QTP v/s Selenium is not a basketball match between two teams, but it shows a competitive difference between them. Both are used for software testing purposes. If you are reading this piece of content, it simply means either you are a newbie in the QA field or looking for QA testing services for your business app. In both cases, this article is going to be very helpful for you. Being a leading QA and testing services company, we are acquainted with QA and its popular tools. That’s why in this particular post, we are explaining QTP v/s Selenium and the difference between QTP and Selenium.
Selenium has more users and is a more popular testing tool. But in the comparison between QTP and Selenium, the open-source automation tool Selenium is better. Both are parts of software development because QA testing is responsible for the quality of the output product. Actually, QTP and Selenium are testing tools used for software, app, and web testing. QA testing is one of the essential services in web and app development. In short, we can say both are different while working on web apps, applications, or websites. So it’s very unconventional to compare them on the same page. So to dive into the depth, we have to discuss QA testing.
QA stands for Quality Assurance. As the name implies, it is a process to ensure the quality of the product before launching. Quality Assurance, popularly known as QA testing, is responsible for testifying the software, application, and web product for bug-free and error-free development. A reliable and bug-free application for users is a concern for QA testers.
It is a conventional method of testing any software, and it is still in trend. In manual testing, the QA analyst has to perform test cases and type the script for each feature. As this method is performed manually, it is more time-consuming than automation testing. A manual tester can test the random error. On the other side, automation testing doesn’t allow to test any randomly. In manual testing, all the test cases are performed by a human. So the possibility of errors in the output is higher.
Automation testing is a new form of QA. It is fast, accurate, and economical for testing any kind of software, apps, or website. Automation testing applies automation tools for performing test cases while manual testing is performed by a human. Because automation testing uses additional tools and pre-scripted test cases, it is more accurate and faster than manual testing. In the automation testing method, human interaction is lesser, so there is a higher chance that the result can be less user-friendly.
There are many popular tools available for QA testing. Most of the tools are designed to help automation testing because, as we know, manual testing relies on a human being. Here are some listed below.
Selenium
QTP/UFT by Micro Focus
Appium
Test Sigma
TestComplete
Visual Studio Test Professional
Robotium
Katalon Studio
ShopUI
EggPlant
Quick Test Professional is the acronym for QTP. It is defined as an automation tool by the Micro Focus company. Actually, QTP was developed by Mercury Interactive. And after the success of this handy testing tool, HP (Hewlett Packard) acquired the QTP later. It is an automated testing tool that helps automation testers to perform test cases to examine any bug, error, or gaps in the expected output. It is paid and requires a license for automation testing. It only supports the VBScript programming language. Its area of functioning is broad. It can test web apps, mobile applications, websites, and any software.
It is the most popular testing tool for automation and manual testers. Selenium was originally developed by Jason Huggins in 2004 as an internal tool for ThoughtWorks. It is an open-source testing tool. Thus, the tester only needs to install the Apache 2.0 license to use it free of cost. Selenium is generally used by automation testers because of its wide range of language support. It supports Java, Perl, Ruby, .NET, PHP, and many other programming languages.
Selenium is a kind of framework that is widely used for testing web applications. It offers a playback tool for performing functional tests without having knowledge of test scripting language. Selenium faced several updates in history, like Selenium RC, Selenium 2.0, Selenium WebDriver, and Selenium 3. The latest version of this automation tool is Selenium 3.14.0, and a beta version of Selenium 4.0 in Java(Node) is already released.
As we know, both are the testing method and aim to give error-free applications at the output. But still, they are not made for the same purpose. The main difference is their working areas. Selenium is used for testing web apps only. And on the other side, HP QTP can perform automation tests for web apps, mobile applications, software, and website. To dive into the depth of how QTP and Selenium differ from each other, here are some notable differences between them.
Source: Selenium is an open-source testing tool (requires Apache 2.0). Whereas QTP requires a license and thus is a paid tool.
Language: QTP only supports VBScript, Selenium supports Java, Perl, Ruby, .NET, PHP, and many other programming languages.
Testing Cost: As we all know, QTP is a license-based product of Micro Focus. That’s why users have to pay for the testing. On the other hand, Selenium is open-source and requires only a free Apache 2.0 license.
Area of Action: Selenium supports web apps only, while QTP can test the mobile apps, web apps, and websites.
Integrated Developer Environment: QTP only support QTP based IDE. Selenium works on the .NET, Eclipse, NetBeans, and more.
Platform: QTP works on Windows only. Selenium can support all the latest operating systems like Windows, Linux, iOS, Solaris, OS X, and Android.
