Mobile Application Testing or MAT is the testing of a mobile application. MAT has shown to be quite beneficial, as it has improved the efficiency of testing and the execution of regression test cases. It also saves a lot of time while performing additional test cases and allows you to reuse the same test scripts over and over again. Finally, test scripts may be executed in parallel on several devices using MAT. It differs from Mobile Testing (MT) as MT focuses on the native application functionalities of mobile devices such as calling, texting, and media player. Meanwhile, in MAT, we concentrate solely on the application's operation and features.

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Appium Architecture for Mobile Application Testing

Appium Architecture for Mobile Application Testing

Q: 2. What do you mean by Appium?

Appium is a well-known open-source framework for testing mobile applications. It enables iOS and Android app developers to automate the testing of native and hybrid apps. Appium is not a stand-alone application. It uses the WebDriver interface to perform the test cases. QAs can use Appium to write test scripts in a variety of programming languages, such as Ruby, JavaScript, PHP, Java, Python, and C#. Appium is particularly popular because it is a versatile, cross-platform framework that allows testers to develop test scripts that are relevant to numerous platforms that utilize the same API, such as Windows, iOS, and Android. Appium users may essentially recycle their source code for both Android and iOS, saving time and effort in preparing for construction tests.

Q: 3. What are the advantages of using Appium?

Appium provides testing web, supports cross-platform for Native and Hybrid mobile automation, accepts JSON wire protocol, doesn't always require modification of the app, allows automation tests on an actual device as well as simulators or emulators, and has no mobile device requirement. Regardless of the platform programmers are automating, such as Android or iOS, all of the intricacies of the testing are managed by a single Appium server. It makes way for cross-platform mobile testing, in which the same test may be run on several devices. To make your app automation-friendly, Appium does not require any additional components.

By Rohan Vats

Updated on Nov 14, 2022 | 6 min read | 8.5k views

Table of Contents

Appium Overview

Appium is a free mobile application testing tool/framework that provides automation for iOS and Android mobile applications. Appium is a client-server architecture that accepts test code written in Java, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, etc.

At its heart, Appium is a web server written in Node.js programming language that creates iOS and Android sessions using JSON wire protocol.

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Appium Server Performs the Following Actions

Receives a connection from the client in the form of a JSON object over HTTP
Initiate a session and then returns the session ID
Listens for the commands issued
Executes these commands on a mobile device
Responds with an HTTP response

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Source

Appium Key Concepts

Before diving deep into the Appium architecture, let us first understand the key concepts associated with the Appium architecture.

Appium Client

Appium client is an automated scripted code written in any language you are comfortable with (like PHP, Java, Phyton, etc.). Appium client holds the configuration details of the mobile device and the application along with the logic/code to run the test cases.

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Appium Server

Appium server is an HTTP server written in Node.js programming language that receives connection and command requests from the Appium client in a JSON format and executes those commands on a mobile device. Appium Server is started before invoking the automation code.

The server interacts with iOS and Android platforms and creates a session to interact with end devices of mobile applications.

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End Device

The end device is mostly a real-time mobile device or an emulator. The automated scripts are executed in the end device by the Appium server by the client’s commands.

JSON Wire Protocol

In Appium architecture, the JSON wire protocol is a transport mechanism used to establish communication between the Appium client and the Appium server. This protocol controls the behavior of different mobile devices over a session. It is a set of pre-defined endpoints exposed via RESTful API. For example, if a client wants to send data to a server, the client converts it into a JSON object and pushes it to the server. The server then parses the received JSON object and converts it back to the data for use.

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Appium Architecture

Let us now understand the Appium architecture.

As mentioned above, the Appium server is an HTTP server that reads the HTTP requests from the client libraries in a JSON format and sends these requests to the appropriate platform. The Appium server recognizes these requests and creates an automation session with the corresponding end device. Once the session is created, the Appium server starts the execution of test cases in the end device.

Appium server handles the requests differently for iOS and Android, depending on the platform on which it is running. The following sections will explain how Appium runs commands differently on these platforms.

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Appium Working in an iOS Device

On an iOS device, Appium uses UIAutomation API (JavaScript library provided by Apple Company) to connect with the application’s user interface elements.

The above Appium iOS architecture figure describes the Appium architecture for iOS automation. Let us decode the iOS Appium architecture figure step-by-step:

The Appium client communicates with the Appium server using the JSON wire protocol and sends the command in a JSON format to the server.
The server then establishes a connection with the client and forwards the request to the ICS (Instruments Command Server). Appium server also pushes a bootstrap.js file to the iOS device. ICC (Instruments Command client) then picks up the command and runs it in bootstrap.js file within the iOS device environment.
Once the above operation is completed, the executed command’s log details are sent back to the server by the client.

Appium Working in an Android Device

On an android device, Appium would use the UIAutomator framework developed by the Android developers to interact with the application’s user interface elements. The UI Automator is a framework used to test the user interface.

The above Appium Android architecture figure describes the Appium architecture for Android automation. The above figures replace bootstrap.js with bootstarp.jar.

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Let us decode the Android Appium architecture figure step-by-step

The Appium client communicates with the Appium server using the JSON wire protocol and sends the command in a JSON format to the server.
TheAppium server then establishes a connection with the client and forwards the request to the ICS UiAutomator Controller. Appium server also pushes a bootstrap.jar file to the Android device. UiAutomator command the client then picks up the command and runs it in bootstrap.jar file within the Android device environment.
Once the above operation is completed, the log details of the executed command are sent back to the Appium server by the client.

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Conclusion

Appium is undoubtedly one of the most popular platforms for mobile application testing. By far, you have learned about the overview of Appium architecture, workflow, and working of Appium on iOS and Android platforms.

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