Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is adding the Selenium WebDriver browser automation tool as an extra feature available with its Android SDK, enabling developers to test web applications designed to run on devices running Android 2.3 and higher. Writing on the Android Developers Blog, Google engineer Dounia Berrada explains that WebDriver makes it easier for developers to write automated tests ensuring that their sites function correctly when viewed via the Android browser--the tests exercise the web app the same way a real-life user would, complete with interactions like finger flicks, finger scrolls, long presses and display rotations.
WebDriver trials run as part of an Android tests project and are based on Junit. They can be launched from Eclipse or the command line. "WebDriver tests can be wired with a continuous integration system and can run on phone and tablet emulators or real devices," Berrada said. "Once the test starts, WebDriver opens a WebView configured like the Android browser and runs the tests against it." To install the Android WebDriver SDK extra, click here.
Google's Android 4.0 operating system update is slated to arrive Nov. 17 in conjunction with Samsung Electronics' new Galaxy Nexus smartphone. Android 4.0 delivers the tablet-optimized innovations introduced in Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb update to all devices in an effort to reduce platform fragmentation. Google first confirmed Ice Cream Sandwich's forthcoming launch during its annual I/O developer conference in May. The company has promised that moving forward, the same version of Android will run across all devices, regardless of screen size.
For more:
- read this Android Developers Blog entry
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