Support: As we know, QTP has a customer support panel where you can buy technical support for any issue. Selenium is supported by an active user community called Vibrant. It is similar to an open discussion forum but not a team of dedicated customer support.
Popularity: No doubt, Selenium is more popular than QTP because it is a free automation testing tool widely used tools by developers and automation testers.
In short, we can say both are different while working on web apps, applications, or websites. So it’s very unfair to compare them with the same lenses. Because Selenium has more users and is more popular, we can admit that in the comparison between both, Selenium is better.
It is the most irrelevant question for an automation tester. Actually, UFT is the upgraded version of Quick Test Professional. So the query “UFT v/s QTP” is just worthless. Unified Functional Testing is an acronym of UFT. As mentioned earlier, QTP was developed by Mercury Interactive. And after the success of this handy testing tool, later HP (Hewlett Packard) acquired the Quick test professional.
After the acquisition of Mercury, it is known as HP QTP. It is specially used for GUI-based functions and regression automation testing. Later on, HP introduced another tool for API testing called Service Test. With the updates of both testing tools, HP decided to merge both tools - QTP & Service Test - with a new name called Unified Functional Testing (UFT). Now, QTP is owned by Micro Focus, but HP QTP is also popular, so most tech giants still consider the name HP QTP instead of UFT.
The latest and current version of Selenium is QTP 3.14.0, and an alpha version of Selenium 4.0 in Java(Node) is already released. The first version of Selenium 1 is also known as Selenium RC. Selenium 2.0 is known as Selenium WebDriver. On the other hand, the latest version of QTP is QTP 11.53 that was released in 2013.
Gray box testing is a combination of Black box testing and White box testing. If a tester doesn’t have a permit to check the source code and is not acquainted with any internal functionality of the system, then it is called Black box testing. On the contrary, the White Box testing method means a tester has ample information about the internal function and source code. A Gray box testing is a mediator term that includes the merits of the black and white box testing method. So we can say in the Gray box testing, a tester only has partial information about the internal functions of the system but does not have access to source code.
Selenium is better than QTP/UFT because it’s a free automation testing tool widely used by developers and automation testers. QTP only supports VBScript. Selenium supports Java, Perl, Ruby, .NET, PHP, and many other programming languages. QTP only supports QTP based IDE. Selenium works on the .NET, Eclipse, NetBeans, and more. As we all know, QTP is a license-based product of Micro Focus. That’s why users have to pay for the testing. On the other hand, Selenium is open-source and requires only a free Apache 2.0 license. So we can conclude that Selenium is far better than QTP for testing web apps.
Application Life Cycle Management is the acronym for HP ALM. It is a web-based tool that manages the application life cycle like project planning, requirement bringing, testing, and deployment to the client-server. It is one of the best tools to manage all time-consuming tasks and organize them with the same tool. HP ALM was earlier known as Test Director, developed by Mercury Interactive. With version 8 being released in 2008, Test Director was renamed Quality Center. After HP acquired Mercury, it is now known as HP ALM.
There is an interesting story behind the name of Selenium. Actually, Selenium is a chemical element that is used for pigment in plastic. As mentioned earlier, QTP was designed by Mercury Interactive, and Mercury is also a chemical element used in poison and health instruments like a thermometer. According to the rumors, Selenium owner Huggins cracked a joke in an email. He was trying to make fun of his competitor Mercury(QTP). Huggins said, ”You can cure mercury poisoning by taking selenium supplements.” The others who received the email the name and ran with it.
To use the trial version of QTP, all you have to do is first create an account on the official website of QTP. After successful registration, you have to confirm your email and again login into your account. That’s it. Your account will be created in an instant. And for the trial version, click on Explore Menu and select the “Unified Functional Testing (UFT)” tab. Now click on the Free Trial button on the right top corner. A new window automatically opens and requests permission. Click on Next. Hurry! You got 60 days free trial version of QTP/UFT..
We all agree that each tool carries pros and cons. It is totally up to users to decide which tool he wants to use for testing. So we can say QTP v/s Selenium is never a fair competition because both tools have advantages and disadvantages. We can simply say that the purpose of explaining the difference between QTP and Selenium is just to dive into the depths of the QA testing & popular testing tools. If you are looking for a QA testing services company, we are the right one for you.
We are a QA and testing services company, and our testing lab always relies on quality. If your dream project demands a bug-free output with high performance, then drop your inquiry at info@acquaintsoft.com or give us a call at +1 773 377 6499. Hope this piece of content can feed your query regarding QTP v/s Selenium and the difference between them. Do SHARE this post with your bestie.
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