Web-based Testing for an Environmental Information Management System

As the World Wide Web has evolved, so have web-based applications. Early web applications were relatively simple with limited variability and interactivity, but present day web applications are typically comprised of hundreds to thousands of dynamic and variable software components. Software testing of web applications has lagged behind the explosive growth in size and complexity of the applications themselves. The magnitude and scope of today’s web based applications require testing tools that can operate in the web realm that are flexible, repeatable, and can be automated. Testing is an essential step in the development process necessary to enhance, maintain, and validate software. Selenium is great choice to meet these needs for web-based applications. Selenium is an open source web-based integrated testing tool and framework based on the associated testing language Selenese. Selenium allowed me to create tests for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Taurus Environmental Information Management System (TEIMS). TEIMS is an extensive collection of web-based applications for managing environmental information and processes. I used Selenium to develop hundreds of tests for many dozens of TEIMS web pages. Upon completion of each test, I exported the test to Python and created test suite “wrappers.” The wrapper Python scripts allowed me to execute tests in groups using the Selenium Web Driver. The final outcome of this work turned testing for the TEIMS project from a manual, time-consuming task to an easier to manage collection of automated tests that can be executed on demand with little effort. LLNL-ABS-563811 under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344