Modern developers will often face situations where they have to ensure the quality and reliability of their apps in all scenarios. By implementing continuous integration and continuous development pipelines, the developers can use modern practices and advanced tools like Jenkins and Selenium to perform this process.
By implementing the above configuration, the developers will have an advanced way of not only automating the test instances but also streamlining the entire testing workflow. With this article on what is Jenkins, we will try to build a robust testing infrastructure by integrating Selenium and Jenkins.
Our primary area of discussion will be to cover the setup process and the integration process. We will also go through some of the best practices that will help the developers and testers maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of this entire process.
Understanding Jenkins and Selenium
Before we start discussing the robust testing infrastructure, let us individually create a proper introduction to both Selenium and Jenkins:
- Jenkins
At its very core, Jenkins is an open-source automation server to enable the building, testing, and deploying of modern software in a reliable and automated manner. Jenkins has hundreds of plugins to support deploying, building, and automating app projects. This integration makes it a very important part of the continuous integration and continuous deployment pipeline.
The tests can also use Jenkins to schedule and monitor the execution of various jobs. This inclusion also makes it a very flexible tool for automating repetitive tasks involved in the application deployment process.
- Selenium
What is selenium? Although Selenium does not require any formal introduction due to its decade long existence, it is an open-source tool suite designed for automating web browsers. In this suite, the developers will find various dedicated tools to assist at different stages of the application testing process.
The Selenium IDE is responsible for authoring codeless functional test instances, the Selenium WebDriver is a domain-specific language to write tests in various programming languages, and the Selenium Grid is responsible for running the test instances on different test environments.
Although Selenium is widely used for automating web app testing, its functionalities go much beyond this. The testers can also use this tool to perform any task that involves automating interactions with modern web applications.
Setting Up Jenkins
To set up Jenkins, the application developers simply have to follow the given steps in the intended chronological order:
- The first step is to download Jenkins through the official website and install it using the installer package for your target operating system.
- Now, the developers have to follow the installation instructions specific to the operating system. For Windows, this process mainly involves running the installer and following the on-screen instructions.
- Now, after finishing the installation process, the developers have to initiate the Jenkins service. By default, Jenkins will be run on the 8080 port.
- The next step is to unlock Jenkins using the unlock key. The testers can find this key in the installation log or at a specific file location.
- After this, Jenkins will suggest a set of plugins during the installation process. The developers must install these plugins to quickly get started with the testing process using Jenkins.
Configuring Jenkins
To configure Jenkins and enable quick testing, the application developers have to further follow the steps that we have mentioned below:
- The first step is to create an admin user for managing the Jenkins test files.
- After this, the app developers have to set up necessary tools like Maven, JDK, Git, and many more. The testers can perform this process through the Jenkins global configuration option.
- The final step in the configuration process is to set up nodes or agents for distributed builds. Using these nodes, Jenkins can run the test cases on various target devices or configurations.
Setting Up Selenium
To install Selenium on your testing device, you simply have to follow all the steps that we have mentioned below in the given chronological order:
- The first step involves downloading the latest version of the Java Development Kit from the official website on your system.
- Now, you have to download the Selenium WebDriver for the target browsers on which you intend to automate the test instances.
- The developers have to place the downloaded WebDriver executable files in a directory included with the system path.
- The final step in the installation process is to install the necessary libraries in case you are using a language-specific Selenium binding. You can perform this process using package managers like pip for Python or Maven for Java.
Writing Test Cases with Selenium
To execute the test instances with Selenium, the application testers will have to create dedicated automation test scripts with Selenium. To shed more light on this segment, we have mentioned a sample code snippet that helps execute the test cases using the Java programming language:
Integrating Jenkins and Selenium
To integrate Jenkins and Selenium, the application developers will go through a few steps that can help perform the integration process and also implement it throughout the test environment:
Creating a Jenkins Job for Selenium Tests
The first step involves creating a dedicated Jenkins job for executing the Selenium test cases. The application developers can perform this process easily by implementing the following steps in Jenkins along with Selenium:
- The first step involves creating a new item and choosing “Freestyle Project” within Jenkins.
