Managing test data while performing Cypress testing

A set of guidelines used to design, develop, and set up test cases or test scripts is known as a testing framework.

An extra set of data, including coding standards, methods for handling test data, and procedures for storing and distributing test findings, is included in the test automation framework.

There are various types of test automation frameworks, including Keyword Driven Frameworks, Data-Driven Frameworks, Library-based Frameworks, etc.

Cypress is one such automated testing framework that offers the capability to easily separate the test data with the aid of Cypress Fixtures.

Moreover, Cypress enhances the readability of code, long-term maintenance, and test execution efficiency, and contributes to improving future outcomes.

In this article, we’ll talk about Cypress’s ability to manage test data from the test script while creating a framework for test automation using fixtures.

We will also quickly explain what Cypress’s Data-Driven testing and Fixtures are. Before we get started, let’s review what Cypress is.

Cypress Testing

Cypress is a complete JavaScript-based testing framework for automating modern web tests. Because Cypress utilizes JavaScript it makes it possible to create comprehensible JavaScript-based automated web testing.

Cypress is a quick, simple, and reliable tool used to test a variety of browser-based apps. It provides a framework where debugging is quick and code maintainability is simple, making it useful for many types of development tasks.

Cypress seeks to reduce the difficulties that programmers or QA engineers encounter when testing an application.

This user-friendly tool for developers works directly in the browser and employs a unique DOM modification technique. It has the Dashboard service which helps to record the test execution. It also provides a unique interactive test runner in which it executes all commands.

Cypress has been utilized as a data-driven framework with the help of fixtures. The purpose of fixtures is to extract input from external files. Let’s first define Cypress data-driven testing and fixture before moving on to our topic.

Data-driven testing

Data-Driven Tests are dynamic tests that build all of the UI interactions, and expectations, and test themselves from variables, fixtures, or data from a database. 

Data-driven testing separates the test data from the test script during the test design and execution process.

Data sources like JSON, CSV, Xls, or Excel files are used to store any data that is necessary for tests separately. Because of this testing, it is possible to combine tests that require several sets of input data.

Data Driven Testing, sometimes referred to as parameterized testing or dynamic testing, is a type of testing that focuses on specifying the input and output data in advance for various test cases. It is really simple to create test cases automatically with Cypress using test data sets.

To make sure that the application being tested behaves as expected for a range of input values, data-driven testing enables the creation of tests using numerous sets of input data into a single test.

Fixtures are utilized in Cypress data-driven testing. Cypress fixtures are introduced to keep the test data for automation up to date and stored. Let’s quickly understand what Cypress Fixture is.

Cypress Fixture

As was already said, one of the most widely used frameworks for test automation is a data-driven framework, which separates data from test files by typically storing the data in external files like Excel and allowing for external libraries to be used to read the files.

The same capability to read data from external files known as fixture files are offered by Cypress. Data from external files can be utilized as a source in Cypress Fixtures. Cypress has fixtures that make it easier to read from and write to files.

Fixtures are saved in the fixtures folder, which also contains several JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) files.

In essence, it assists us in obtaining data input from external files. Multiple test files can read the test data stored in these JSON files. Also, the test data is kept as key-value pairs that we may access in the test scripts.

Cypress Testing’s recommended methods for managing test data

In both Cypress testing and other types of testing, managing test data is a crucial component. Here are some tips on how to manage test data efficiently while running Cypress testing to make sure the tests are accurate and repeatable.

• Always keep the test script and test data separate. And without any impact on the tests, this makes it simpler to manage and update the test data over time.
• For various sets of data, use comparable file extensions if possible. For instance, when working with multiple data sets, generate separate.json or.csv files and avoid mixing them. As a result, the test script is easier to maintain and is more readable.
• Always use real data because it’s just as crucial as functionality. Placing dummy data causes test results to be falsely positive and may not produce accurate results.
• Incorporate both positive and negative scenario data sets.
• Store test data in JSON format using Cypress fixtures. Fixtures are excellent for classifying and dividing test data from test codes. Cypress creates a fixture file for each test scenario and then uses the fixture data as a reference in the test code.
• Passwords, API keys, and database credentials should be stored in environment variables for testing purposes. By doing this, it will be ensured that no delicate information is hard-coded into the fixtures or test code.
• Utilize APIs to manage test data by writing API queries into the test code to generate test data prior to each test and remove it after the test is finished.
• Use data-driven testing to test the application using a range of input values and make sure it operates as intended under various conditions.
• To manage the test data, use plug-ins. There are numerous community plugins for Cypress that can be used to manage test data. For instance, the cypress-local storage-commands plugin can be used to control local storage data in the tests, and the cypress-faker plugin can be used to create fictitious test data.
• The test data can be loaded and managed in Cypress using custom commands as well. This can be helpful if test data needs to be altered or transformed before being used in tests.

Overall, creating reliable and maintainable Cypress tests requires excellent test data management. Users can make sure their test data is well-organized, updated, and manageable by following these best practices.

Cypress Data Driven Testing on LambdaTest

The test cases must run across a variety of platforms and browsers in order for the testing to be considered complete.

Observing user behavior in actual scenarios is the main goal of data-driven testing. A real device cloud gives testers and developers the ability to run their tests in real user environments, enhancing overall test accuracy and highlighting any user experience constraints for the best possible user experience.

LambdaTest is a cloud-based platform for cross-browser compatibility testing. With this platform, users can test their websites and web applications across more than 3000 real devices, browsers, and operating systems combinations online.

LambdaTest integrates with web testing tools like Cypress and Selenium as well as mobile testing frameworks like Appium and others.

Using tools like Jenkins and Jira, it can also be incorporated into CI/CD pipelines, syncing them all to the cloud to facilitate faster parallel testing at scale.

LambdaTest pairs flawlessly with Cypress and enables continuous end-to-end testing, supporting quicker and simpler web testing at scale.

Its integrated test reporting functionality enables developers and testers to test easily and thoroughly and deliver high-quality applications.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be stated that Cypress has established itself as a simple, reliable, and powerful tool for all end-to-end testing requirements. Also, many people are now using Cypress for API, Unit, Integration, and Visual testing.

Cypress’s specialized fixture support makes managing test data simple. The Cypress fixture offers separation between the test script and data, and it permits the use of external data during the test. Moreover, multiple input data can be used during the test.

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