Practical Tips for Writing Clean Code for Test Automation

Writing clean code that functions in your automation framework can seem impossible, especially if you’re working with legacy code or unfamiliar libraries and frameworks. Clean code can help your team write and maintain tests more quickly, so it’s essential to focus on writing clean code for test automation rather than simply trying to automate everything at once. Here are seven tips to help you do just that.

What Is a Clean Code

Clean code is code that’s easy to understand and easy to maintain. It’s easy to understand and maintain when the code is simple and straightforward. Code that is painless to maintain (e.g., no unintended consequences when making an update) allows projects to be handled by multiple people by agreed guidelines.

An algorithm is the starting point of every solution to a problem. When code is clean, problems are straightforward. 

Clean code is code that has high readability and maintainability. The main idea of clean code is to make it as simple and easy as possible, so other developers can add features, fix bugs, or change existing functionality with minimal effort.

7 Practical Tips for Writing Clean Code for Test Automation

1.Use Whitespace 

Using whitespace, which can be incredibly powerful, might have no drawbacks, depending on your code language and other factors. And in some code languages, whitespace can add a few extra kilobytes, so you may want to edit your scripts accordingly. 

To make your code more readable, you should keep as much whitespace in development as possible. You can then use one of the many clever little programs that scan code to remove all whitespace before uploading it.

2.Naming conventions

One of the great ways to get started is by using naming conventions that clearly and quickly specify what is being worked on.

If you follow a set of strict rules for the names of your variables, you will have a naming convention. Sometimes there’s disagreement about which one is best. To keep it simple, all variables should be prefixed with the data type.

3.Automating helps save time and space

Automate to save time and space! The repetitive nature of writing tests can be tedious and time-consuming. Plus, it takes up valuable space in your project repository and can make finding the test you want to run challenging. To minimize these issues, automate as much of your testing as possible with code.

Writing technical code does not imply that it must be harder to understand. Multiple lines of duplicated code can make understanding more challenging and increase the possibility of errors. Programming has the advantage of being able to express complex commands in simple, reusable, and clever ways.

4.Use Descriptive Variable and Function Names

To write clean code, you must name variables and functions descriptively. A descriptive name should be able to convey what the variable or function does without having to read its content. It will make your code more readable and maintainable by other team members in the future.

When coding, it is simpler to read the complete name than to write it out during declaration since IDE’s automatically complete code. It is important to define variables precisely. Classes, methods, and functions should be named with two objectives in mind:

• What does it do in the program?
• How will it be incorporated into the program?

The name is detailed and specific. For example, an application has customer names and product names. Rather than a generic getName() method, a detail-oriented and efficient way to find the product’s name is with the get product name() function.

5.Delete Unnecessary Code

Code refactoring is updating the code without changing its original function to make it more streamlined and tidy. Refactoring also simplifies the existing code and helps reduce the state of complexity.

Instead of merely commenting out code, consider deleting any code that’s no longer needed. If you do, your source code may be manageable. In some cases, old code will be useless if restored to the project.

6.Make Your Project Well Organized

One of the best tips for writing clean code for test automation is to organize your project well. For example, if you have a project containing 30 scripts, you should create a folder with three folders: scripts, test cases, and images. The scripts folder would contain all 30 scripts, the test cases folder would contain all 30 test cases, and the images folder would contain any necessary images. This is a great way to organize not only your scripts but also any other resource files that are associated with your project.

7.Write Readable Code For People

Particularly when learning to write code, one often needs to be corrected in omitting proper spacing, indentation, or line breaks. It will not only lead to messy code but also make the code more difficult to maintain. Even if nobody sees the code you write, it wastes the time of those trying to decipher it to work with it. So always consider formatting your code because it will save you time when you revisit your code and allow you to make changes more quickly.

Conclusion

Keep your test automation code as clean and straightforward as possible. Write a clear, well-documented test plan before you write any code. Simplify each step to the lowest common denominator of complexity to make it easier to debug later on. The idea is not to build one massive, unmanageable program but create many small ones that are easier to maintain individually.

The complexity of an automation testing tool depends on the number of objects it can interact with and the frequency at which it interacts. To write clean code, you need to be able to use a variety of different tools effectively. 

TestGrid has both low complexity and high versatility, making it one of the most effective automation testing tools. It can handle any object, and its frequency is as high as your imagination will take you.