a product owner exploring what “AI in testing” really offers, you’ll walk away with clarity, and maybe a hint of where the future’s heading.
Debugging in Software Development Explained
Debugging is the art of identifying bugs and issues in software code to ensure a seamless and reliable user experience.
In this post, we’ll dive deeper into debugging and understand various types of debugging approaches you can use. You’ll also learn how to use debugging tools to troubleshoot your code more effectively.
What is Component Testing?
Component testing, or module testing, evaluates the individual components of software before they’re integrated with other modules. It checks their behavior, usability, and functionality to verify that they meet requirements. It also makes sure they’re reliable so there’s no problem with the subsequent testing and integration phases.
What is Data-Driven Testing and Why it Matters
Data-driven testing is a software testing methodology that involves using external data sources, such as files, databases, and spreadsheets, to drive test cases. It allows multiple sets of inputs to be run against the same test script by separating the test logic from the test data. This approach ensures comprehensive coverage by testing a wide range of scenarios without the need to rewrite or duplicate the test code for each data variation. The primary objective is systematically validating an application’s functionality across various data inputs and edge cases.
Test Automation Challenges and How to Manage Them
Getting started with automation has some challenges, such as technical, organizational, and strategical. However, there are tactics for addressing these test automation challenges within your organization.
What is a Test Scenario?
In software development and testing, one small oversight can snowball into a significant issue for end users. A seemingly minor error could lead to a crash during an important e-commerce transaction or even expose sensitive user data. Software systems are getting more complex by the day and so ensuring their quality requires an organized approach; this is where test scenarios shine. Test scenarios help to cover the gap between the technical details of a system and the actual real-world expectations of stakeholders. Test scenarios guide testers and developers in ensuring a seamless user experience by mimicking real-world use cases.
In this article, we’ll explore the essence of test scenarios, their significance in the software testing life cycle, and how they contribute to building robust, efficient, and user-friendly applications.
What Is a Test Case?
Test cases direct testers to check features, functionalities, and scenarios where something might go wrong. It’s a systematic process that helps identify bugs, verify system behavior, and deliver a high-quality product that provides a good out-of-the-box user experience.
In this article, you’ll learn what you need to know about test cases, including their role in the testing process, the different types, why they’re crucial in software development, how they’re designed and written, the key benefits and challenges associated with them, and tips for managing them effectively. By the end, you’ll clearly understand test cases and how to use them effectively.
What Is ad hoc Testing?
Finding hidden software bugs isn’t always easy, and traditional testing methods might miss some bugs. That’s why ad hoc testing is so helpful. This flexible and creative testing method lets testers explore freely and identify flaws that other methods may ignore. It’s useful when you’re on a tight timeline or need to test some unexpected user interactions.
So, how does ad hoc testing work? Let’s take a closer look at what it is, how it helps, and why it’s so important.
Contract Testing: What It Is and How It Works
The software testing field is huge: there are a plethora of software testing tools, techniques, and methodologies. Below, we’ll cover a specific type of software testing you might not be familiar with: contract testing.
Contract testing is a way to ensure smooth and stable communication between services that communicate with each other via some public interface, also called “contract,” hence the naming. This form of testing has become increasingly relevant.
Contract testing has become increasingly important because of the proliferation of APIs and microservices. Yes, they should be independent from each other, but they need to have some degree of interaction with each other in practice. And that means the contracts between them must be as stable as possible.
Automated test scripts: Definition, tools & best practices
Automated testing has transformed the way we test systems in software development. It simplifies and speeds up the development process by eliminating the stress and repetition of manual testing.
This article covers the basics of automated test scripts. We list various types of testing they can handle, benefits of automated testing, descriptions of some common testing tools and frameworks, and best practices to help you adopt efficient test strategies.
Meme of the Month
Straight from our internal Slack channel—because memes are fun, and so are we.
That’s all, folks!
Thanks for catching up with us and we’ll see you next month. In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you have any questions, want to share your thoughts, or want to talk shop!
