Mobile Technology and Testing
The Mobile boom is obvious and it is pretty clear that it is here to stay. The smart-phones are rapidly becoming the primary method of interaction for consumers and businesses worldwide, with thousands of app being generated each day. Mobile goes beyond smart-phones and tablets. Apps are now being incorporated into cars, wearable tech and home appliances.
The phenomenal growth of mobile devices has opened up avenues for organizations to integrate them into computing environment. Today’s mobile applications deliver complex functionality on platforms that have limited resources for computing. Diversity presents unique challenges that require unique testing strategies.
As Mobile technology is going to play a major role in the near future, I would like my audience to be the newly deployed freshers and the students who are nearly into pursuing their degrees from Universities and Colleges. This blog would create an awareness to all those who are really into Mobiles and Tablets and the ones who are keen to learn about it.
The basic information what we are supposed to know is the different platforms where a smart phone in-particular fucntions i.e. Android, iOS etc. The next would be the type of application i.e. Native Application, Web Application and Hybrid Application. These three applications are not merely the same though, but easy to understand and identify.
Now I would like to just give a brief information and the difference about the platforms and the type of applications which will give you a clear idea on how it works.
Platforms
Android is an Operating System developed by Google which is very user-friendly. If you need any information, Android has it. Let that be Entertainment, Education, Gaming, Current Affairs etc.
The Place where you can download these applications is so called Play Store which is by itself an Application.
iOS is an Operating System developed by Apple which is very user-friendly and the graphics which iOS devices have is just exceptional. If you need any information, iOS has it just like an Android device. Let that be Entertainment, Education, Gaming, Current Affairs etc.
The Place where you can download these applications is so called App Store which is by itself an Application.
iOS devices are basically expensive than an Android device because of its brand and features which makes the customers love it.
Both these operating systems have their own advantages and disadvantages which are totally acceptable by both type of users(iOS, Android). So one cannot be proved better than the other.
Now lets discuss about the type of Applications where the different operating system works on.
Type of Applications
Native Application:
A Native Application is that which originally supports only a specific Operating System.
This type of an application does not need a URL to locate into as it resides in the phone itself.
These applications are very useful and helpful as it reduces internet traffic.
All the native apps may also be a web app and vice versa. For example, facebook.com, a web app is also available as a native app.
It works as smooth as you could never imagine.
A few native applications do not need internet access as its once installed in the device, you don’t need an internet connection to access that application again. Eg: Any gaming app.
Well, I forgot the important point, native applications can only be downloaded via Play Store if its an Android device and via App Store if that is an iOS device.
Web Application:
A Web Application is that which definitely needs an Internet Connection, a browser(Chrome,Firefox etc) and a URL. For eg: http://www.gmail.com, http://www.yahoo.com, http://www.facebook.com etc.
A Web Application is also referred to as a Website and it is dependable on the speed of your Internet connection.
It is not as quick as a native app, as it has pass to through internet traffic.To overcome internet traffic and unexpected outages in a website, Native apps are introduced.
Hybrid Application:
A Hybrid Application is the combination of a Native App and a Web App because it navigates to a Web App from a Native App. For example applications like Flipkart, Amazon etc.
Flipkart and Amazon though being a native app, makes use of Web app like icici.com, hdfc.com etc in the time of making a payment which are basically billdesks that are not in-build in a native app. This is to avoid Online Fraud and to increase Security.
Mobile Testing
This type of a testing is performed in mobile devices itself or using emulators followed by their platforms and build versions.
A mobile tester needs to have a clear idea about the differences between the type of applications he/she is going to deal with.
Different mobile devices are used for testing the functionalities of the application and to verify or track the stability, performance and consistency of the application.
Experiencing the application from a user’s point of view and analysing the challenges and hitches faced in real time is called as Usability Testing.
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/usability-testing.html
Checking on the functionality and stability on any application is a major part of Mobile testing.
There will be challenges faced while testing the app when the devices are too low with RAM as it may slow the device, when the devices hold power for a very short time etc.
Mobile Application Testing can be automated or even manual type of testing which includes testing of Native, Web and Hybrid Applications. Well, the below link might be helpful to know more about application testing for the beginners.
http://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/beginners-guide-to-mobile-application-testing/
Emulators:
An Emulator is a hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the host) to behave like another computer system (called the guest).
An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peripheral devices designed for the guest system. It is basically a soft phone which functions the same way a hard phone does.
http://chasms.com/iphone/ios8/ios8.htm
http://www.multigesture.net/articles/how-to-write-an-emulator-chip-8-interpreter/
I would like to conclude saying that the above information will be helpful for those who know very little about Mobile Technology and Application Testing. There could be many challenges faced when you are performing an application testing but still that would look less when you attain the expected result. For the beginners, this article will be a guide to learn the basics and to have a clear idea about what is Mobile Technology all about.
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