Flutter is a technical stack developed by Google for developing cross-platform applications. It uses Dart programming language, which helps develop high-performance and scalable applications that can be deployed on multiple platforms with almost identical codebases. Flutter holds a significant place amongst the most used frameworks. Therefore, the need for robust testing becomes crucial.
Flutter testing not ensures a smooth user experience by reducing technical issues but also helps deliver efficiency. As Flutter is one of the most used frameworks, there is a need for robust testing of applications. Flutter testing provides numerous benefits that will help develop successful mobile applications. Testing will ensure a smooth user experience, reducing the negative user experience because of technical issues. However, Flutter testing is a very tedious task for several organizations. In such cases, they can hire Flutter developer to enable appropriate testing measures in their organization.
Best Practices to Keep in Mind:
It would be best to keep certain things in mind when testing your Flutter mobile applications, as it will enhance the whole testing process. The following are the optimal methods that you should remember.
- Write Unit Tests
- Usage of Integration Tests
- Utilization of Automated Testing Tools
- Utilization of Mock Objects
- Performance Test
- Test on Actual Devices
Top Flutter Testing Tools:
The software development kit of Flutter has a rich testing framework that supports widget, unit, and integration tests. It will allow you to create and execute various tests in your integrated development environment with crystal clear messages of error so that it can help you debug issues. Several tools are used for testing the Flutter applications, some of which are below.
● Code Coverage Tools
The code coverage tools are used for software development to help measure the extent to which tests cover your codebase. These tools will help assess your testing efforts’ effectiveness by determining which portions of code have been tested and which have not. Code coverage is often stated as a percentage, and it can give insights into your software’s overall quality and reliability. These tools are very helpful in improving the quality of your code as it encourages the developers to write test suites that identify potential areas of code that might need further attention.
● Flutter Testing Library
Flutter has an in-built library that can be used to write unit tests for your applications. The testing library of Flutter supports both unit tests and widgets tests. In unit tests, the testing is conducted to test individual methods, while in widget tests, the testing is conducted to test individual widgets in isolation. Thus it is imperative to use the Flutter testing tool. This library is also used for writing integration tests in Flutter. These tests focus on testing the entire application by running the app in a simulated environment.
● Flutter Driver
The Flutter driver is an automated tool that enables you to write integration tests for your Flutter mobile applications. The integration tests are such types of tests that will let you know if all the parts of your application are working perfectly. Flutter driver is mainly used for testing navigation and user interface. These tests can interact with your app, just like a real user would, by tapping buttons, scrolling, inputting text, and verifying the correctness of UI elements and application behavior.
Flutter Driver operates on the widget layer of Flutter apps and communicates directly with the app under test, which means it can access all the widgets and perform actions just like a real user would. This makes it suitable for Flutter testing user interfaces, and user flows, and complex interactions.
● Mockito
Mockito is a prevalent framework for writing unit tests that isolates code under test from its dependencies, such as databases, network calls, or other services. With Mockito Flutter, experts can create various mock implementations of interfaces and classes, allowing you to simulate the behavior of natural objects and their methods without triggering the original code. This tool is handy in Flutter testing when you want to test specific behavior in isolation without the complexity of involving all the actual dependencies. For example, you could test a widget that depends on a data repository, network service, or database. Still, you want to refrain from performing genuine network requests or interacting with an accurate database during testing. This is where Mockito comes into play.
● Widget Tester
A widget tester is a tool for Flutter testing used to write widget tests to test the individual in isolation. The Flutter framework has a testing package called flutter_test, including a WidgetTester class. This class will enhance interaction with test widgets in applications. Using WidgetTester, you can perform actions like tapping buttons, entering text, scrolling, and more. It also enables you to assert the state of widgets after interactions, ensuring that the UI behaves as expected.
Conclusion:
We have covered the top 5 Flutter testing tools in this blog. Testing of the applications is critical before deployment as it helps remove bugs prior, saving your organization’s cost and time. When you are testing for cross-platform mobile applications, then, manual testing is required as it eases to check whether all the functions are working correctly or not. It will be better for you to hire a Flutter app development company. They will help you in selecting the best tools, and they will also apply the best practices so that your applications can perform effortlessly and error freely.
Author Bio:
Chandresh Patel is a CEO, Agile coach, and founder of Bacancy Technology. His truly entrepreneurial spirit, skillful expertise, and extensive knowledge in Agile software development services have helped the organization to achieve new heights of success. Chandresh is fronting the organization into global markets in a systematic, innovative, and collaborative way to fulfill custom software development needs and provide optimum quality.
