Appium is an open source test automation framework for testing native and hybrid mobile apps. It allows writing tests in any language and on any platform to test the same app submitted to app stores. Appium uses the WebDriver protocol to remotely control apps using UIAutomator on Android and Instruments on iOS. This allows testing apps on real devices and emulators with a single test script. Appium supports platforms include Android, iOS, and mobile web apps and can test apps on a local device or cloud-based services like SauceLabs.

1. AN OVERVIEW
OF
Appium
Feb. 2014
Daniel Puterman (LinkedIn, twitter)
Sr. developer

2. whoami?
• Been programming forever.
• Currently lead developer at Applitools (check out our intro video).
• Before:
•
•
•
•
•
Vioozer
iCircl
Matrix
Beyond Security
….
• Team leader, Developer, Entreprenuer.

3. APPIUM AUTOMATES MOBILE
APPS
“Appium is an open source test
automation framework for use with native
and hybrid mobile apps.”

4. A rising star..

5. DEMO
Code for the demo available in:
https://github.com/danielputerman/appium-overview

6. Automating with Appium
Appium was created with 4 design goals in mind:
• Test the same app you submit to the market place.
• Write tests in any language, on any platform.
• Use standard automation specification / api.
• Open source.
Soooo… Ummmm……

7. WebDriver!

8. How does it work?
UIAutomator
Test Code
Instruments

9. Therefore…

10. ONE
SCRIPT
TO
RULE
THEM
ALL

11. No Proprietary IDE / Language

12. OPEN SOURCE
https://github.com/appium/appium/blob/master/LICENSE
APACHE LICENSE 2.0

13. Supported platforms
• Native & Hybrid apps
• Real devices & Simulators
• Available also on the grid (e.g., SauceLabs)
And….
• Even works with Robots

14. A little deeper: Android

15. A little deeper: iOS

16. Show me the code!
Code for available in:
https://github.com/danielputerman/appium-overview

17. Finding elements
Appium translates webdriver “find” commands to the relevant
automation API provided by each platform:
Four “find” methods available
• “name”: The text on the element / accessibility identifier
• “tag_name”: the type of an element, e.g., “button”, “textfield” etc.
• Mapping:
https://github.com/appium/appium/blob/master/lib/devices/ios/uiauto/lib/mechanic.js
#L29
• “Xpath”: Using the element hierarchy.
• “ID”: Available for Android when running with “selendroid” as device.

18. Finding elements by name
driver.find_element(:name, “New note”)
Searches label text / accessibility fields for each platform (“contentDescription” on android, “name” on iOS)

19. Finding elements by tag name
driver.find_element(:tag_name, “textfield”)
Searches for an element of the specified type.

20. Finding elements by xpath
@driver.find_element(:xpath, '//text[contains(@value, “another”)]')
@driver.find_element(:xpath, '//text[last()]')

21. There are limitations, of course!
• Instruments is a singleton
• No parallel testing of iOS apps on the same OSX instance.
• Limited VM scalability.
• Appium is a relatively new product and is in the process of maturing.
• Documentation is not bad, but can be improved quite a bit.
• Error messages (especially for iOS) can be sometimes hard to figure
out.

22. The future
• Mobile Json Wire Protocol (part of
Selenium 3)
https://code.google.com/p/selenium/source/
browse/spec-draft.md?repo=mobile
• Joint effort of Appium, Facebook, Ebay and Mozilla
• Appium would implement the protocol + backword
compatibility.
• Additional platforms
• Appium Doctor
• Advanced gestures

23. Tips I: Appium setup
• Pay attention to the requirements!
• Node version (>= 0.8)
• Android API >= 17 (i.e. 4.2.2 and above)
• Windows is still considered beta, though seems to be working fine 
• iOS
• Mac OS X 10.7 or higher, 10.8.4 recommended
• XCode >= 4.6.3
• Apple Developer Tools (iPhone simulator SDK, command line tools)
• For Mac, make sure you use the XCode version matching the iOS
version you wish to test
• https://github.com/appium/appium/blob/master/docs/running-on-osx.md#testing-against-multiple-ios-sdks

24. Tips II: running Appium
• Desired capabilities, Desired capabilities, Desired capabilities!
• On linux/Mac use ‘sudo –E’ (or ‘sudo –sE’) to have the environment
variables available when Appium is run.
• Notice the IP you listen to when starting Appium (the ‘-a’ parameter):
• 127.0.0.1 will only listen to itself and localhost.
• 0.0.0.0 will listen to itself, localhost, 127.0.0.1 and the actual computer IP(s).
• Parallel testing?
• Run multiple Appium servers, each listening to a different port, and to a
specific device using the ‘–U’ option.
• Use ‘–full-reset’ when running on Android, so tests will start from a
clean environment.

25. FAQ
Q: Can I automate webview applications?
A: Definitely.
1.
2.
3.
4.
If you’re using Android, the “device” in the desired capabilities should be set to
“selendroid”.
Switch to webview: driver.switch_to_window(“WEBVIEW”)
Automate as standard web.
If required: driver.switch_to_window(“NATIVE”)
Q: What about an application which activates another application? (FB, maps etc.)
A: Depends
• For Android, not a problem.
• For iOS, switching to a different application loses the context in which the automation run.
You need to create a new session when coming back from the external application.
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/appium-discuss/38wLkiS_7L0

26. FAQ Cont.
Q: Can I automate an application already installed on a device (without having the app file
on my computer)?
A: Yes and no 
• Android: You can, either for simulator or for real device (just set ‘app-package’ and ‘app-activity’).
• iOS: No problem if you use a simulator (use ‘bundleId’ as the value to the ‘app’ parameter), but for a
real device you must have the app file on your computer.

27. UI Validation
DEMO
Code for available in:
https://github.com/danielputerman/appium-overview

28. Additional resources
• Appium website
• Home: http://appium.io/
• Documentation: http://appium.io/getting-started.html
• Appium forum on google. If you have a question or a problem, this is
the place to go.
• https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/appium-discuss
• Code for the demos
• https://github.com/danielputerman/appium-overview

29. Thanks!