DEVOPSdigest

Sauce Labs introduced Extended Debugging for Selenium tests.

When a test fails, the team responsible for resolution can spend a significant amount of time attempting to determine if the fault is with the application or the test code itself. Extended Debugging from Sauce Labs combines browser console log information with networking data to identify the location of the problem and identify the root cause, dramatically accelerating resolution.

Today, much of a web app is executed in the browser, so when an app fails, access to the browser console logs is crucial to timely resolution of the issue. Extended Debugging from Sauce Labs generates the browser console logs that provide the browser execution details and network logs (via HAR - HTTP Archive - files) that show the network calls made by the browser. Together developers can use this data to rapidly determine if the issue lies with the application or the test, and then move to quickly resolve it

A flaky test is one that fails intermittently with no changes to the app or test. These tend to be the most difficult issues for devs to fix, because the issues cannot be determined simply by examining test videos or even the logs. The issues usually are associated with browser network calls that are slow, return errors, or just a time out. Extended Debugging from Sauce Labs generates this network data (via HAR files) that can be viewed after the test to quickly understand what caused the issue and speed resolution.

"Automated testing is the backbone of continuous delivery. By adding Extended Debugging to our platform, we're ensuring that our customers can identify the root case of test failures faster," said Lubos Parobek, VP of Product at Sauce Labs. "This has been a much anticipated addition to our platform as browser and networking failures can often be difficult to reproduce, troubleshoot and fix."

Free for all Sauce customers, Extended Debugging is now available in beta. Extended Debugging for Sauce Labs is compatible with Chrome (version 41 and above) and Firefox (version 51 and above).