Photon: A Domain-specific Language for Testing Converged Applications

Automated testing of converged applications can be complex, as it is rare for a single testing tool to provide a single solution for all access points which a given application supports. As such, testing teams often create customized testing frameworks, which integrate several different testing tools, and a myriad of programming languages and scripting tools. When an application's unique set of access points changes, or a new testing tool comes to market which offers a competitive advantage over existing test tools, the cost of updating these customized frameworks, can be difficult to justify. This paper provides a solution to this problem by introducing "Photonese," a domain-specific language which testers can use to compose automation scripts which are independent of the test tool used for automation. In this way, the tester creates reusable testing assets in a framework which is reusable across multiple projects.