Java testing frameworks are a collection of rules pre-set up with Java to support the design and creation of test scripts. The general rules include multiple functions such as coding standards, test data handling, object repositories, and libraries.
The Java frameworks equip teams with a standardized structure and automation guidelines, which serve as the backbone of an effective testing process, with less manual effort, enhanced testing speed, and efficiency.
Following this definition, tools like Selenium, despite its popularity, will not be mentioned in the list, as it is a set of libraries bundled into a suite rather than a framework. These two concepts are oftentimes used interchangeably, but there are some clear distinctions.
Frameworks and libraries are both reusable blocks of code developed by third parties to solve programming problems and optimize the development process.
However, while libraries contain predefined code snippets that can be used for common functions, frameworks are a ready-to-use toolkit for developing applications.
“Inversion of Control” is another key difference. For libraries, developers are in control of the flow and call queries when and where they want them. In contrast, the control is reversed with frameworks, which dictate the flow and call your code.
Read more: Software test automation frameworks | 6 common types
Upon this well-defined framework foundation, teams can achieve substantial testing benefits, including:
Katalon is a modern software quality management platform for API, web, mobile, and desktop applications. Commonly used for API, regression, and end-to-end testing, over 10K+ product teams have added Katalon tests as quality checkpoints for every new code pushed.
What differentiates Katalon from other frameworks is its built-in configurations that let developers share the coding effort and allow manual QA to automate their testing. Teams can develop automated test suites faster and expand functional testing coverage with available templates, test case libraries, and keywords.
Pros
Cons
Use Cases
Katalon is a powerful alternative to open-source testing frameworks, as it gets you right to uncovering integration, API, UI, and regression defects with little upfront environment set-up. Katalon provides all the essentials for planning, authoring, executing, and analyzing automated tests.
Based on SeleniumWebdriver, Selenide is an open-source framework for writing easy-to-read and maintain automated tests in Java. The framework enhances the attributes of WebDriver, specifically time-out handling with smart waiting.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
Like SeleniumWebdriver, Selenide is used for UI testing of web applications. However, with Selenide’s feature, users don’t have to deal with complications concerning JavaScript’s slow running, Ajax timeout, or extra loading time for any dynamic content.
JUnit is a unit testing framework used to create and run unit tests for Java-based projects. Unit testing refers to the validation of small individual chunks of code before they’re sent to QA engineers/testers. JUnit allows developers to deliver at speed while still maintaining the code build quality, especially when new test code is added later on during a software life cycle.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
Developers can use JUnit for both unit and regression testing.
JUnit follows the Test-Driven Development approach in which test cases are written before the code development. This practice helps detect bugs at an early stage and enhances teams’ productivity and the stability of Java code.
JUnit tests can be written in major IDEs like Eclipse, NetBeans, and IntelliJIDEA.
Inspired by JUnit, TestNG shares some similarities with JUnit but also overcomes its drawbacks with powerful functionalities and reporting. Features such as annotations, sequencing, parameterizing, etc., allow for more flexible configurations and improvements in the testing process.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
TestNG is of great help in scenarios where there are plenty of test cases to run. In these cases, TestNG is strongly recommended over JUnit or any other framework. TestNG alleviates testers’ workload and provides support for all categories of tests (functional, integration, unit testing, and end-to-end testing).
Mockito is a popular Java-based mocking framework used in unit testing. Mocking is a common technique in unit testing, as it simulates the behavior of dependencies to isolate the test to a specific unit.
With Mockito, teams don’t have to write mock objects explicitly. The framework automatically generates them using Java Reflection API.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
Mocking eases the development process with its cost-effective mock generation capability. It enables you to create tests with a simple API that produces clean verification errors. The service Mocking feature also helps you to maximize the benefits of Test-Driven Development.
Cucumber is a behavior-driven development (BDD) testing framework for automated tests. BDD testing framework allows you to create test cases in plain English. Cucumber uses Gherkin, an ordinary language parser that permits writing plain-text functional scripts for the sake of easy understanding.
The framework is also popular for its specification capability. It merges the documentation and specifications into a single report and keeps them updated automatically.
Pros
Cons
Read more: Automation Testing with Cucumber BDD in Agile Teams
Use cases
Cucumber is typically used to run automated acceptance tests that verify if the developed features follow the initial requirements. Cucumber is also a go-to tool for agile projects following agile testing methodology. It bridges the expertise gap between stakeholders, allowing teams to modify their tests and products accordingly.
Jbehave is another famous Java testing framework that supports BDD. JBehave is designed with simple language for developers, especially those at the beginner level, to adopt and get familiar with BDD quickly.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
Like other BDD testing frameworks, Jbehave streamlines communication with tests created in a business domain language that can be easily grasped by all members. Through detailed rationale and intuitiveness from the point of view of stakeholders, JBehave not only minimizes misunderstandings but also produces products with superior specifications.
Serenity is an automated testing framework designed for Behavior-Driven Development. This framework allows you to write well-structured and more maintainable acceptance and regression test cases. It expands the attributes of both Selenium WebDriver and JUnit.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
Serenity is commonly used for writing and reporting acceptance criteria. It aims to produce powerful living documentation and narrative reports that provide useful feedback not only for testers but also for the whole team.
Spock is a testing and specification framework based on Java and Groovy, which allows Spock to test Java apps in innovative ways that aren't achievable with regular Java code. Spock tests can be written for any language that runs on Java Virtual Machine. Unlike JUnit or JBehave, you can still create unit/integration tests in Spock even if the code is in Java or Scala, etc.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
Spock's robust DSL, simplistic usage, and user-friendly interface make it one of the best frameworks for behavior-driven development. It also allows QA teams to perform data-driven testing and is often used by developers to build Java enterprise applications.
Geb functions as a testing framework for web/browser automation run in Groovy language. It brings together the best features of jQuery, Groovy, WebDriver, and Page Object Modelling to provide more robust content and web interaction.
Pros
Cons
Use cases
Geb can be used to automate functional and user acceptance testing. It provides smart integration modules for frameworks like Cucumber, TestNG, JUnit, and Spock. concise, clear, and understandable test specifications that help teams achieve more speed and efficiency.