Session 41 - Selenium with Java | Data Driven Testing with MS-Excel | 2024 New Series

Introduction

This tutorial provides a comprehensive guide on how to implement data-driven testing using Selenium with Java and MS Excel. Data-driven testing allows you to run the same test with different sets of data, improving test coverage and efficiency. This guide is particularly useful for QA engineers and developers looking to automate their testing processes.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Environment

1. Install Java: Ensure that Java Development Kit (JDK) is installed on your machine. You can download it from the Oracle website.
2. Install Eclipse: Download and install Eclipse IDE for Java Developers from the Eclipse website.
3. Add Selenium Libraries:
   • Navigate to the Selenium website and download the latest Selenium WebDriver JAR files.
   • In Eclipse, create a new Java project and add the downloaded JAR files to your project’s Build Path.

Step 2: Setting Up Apache POI

1. Download Apache POI: Visit the Apache POI website and download the latest version.
2. Add POI Libraries to Your Project:
   • Extract the downloaded files and add the necessary JARs (poi-x.x.x.jar, poi-ooxml-x.x.x.jar, and related dependencies) to your Eclipse project.

Step 3: Create Excel File for Test Data

1. Open Excel: Create a new Excel file and name it TestData.xlsx.
2. Define Structure:
   • Create a worksheet named Data.
   • In the first row, define the column headers (e.g., Username, Password, ExpectedResult).
   • Fill in some test data below the headers.

Step 4: Writing Java Code for Data-Driven Testing

1. Create a New Java Class: In your Eclipse project, create a new Java class (e.g., DataDrivenTest).
2. Import Required Packages: At the beginning of your Java class, import the necessary packages:

   import org.apache.poi.ss.usermodel.*;
   import org.apache.poi.xssf.usermodel.XSSFWorkbook;
   import org.openqa.selenium.WebDriver;
   import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
   

3. Read Data from Excel:
   • Use the following code snippet to read data from your Excel file:

   FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream("path/to/TestData.xlsx");
   Workbook workbook = new XSSFWorkbook(fis);
   Sheet sheet = workbook.getSheet("Data");
   for (Row row : sheet) {
       String username = row.getCell(0).getStringCellValue();
       String password = row.getCell(1).getStringCellValue();
       String expectedResult = row.getCell(2).getStringCellValue();
       // Call your test method with the retrieved data
   }
   workbook.close();
   

Step 5: Implementing Selenium WebDriver Logic

1. Set Up WebDriver: Initialize the WebDriver and navigate to the application you want to test:

   System.setProperty("webdriver.chrome.driver", "path/to/chromedriver");
   WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver();
   driver.get("http://yourapplication.url");
   

2. Perform Actions Using Test Data:
   • Use the retrieved test data to interact with web elements:

   driver.findElement(By.id("usernameField")).sendKeys(username);
   driver.findElement(By.id("passwordField")).sendKeys(password);
   driver.findElement(By.id("loginButton")).click();
   // Validate the result
   

Step 6: Executing Your Test

1. Run the Test: Execute your Java class in Eclipse. Ensure that the browser opens, and the test runs using the data from Excel.
2. Analyze Results: Check the application’s response against the expected results defined in your Excel sheet.

Conclusion

You have now set up a data-driven testing framework using Selenium with Java and MS Excel. This approach allows you to efficiently test various scenarios by simply modifying your Excel test data. As a next step, consider exploring further automation frameworks or integrating your tests with CI/CD pipelines for continuous testing.