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Introduction To Automation Testing in Flutter World

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Introduction To Automation Testing in Flutter World

Flutter is an open-source framework created by Google for building natively compiled, multi-platform applications from a single codebase. With Flutter, we can build, test, and deploy mobile, web, desktop, and embedded apps from a single codebase.

Flutter is a relatively new technology, having been first introduced by Google in May 2017. Despite its young age, Flutter has quickly gained popularity among developers, and its adoption rate has been steadily increasing. Here’s how StackOverflow captures the data: 

One reason for Flutter’s popularity is its ability to create high-quality mobile and web applications quickly and efficiently. With Flutter, developers can write code once and deploy it to multiple platforms, such as iOS, Android, and the web. This saves time and effort, and it also makes it easier to maintain the codebase.

Another reason for Flutter’s popularity is its performance. Flutter apps are compiled into native machine code, which means they can run faster and smoother than traditional hybrid apps. This is because Flutter doesn’t rely on a JavaScript bridge to communicate between the app and the platform, as many other hybrid frameworks do.

Additionally, Flutter has a strong and growing community of developers who contribute to its development and share their knowledge and experience. There are many resources available for learning Flutter, such as documentation, tutorials, and sample code.

Overall, the adoption of Flutter is on the rise, and it is becoming a popular choice for mobile and web app development. Its ability to create high-quality, performant, and cross-platform apps quickly and efficiently makes it a compelling choice for developers and businesses alike.

In this first article of the series, we would understand the various approaches and tools available to automate End-to-End tests.

Need for Automated Testing

In the modern business world, the quality of a product is extremely important for its success and growth. Customers expect high-quality products and will not be satisfied with anything less. In the fast-paced and constantly evolving IT industry, it is important to quickly and consistently implement new features and updates to stay competitive. The more features your app has, the harder it gets to test manually. Automated tests help ensure that your app performs correctly before you publish it while retaining your feature and bug-fix velocity.

Automated testing and continuous integration & continuous delivery (CI/CD) can help ensure that new updates are thoroughly tested and can be released quickly without sacrificing quality. By using automation to test user journeys, it is possible to maintain a high level of quality while still maintaining a fast pace of production.

Automation tools available

In the open source market, the most prominent and matured tools for Flutter test automation are — Appium & Flutter Integration test. It is important to consider the specific requirements of your Flutter-based mobile app when choosing a tool for automation.

Appium does not currently support all Flutter widgets, so it may be necessary to conduct a proof-of-concept (POC) to determine its suitability for your needs. You can Read More for Testimonials and Open GitHub Issues.

Flutter integration_test package

The Flutter software development kit (SDK) includes its Integration Test Package, which is reliable enough for end-to-end integration testing. However, this option also has its own challenges, which will be discussed in a later section.

Test Pyramid:

We can perform Unit, Widget, and Integration Testing using the Flutter Integration Test package.

Unit Testing would be at the atomic level, Widget Testing would be at the component level.

Integration testing, which can also be referred to as end-to-end testing or GUI testing, is a method utilized to imitate a user’s interaction with your application, such as clicking buttons, selecting items, scrolling through items, and other similar actions.

Read more on:
1. Unit Testing
2. Widget Testing
3. Integration Testing

Gray-Box testing

Integration Testing can be considered Gray-box testing.
During the execution of integration tests one piece of code responsible for driving the actual application, while another separate piece of code simulates user interaction.

One advantage of using Integration tests for automation is that the test code is located in the same repository as the development code. This allows for better control over updating locators with unique identifiers, analyzing common components, and using constants defined by the development team. This greatly improves the testability of the application.

It also helps to reduce flakiness in automation and minimize communication gaps between development and quality assurance (QA) teams, as both teams are working with the same code and are aware of any changes to the functionality of the app.

In Flutter, unit and widget tests are typically located in the “test” folder, while integration tests are located in the “integration_test” folder, according to the official Flutter documentation.

Continuous Integration

Integrating continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) with Flutter is smooth and easy, allowing for quick feedback and faster bug resolution.

Flutter SDK has good integration with Firebase Test Lab for test execution on Cloud devices and CodeMagic for CI/CD.

Firebase Test Lab supports good reporting with logs, recorded videos, crash info, and performance of the App at screen levels. We need gCloud account to integrate with the Firebase test lab.

Read Firebase Test Lab Integration Setup with Android Device Testing and IOS Device Testing.

In the next blog, we are going to compare Appium & Flutter Integration Test based on 9 key parameters that can help you evaluate and select the right tool.

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