Gremlins, Bears, and Limas in Automation, Oh My! TGNS94

[00:00:00] Joe Colantonio Have you seen the New Gremlin Chaos Engineering Certification? What company did Smartbear just acquired? And will Meta's new Llama language model change automation testing forever? Find out in this episode of the TestGuild News Show for the week of August 27th. So grab your favorite cup of coffee or tea and let's do this.

[00:00:19] Joe Colantonio But first, are you looking to take your automation projects to the next level? Look no further than Applitools and their Visual AI Validation testing platform. Trust me, it is a game-changer. Plus, you could try it out yourself by creating a free account now, by clicking on the special link down below and see the difference for yourself.

[00:00:37] Joe Colantonio What does Smartbear just do to help bolster API development? Let's find out the latest acquisition news. In a significant move within the software development industry, Smartbear, a prominent provider of software development testing tools, has announced it has a definitive agreement to acquire Spotlight, a global leader in API design for solutions, and this acquisition aims to establish the most comprehensive API development platform in the market, combining the strengths of both companies. Spotlights, expertise in API governance, mocking and no code editing will integrate with Smartbear's renowned API design documentation and enterprise readiness capabilities, and this collaboration is expected to offer enhanced visibility, test automation, and productivity and automation in general for development teams aiming to advance API practices. Furthermore, this merger brings together vast open-source communities with both sides creating a dynamic network of developers as API management market is projected to grow substantially in the coming years. This acquisition positions Smartbear and Spotlight at the forefront of API lifecycle management and innovation. I ran a survey to my past Automation Guild attendees. What they want to learn more about and API testing and development was one of the top ones that they mentioned. So this is right on target where I see the market going as well. And if you have anything to do with API testing or API development, definitely a development you should look out for as well.

[00:02:08] Joe Colantonio And speaking of API testing, I'm always on the lookout for new tools and I came across one while I was researching the News Show this week on LinkedIn, this is a post by Moataz, who is a prominent figure in quality engineering and mobile automation sector, and I try to get him to speak at Automation Guild 2024, will see and he recently highlighted new entrants into the API testing arena, Step CI, and this open source self-hosted platform is designed to automate API testing across various languages and API types, including REST, GraphQL, and gRPC, and as I mentioned, I've never heard of this before. When I clicked to learn more, I found out that Steps CI offers a lot of versatility allowing configurations via YAML, JSON, and users could also bring their own test data or generated fake data for testing purposes, and one of its standout features is the ability to run multiple tests concurrently without compromising performance. And for those with an open API specification test can be generated directly from it and more insights Test Guild gurus can explore Steps CI's official website documentation and GitHub repository, which you can all find in the first comment down below. So check it out. Let me know your thoughts.

[00:03:19] Joe Colantonio Have you seen the latest news about Microsoft and its new Playwright testing feature? If not, let's check it out. So Microsoft has introduced its latest offering called Microsoft Playwright Testing. And it's designed to facilitate the execution in Playwright tests at an unprecedented scale. When you do automation, one of the hardest things is to scale it up. And this is designed to do that. Playwright, as you know, is an increasingly popular open-source framework, and it's tailored for dependable end-to-end testing in automation for our contemporary web applications. And this new service leverages cloud capabilities to run Playwright tests across diverse OS browser combinations, concurrently ensuring faster test results and this acceleration aids in the swift delivery of features without compromising quality. And a notable advantage is the existing Playwright users can integrate with Microsoft Playwright testing without altering their test code at all. And this service is currently in a private preview, and Microsoft is inviting feedback to redefine the platform further. If you have any input, you definitely should check it out and let them know before it goes live.

