Appium Money, AI Test Generation, Kubernetes Trends and More TGNS122

[00:00:00] Joe Colantonio Do you know what open source tool now has a contribution payment program? Have you seen the first open AI test generation LLM? And what are some of the hottest trends in Kubernetes? Find out in this episode of the Test Guild News Show for the week of May 26th. So grab your favorite cup of coffee or tea and let's do this.

[00:00:18] Joe Colantonio Before we get into it. If you haven't already, please make sure to subscribe to our Test Guild LinkedIn News Show newsletter that I'll have a link for down below and never miss another episode.

[00:00:28] Joe Colantonio So exciting news in Appium. Appium has just introduced a sponsorship program for its contributors and recognized partner companies through open collective individuals and organizations can donate various tiers receiving benefits like recognition Appium's documentation, and websites. And the funds will be distributed monthly to project maintainers, contributors, and upstream projects fostering community growth. For testers, you're going to benefit from enhanced support and resources and proving project stability and recognition for your contributions. And as you probably know, financial incentives can motivate active participation and innovation within the Appium community. So really great sign from Appium. If you do anything with Appium. Check that out in the comments down below.

[00:01:15] Joe Colantonio Want to know more about an open source AI Test Gen LLM. Let's check it out. So last week, Codium announced that it has developed and released the first open source implementation of Meta's TestGen LLM, a tool aimed at enhancing automated unit test coverage. And this follows the February publication by meta researchers of a paper on automating unit tests and proving large language models that we covered back in February. And the new tool integrates with Codium AI's open source project cover agent, promising to improve test coverage with Assured improvement over existing code bases. So this is really cool because now you can use TestGen LLM to generate tests that compile run correctly, and help you increase code coverage. It also can help you with tool validation test and updates the test suite until the code meets coverage criteria or reaches maximum iterations. It also helps you with challenges like languages like Python, which require precise indentation of Codium AI open source implementation that is TestGen LLM offers a really great tool for testers to check out to maybe enhance or maybe augment their test case generation and coverage. Obviously not to replace it, but also help foster community collaboration for ongoing advancements. What works and what doesn't to help you test better. Definitely check this out as well. Let me know your thoughts.

[00:02:35] Joe Colantonio And also, another company has unveiled more AI technology and this one is with SmartBear. SmarBear has unveiled HaloAI, which is a new AI-Driven technology designed to help software developers and testers. This article goes over how HaloAI aims to automate repetitive and complex tasks, significantly boosting productivity and innovation within development teams. And some key points in this article is in beta testing, Halo AI reduced test times by 98% and automated half of QA tests, saving 20 hours per regression cycle. It also goes over how Halo AI integrates with Gen AI technology to address talent shortages and enhance team capabilities. SmartBear emphasizes improved customer experiences by enabling teams to work faster and more efficiently. And the technologies part of SmartBear's broad AI strategy, which includes previous innovations in automated regression test and AI powered test management, and you can find out more about this in the links down below.

[00:03:38] Joe Colantonio Can you use APIs as an alternative end-to-end test? Maybe so. Let's check out this next article. And Ivan let me know they just released this article. If you don't know, Ivan is a principal QA engineer and test automation coach, and in this article he highlights a new approach to testing APIs offering an alternative to the traditional end-to-end test. Instead of relying solely on external tests that mimic real-world API consumptions, developers can now implement internal tests using NodeJS, ExpressJS, and the Super Test library. And he goes into detail how this approach grants greater control over the testing environments by allowing the API to be tested from within its code base, and this enables the use of mocking for various components, enhancing the flexibility and accuracy of test. And while traditional end-to-end tests remain crucial for validating API functionality in real environments, combining them with internal tests like this can provide a more comprehensive testing strategy. Really cool technique that you should definitely check out if you're doing anything with API testing.

[00:04:40] Joe Colantonio Do you can know about trends and predictions for 2024 when it comes to Kubernetes? If so, here's an article you definitely should read as well. And this is how in 2024, Kubernetes management is evolving with new trends and predictions that aims to streamline, secure, and optimize container orchestration. So some trends you need to know is number one is GitOps adoption. GitOps uses Git for declarative infrastructure and applications, enhancing version control in automation. Number two is Kubernetes native tools. Specialized tools for Kubernetes are becoming more popular. Policy as code, defining security policies as code that ensures consistent enforcement and reduces human error. Number four is automated vulnerability scanning. Five is service mesh usage. Six is AI machine learning integrations to help you with predictive management, resource allocation, and security anomaly detection. Number seven they go over is edge computing. And number eight is resource optimization and sustainability. And its developments really ensure the testers can maintain high standards of security, efficiency, and flexibility. And managing and testing Kubernetes environments. I know a lot of you are dealing with, so definitely check out this article and see if it helps you.

[00:05:54] Joe Colantonio I was really excited when I saw this next article. It's all about a Java-based load testing tool you all should be using, but I think you may not have been using it for this exact reason. Now you have no excuse. So Gatling, which is a popular open source load testing tool has launched a new JavaScript and TypeScript SDK, doubling its accessibility for developers. This new SDK allows developers to write load tests in JavaScript and compile them and run on Java virtual machines, leveraging Gatling's powerful multi-threading capabilities. And this update, I think really broadens Gatling's user base by enabling JavaScript developers to utilize familiar syntax and tools from the NPM registry, while harnessing the performance features of Gatling. And the JavaScript SDK integrates seamlessly with Gatling's robust code base and supports the Gatling recorder, an application that captures browser based user actions and converts them into load testing scripts. And this tool simplifies the process for new users and enhances the script capabilities for more complex scenarios. If you're using JavaScript and you haven't checked out Gatling yet, this is your chance to do so, and you can find the link for this in the links down below.

[00:07:05] Joe Colantonio I came across this new announcement scrolling through my LinkedIn feed where I saw this by Amjad, who talked about how HoundDog has officially launched emerging from stealth mode, which announced its first series C round of funding. What is HoundDog.ai? Well, this new platform aims to help data security by offering proactive measures to prevent personal identification information. And as you know, traditional reactive approaches often fail to keep up with the rapid code-base changes leading to costly data breaches and compliance issues. With HoundDog.ai, they created it to address this by using advanced AI to detect sensitive data flows and generate records of processing activities for GDPR compliance. So it helps you with a bunch of things. The first one is the AI-powered scanner identifies PII leaks before they reach production, reducing the risk of data breaches. It also has comprehensive data mapping, which allows the platform to provide detailed data flow reports, which are essential, as you know, for GDPR. And it also has seamless integrations within your CI/CD pipelines.

[00:08:11] Joe Colantonio I'm always curious about companies that acquire other companies because it gives me a signal of where we're going in certain industries. And this next article goes over how Bugcrowd acquired informer to boost attack service management. Bugcrowd is one of the leading cloud security platforms, and it has acquired informer, which is an external attack service management vendor, to enhance its visibility and security capabilities for customers. This article goes over how this acquisition aims to integrate informers advanced technology into bug crowds platform, providing better insights into digital assets and improving the scope of penetration testing and bug bounty programs. And the informer's technology, which goes beyond simple DNS scans, will help understand and secure their attack service more effectively, particularly benefiting sectors like health care that rely heavily on third party assets.

[00:09:03] Joe Colantonio All right. For links of everything of value were covered in this news episode. Head on over to the links in that comment down below. That's it for this episode of The Test Guild News show. I'm Joe, my mission is to help you succeed in creating end-to-end full stack pipeline automation awesomeness. As always, test everything and keep to good. Cheers.