Robot Framework vs TestNG: What are the differences?

Introduction

This Markdown code provides a comparison between Robot Framework and TestNG, highlighting the key differences between the two.

1. Test Execution Framework: Robot Framework is an open-source, generic test automation framework that uses a keyword-driven approach. It provides easy-to-use keywords and supports both AI (Assertive Interface) and BDT (Behavior-Driven Testing). On the other hand, TestNG is a testing framework designed for unit, functional, and integration testing. It has extensive annotations and support for parallel and data-driven testing.
2. Language Support: Robot Framework supports multiple programming languages such as Python, Java, .NET, and more. It allows users to write test cases using keywords in these languages. However, TestNG primarily works with Java and is built on top of Java Annotations.
3. IDE Integration: Robot Framework integrates well with popular IDEs like Eclipse and PyCharm, providing syntax highlighting, auto-completion, and debugging capabilities. TestNG is widely used within the Java ecosystem and has good integration with IDEs like Eclipse and IntelliJ IDEA, offering features like code completion and test execution directly from the IDE.
4. Reporting and Logging: Robot Framework provides detailed reports and logs during test execution, including HTML, XML, and text reports. It also supports detailed log formatting and tagging for test cases and keywords. TestNG offers a comprehensive reporting feature with detailed HTML and XML reports, including information about test pass/fail status, execution time, and stack traces of failed tests.
5. Parallel Execution: Robot Framework does not have built-in support for parallel test execution out-of-the-box. It can be achieved using external tools or plugins. On the other hand, TestNG has in-built support for parallel test execution, allowing users to run tests in parallel on multiple threads or machines, which can significantly reduce execution time for large test suites.
6. Data-Driven Testing: Robot Framework provides extensive support for data-driven testing, allowing users to create test cases that can be executed with multiple sets of test data. It offers various methods (data tables, CSV files, databases) to handle test data. TestNG also supports data-driven testing through data providers, which allow users to supply test data from external sources like Excel, CSV, or databases. Additionally, TestNG provides data manipulation and data filtering capabilities.

In summary, Robot Framework is a versatile, keyword-driven test automation framework supporting multiple programming languages, while TestNG is a Java-based testing framework with extensive annotations and built-in support for parallel test execution. Both frameworks provide comprehensive reporting and logging features but differ in terms of their test execution framework, language support, IDE integration, parallel execution support, and data-driven testing capabilities.