[00:04:25] Joe Colantonio I'm also always looking for new learning resources and I discovered this next one on LinkedIn as well. And it's how Karate has just unveiled a comprehensive learning center. So Karate Labs has launched its all-encompassing Karate Learning Center, which is a one-stop destination for enthusiasts and professionals alike. And this platform offers a plethora of resources from beginning guides to Advanced tutorials, demo videos, and detailed documentation. Whether you're new to Karate or an experienced user, the learning Center caters to all covering topics like API testing, performance testing, API mocks, and even web browser and desktop automation. And notably, Karate emphasizes its local first approach, which ensures user data remains secure within the customer's firewall, which is critical, especially during enterprise-type testing. So dive into the world of Karate with their intuitive tools and resources and stay updated with the latest offerings and check that out. Let me know your thoughts.

[00:05:23] Joe Colantonio As automation engineers, we have to do a lot of coding with our automation scripts, and a lot of times it's hard to keep up to date with best practices or how to create code for certain features. Well, luckily you're in luck. I know a lot of you all know about GitHub Copilot, but have you seen Meta's new Llama? If not, I think this might be a game-changer in automation as well. Meta has just unveiled Code Llama, a cutting-edge, large language model tailored for coding, and this state-of-the-art model can generate code from text prompts, offering developers and automation SDETs a tool that can really potentially streamline workflows, enhance efficiency, and lower the entry barrier for coding novices. And code Llama stands out for its ability to generate code and natural language about code from both coding and natural language prompts, so it supports a wide array of popular programming languages, including Python, C#, and Java. In a benchmark test, code Llama surpasses other publicly available LLMS in coding tasks. Setting a new standard in the field and its introduction could revolutionize the automation testing landscape as SDETs can leverage its capabilities for code completion debugging and for even generating more complex test scripts. And with the rapid evolution of generative AI, A.I. tools like Code Llama really can redefine how SDETs approach coding, making repetitive tasks a thing of the past, and focusing on more intuitive aspects or innovative aspects of software development. And if you haven't already seen this, you can check it out in the first comment down below.

[00:07:03] Joe Colantonio A lot of times I was asked, Joe, how do I automate a React application while I found this next resource that can help you do just that. And this article is on how Cypress elevates React app testing with end-to-end simulation. And so front-end developers and front-end testers have a new ally ensuring seamless user experience with Cypress. This recent guide on MSN delves into the intricacies of writing end-to-end tests for React applications using Cypress, and this testing tool stands out for its ability to replicate real-world interactions, ensuring that the application performs as intended from start to finish. In this guide walks developers and testers through setting up Cypress, creating functional components in React, and running tests that simulate user journeys from inputting data to receiving outputs. If you do in any React testing and you're using Cypress, definitely an article, you should read for yourself as well.

[00:07:57] Joe Colantonio Are you into chaos engineering? And you maybe want to look into how you can up your game? Well, I have a resource for you that can help you upskill with a cool certification. And so this week Gremlin launched an Enterprise Chaos Engineering certification program. It was designed to build on the success of their previous certification programs, which saw nearly 15,000 enrollees. And the certification aims to equip engineers with the latest in chaos engineering practices. The certification merges key components of prior courses, offering a comprehensive program that covers everything from fault injection to safely conducting experiments on production systems. And with the rising points of system resilience and chaos and how to test it. Things like this and certifications really can help play a big role in helping shape in the future of automation testing in your career. So if you really want to learn more about chaos engineering, this is a great way to go and you can find out more about the certification and how to enroll in the first comment down below.

[00:08:57] Joe Colantonio And this next announcement is all about a new release of K6 that can help you do better performance testing as well. Grafana has just announced the release of K6 version 46 which brings a bunch of enhancements to the performance testing landscape. So key features include the ability to configure TLS per gRPC connections, support for K6 x Tempo, and it also introduces significant updates to the K6 browser functionality, which simplifies browser tests and eliminates the need for creating environment variables.

[00:09:30] Joe Colantonio And for links of everything value we covered in this news episode, head in over to links in the first comment down below. And while you're there, make sure to check out our awesome sponsor Applitools Free account Offer and discover how to take your automation testing to the next level leveraging Visual A.I.. So 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 the good. Cheers.