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Robula+ : an algorithm for generating robust XPath locators for web testing

2016; Wiley; Volume: 28; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/smr.1771

2047-7481

Maurizio Leotta, Andrea Stocco, Filippo Ricca, Paolo Tonella,

Web Data Mining and Analysis

Journal of Software: Evolution and ProcessVolume 28, Issue 3 p. 177-204 Research Article Robula+: an algorithm for generating robust XPath locators for web testing Maurizio Leotta, Corresponding Author Maurizio Leotta orcid.org/0000-0001-5267-0602 Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, Italy Correspondence to: Maurizio Leotta, Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAndrea Stocco, Andrea Stocco Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorFilippo Ricca, Filippo Ricca Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorPaolo Tonella, Paolo Tonella Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, ItalySearch for more papers by this author Maurizio Leotta, Corresponding Author Maurizio Leotta orcid.org/0000-0001-5267-0602 Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, Italy Correspondence to: Maurizio Leotta, Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, Italy. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorAndrea Stocco, Andrea Stocco Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorFilippo Ricca, Filippo Ricca Dipartimento di Informatica, Bioingegneria, Robotica e Ingegneria dei Sistemi (DIBRIS), Università di Genova, Genova, ItalySearch for more papers by this authorPaolo Tonella, Paolo Tonella Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Trento, ItalySearch for more papers by this author First published: 09 March 2016 https://doi.org/10.1002/smr.1771Citations: 42Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Abstract Automated test scripts are used with success in many web development projects, so as to automatically verify key functionalities of the web application under test, reveal possible regressions and run a large number of tests in short time. However, the adoption of automated web testing brings advantages but also novel problems, among which the test code fragility problem. During the evolution of the web application, existing test code may easily break and testers have to correct it. In the context of automated DOM-based web testing, one of the major costs for evolving the test code is the manual effort necessary to repair broken web page element locators – lines of source code identifying the web elements (e.g. form fields and buttons) to interact with. In this work, we present Robula+, a novel algorithm able to generate robust XPath-based locators – locators that are likely to work correctly on new releases of the web application. We compared Robula+ with several state of the practice/art XPath locator generator tools/algorithms. Results show that XPath locators produced by Robula+ are by far the most robust. Indeed, Robula+ reduces the locators' fragility on average by 90% w.r.t. absolute locators and by 63% w.r.t. Selenium IDE locators. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. References 1Tonella P, Ricca F, Marchetto A. Recent advances in web testing. Advances in Computers 2014; 93: 1–51. DOI:10.1016/b978-0-12-800162-2.00001-4. 10.1016/b978-0-12-800162-2.00001-4 Web of Science®Google Scholar 2Chapman P, Evans D. Automated black-box detection of side-channel vulnerabilities in web applications. 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