What are the most common tools used by experienced developers for functional testing?
Tags: testing, performance, tooling, developer
Published: 2022-03-23 16:38:14

We all agree that “testing is an integral part of the software development process.” Every application that is developed or being developed needs to pass through testing to offer optimal performance for the end-users. However, until recently, the reality was something else. Organizations used to focus on crazily developing features rather than testing the integrity of the applications. 


But, as the app market competition became fierce, IT enterprises started focussing on app stability than app features. Following in the same footsteps, I have initiated the same plan within my organization. With the help of this article, I would like to share my experiences on which tools worked best for us for functional testing.

##Tools to be used for Functional Testing

Functional testing is carried out to test the software against its functional requirements/specifications. Such tests don’t consider how a process occurs. Instead, it focuses on the intended result of the process. Functional testing is a [type of software testing](https://www.simform.com/blog/types-of-software-testing/) that is subdivided into four different testing levels: unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing. 

###Unit testing

Unit testing is essential for validating the functions of a specific part or unit. Tools used for unit testing are Jest and Enzyme.

####Features of Jest
- Offers CLI for easy control of your tests
- Provides powerful syntax features that prove to be helpful during debugging
- Offers interactive mode that automatically runs all affected tests for the code changes made in the last commit. 


####Features of Enzyme
- Especially beneficial while working with React, Enzyme Provides an API to Examine React Components.
- It offers a shallow rendering that keeps tests simpler.

###Integration testing

This type of testing is concerned with the software modules being logically integrated and tested as a group. Selenium is used for performing integration testing. 

####Features of Selenium

- Selenium supports parallel test execution that reduces the time taken in executing parallel tests.
- The testing tool is open-source and portable in nature. 
- Once the test cases are prepared, Selenium offers OS flexibility as the test cases can be run from any operating system like Linux, macOS, Windows, etc.


###System testing

The goal of [system testing](https://www.educba.com/system-testing/) is to test the integrity of the entire system for system failures or errors. Our organization leverages Cypress to assist with system testing.

####Features of Cypress

- Cypress offers behavioral control of functions, servers, responses, and timers. 
- It offers flexibility to control stub and test edge cases without involving your server.
- Testers don’t have to manually introduce waits and sleep to the tests. Cypress automatically waits for commands and assertions before moving on. 


###Acceptance testing

This testing type verifies the product’s compliance with business requirements and functionality. [Acceptance testing](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/acceptance-testing-software-testing/) is usually manual in nature and is performed by developers, QA, and stakeholders. Usually, it's done in the staging environment or any preproduction environment. Once everyone is satisfied, it's flagged as ready for prod.

##Conclusion

Testing tools are crucial for enhancing the effectiveness of any testing. This article serves as a testing tool recommendation for conducting functional testing. Do you have any other tools in mind? Let us know about it in the comments below!