You can't deny the fact that bugs are an inevitable part of web and software development. In fact, there is a popular axiom that applies to every software, application, and programming language and that is "There is No Such Thing as Bug-Free Software". When those bugs enter your enterprise-grade solution, you’re likely to face the following serious repercussions of varying severity ranging from infuriating user experiences to budget draining:
- Mild: Users are unable to click due to broken links.
- Serious: The contact form is not working, which users discover once they have composed their message and hit on the submit button.
- Severe: The payment gateway is not properly configured on your website, which in turn, prevents users from making a purchase from your store, resulting in an increased cart abandonment rate.
The problem with bugs is that their debugging process requires a lot of time, attention, and effort. Furthermore, no single tool is enough to test software or applications from different parameters. Besides finding bugs, developers need to perform a slew of other additional tests to validate the features and functionality of your enterprise-grade solution, such as:
- Unit testing
- System testing
- Functional testing
- Regression testing
- Integration testing
- Alpha and Beta testing
- Stress testing
- Acceptance testing
- Object-oriented testing
The good news is that you can overcome the tedious and time-intensive testing process using the testing frameworks. A framework is a suite of tools, reusable modules, libraries, and other dependencies that work synergistically to support the procedure of debugging. Be it software testing, application testing, or web testing, there is a multitude of frameworks available that support debugging. Web testing, in particular, offers a wide array of frameworks, and choosing the right testing framework for your project depends on your programming language of choice. Amidst all server-side languages, PHP powers 77.3% of websites, and employing the right framework can help a PHP development company achieve more in less time. Now, let’s take a quick look at the top PHP testing frameworks that allow programmers to write your test cases without any hassle.
Best PHP Testing Frameworks You Should Consider in 2022
1) PHPUnit
PHPUnit is one of the popular unit testing frameworks for PHP-powered applications. This open-source web testing framework has been around for over 2 decades and is engineered by Sebastian Bergmann. Based on xUnit architecture, this web testing framework allows PHP development services providers to find bugs as early as possible during the production stage.
Key Features of PHPUnit
- Easy and simple unit testing frameworks
- Used with Command line
- Newly-refactored code validation
- Allows developers to extend test cases tailored to the requirements
Pros of PHPUnit
- Widely used for unit testing
- Customized tests results
- Test different types of controllers without extending
Cons of PHPUnit
- Less Functional
- Can't run directly on a web browser
- Not good for API testing
2) Codeception
Codeception is another popular testing framework that is used by a PHP development company for functional testing, acceptance testing, and unit testing of web applications. This web testing framework is managed to grab the attention of web developers owing to its simplicity and ability to maintain the code modules. The best part of this web testing framework is that it allows easy integration with popular PHP development frameworks including Zend, Laravel4, Phalcon, Symfony2, Yii, etc. As a result, developers can write as well as implement test case scenarios during the development stage.
Key Features of Codeception
- Compact and easy to use
- Supports three levels of testing
- When integrated with Selenium, it works seamlessly
Pros of Codeception
- Test execution speed in high
- Since it is based on PHP, developers don't need to learn any new language
- Comes with a host of features for API or BDD testing, and Unit testing
Cons of Codeception
- Doesn’t have extensive documentation and enough resources
- Configuration is not simple
3) Behat
Written in the PHP programming language, Behat is a popular testing framework developed by Konstantin Kudryashov for Behavior-driven development (BDD). This open-source testing framework has been around for over a decade and it facilitates developers to write test cases in a story mode. This helps in analyzing the behavior of an application with ease.
Key Features of Behat
- Built entirely for PHP
- Comprises many core PHP modules
- Supports BDD for testing
- Enables developers to remove logic details
Pros of Behat
- Easy to learn
- Easy to install and implement
- Detailed documentation
- Adaptable testing framework
- Test cases maintenance is simply and easy
Cons of Behat
- For API testing, developers may require some additional testing tools
- Developers need to be familiar with the Gherkin language
4) SimpleTest
As the name suggests, SimpleTest is a simple framework launched by Marcus Baker in 2003 for unit testing. Besides unit testing, this framework is widely used for website testing. What’s more interesting about this framework is that it supports basic authentication, proxies, forms, frames, and SSL.
Key Features of SimpleTest
- Autoloading test cases
- Supports the simplest HTML display
- Widely used for unit testing
- Without a web browser, test cases can be displayed
Pros of SimpleTest
- Highly flexible
- Tests every part
- Fast execution
- Easy to understand
- Can be used in along with PHPUnit
Cons of SimpleTest
- Mocking is complex
Final Words
PHP Testing Frameworks are gaining strong momentum and making headlines for all the right reasons. This article covers some of the popular web testing frameworks that are widely used by hire PHP development service providers.