- After this, the application testers have to configure the source code management process like Git for fetching the Selenium test instances.
- Next, the developers have to set up the built environment while ensuring the presence of necessary tools like JDK and WebDriver. The testers also have to ensure the presence of these tools with the Jenkins node.
- The final step in this process is to add a build step for executing the Selenium test instances. The testers can perform this process using a script which runs on the test code.
Running Tests in Jenkins
After configuring the Jenkins job, the testers have to trigger a build manually to set up the triggers. For example, the testers can release a trigger based on code commits to run the tests automatically. After this, Jenkins will check out the code and set up the test environment. It will also execute the Selenium test cases to provide detailed logs and reports.
Best Practices for a Robust Infrastructure
Now that we have understood all the steps involved in creating a robust testing infrastructure with Jenkins and Selenium, let us go through some of the most important practices that can help the developers and testers to further streamline the overall implementation process:
- Parallel Execution
The testers can use the Selenium Grid to run the test instances on multiple browsers and environments in a parallel configuration. This is the process of initiating and executing thousands of different test instances at the same time. Many industry experts believe that the proper implementation of parallel testing can reduce the overall testing time to only a few days.
To implement this process, the testers have to configure the test nodes for different browser versions and operating systems and also ensure comprehensive test coverage.
The testers can also utilize the Jenkins pipeline for orchestrating complex workflows. These workflows will also include parallel execution of test suites. These pipelines will offer better control, visualization, and scalability during the test implementation process.
- Cloud Testing
As we all know, real device testing massively improves the reliability and dependability of the test instances. So, by integrating cloud testing, the developers can achieve this goal through remote servers while eliminating the expense of a physical device lab.
LambdaTest is one such cloud platform that provides access to more than 3000 different combinations of real devices, operating systems, and browser versions. It is an AI-powered test orchestration and execution platform to perform automation testing using CI/CD pipelines like Jenkins at scale across numerous browsers and platforms.
- Environment Management
The testers can use dockers to create isolated environments for running the test instances. This approach will ensure consistency across different test runs and also avoid issues related to environmental discrepancies.
We also advise the developers to utilize various tools like Ansible or Terraform for managing and provisioning testing environments in an automated format. By implementing this approach, the testers can ensure that the environments are reproducible and reduce the overall setup time.
- Reporting and Notifications
We advise the testers to generate detailed test reports using various dedicated frameworks like TestNG and JUnit. The testers can easily integrate these reports with Jenkins to see the test results and also the testing trends that will change over time.
The testers can configure Jenkins to send notifications via Slack, email, or any other communication channel. These notifications are usually sent at times of build failures or test results. By implementing this approach, the tests can ensure timely awareness and quick resolution of their issues.
- Maintenance and Scalability
We advise the testers to periodically update Jenkins and Selenium to the latest available version. This will implement various beneficial features like new features, bug fixes, and security patches.
We also advise the test has to design the Jenkins infrastructure to scale according to their needs. The testers can use multiple Jenkins Masters and Agents distributed across different geographical locations in case they need it. The implementation of this process will help them to handle increased load and ensure high availability.
- Security Considerations
Finally, developers must be cautious about implementing various useful security considerations while using Selenium and Jenkins. For instance, they can use credential management and access control along with SSL encryption. All these implementations will help to ensure that the sensitive information is secure and also restrict access based on user roles.
The Bottom Line
Keeping in mind all our discussion points, we can conclude that building a robust testing infrastructure with Selenium and Jenkins is a very important step towards achieving a seamless CI/CD pipeline. By using the powerful capabilities of Jenkins for automation and Selenium for browser automation, development teams can ensure high-quality releases with minimal human involvement.
Moreover, by adopting the best practices that we mentioned in this article, the testers can further enhance the efficiency of the overall testing process. With the evolvement of modern software release cycles, the combination of Jenkins and Selenium will remain the backbone of modern testing strategies.
So, the implementation of this process will empower the teams to deliver robust, reliable, and high-quality software.