In-Browser functional testing with Selenium

I’ve been wanting to get into functional testing for a while, but have just never worked up the enthusiasm for the whole "writing clicks as code" deal that you get with the current crop of http-based junit-like test frameworks.

But the other day a workmate put me onto Selenium, and I’ve got to say that its just sensational. I can record my scripts straight in the browser (screencast), do the level of asserts I need (title, button labels, etc) using a familiar right-click metaphor, and save a tiny html file as my script for later use. Plus all the tricky Javascript stuff that fires behind the scenes in our apps "just works" because you’re running in a real browser.

They apparently also have stuff for automating the process in your nightly build. Can’t wait to look at what we might be able to achieve in nightly functional tests using this bad boy.

Props to the boys at openqa for a stunning bit of work.