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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Build Automation
  4. Java Build Tools
  5. Apache Maven vs TestNG

Apache Maven vs TestNG

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Apache Maven
Apache Maven
Stacks3.4K
Followers1.7K
Votes414
GitHub Stars4.8K
Forks2.8K
TestNG
TestNG
Stacks1.2K
Followers198
Votes0

Apache Maven vs TestNG: What are the differences?

  1. Key Difference 1: Project and Dependency Management - Apache Maven is a build automation tool that focuses on project object model (POM) based project management. It uses a XML-based configuration file to define project dependencies, build process, and project structure. TestNG, on the other hand, is a testing framework that does not handle project management. It is mainly used for implementing and executing test cases.
  2. Key Difference 2: Test Execution - Maven is primarily used for building projects and executing the build lifecycle phases defined in the POM. It can be configured to execute tests as a part of the build process, but the main focus is not on test execution. On the contrary, TestNG is specifically designed for testing and provides various features like parallel test execution, test dependency management, and comprehensive test reporting.
  3. Key Difference 3: Test Annotations - TestNG offers a rich set of annotations that can be used to define test methods and control the test execution flow. These annotations include @Test, @BeforeTest, @AfterTest, @DataProvider, etc. Maven, being a build automation tool, does not provide any specific test annotations. It mainly relies on the test framework being used (like TestNG or JUnit) to define test annotations.
  4. Key Difference 4: Reporting - TestNG provides detailed and customizable test reports with features like test case status, time taken for each test, configuration parameters, and more. Maven also generates test reports, but the level of customization and detailed information provided by TestNG is more extensive.
  5. Key Difference 5: Integration with Continuous Integration (CI) - Apache Maven is widely used in CI environments like Jenkins, where it can be integrated to automate the build and deployment process. It provides plugins to interact with CI tools and execute tasks like triggering test execution, reporting, and artifact generation. TestNG can also be used in CI environments, but it is more commonly utilized for test execution and reporting within a build process managed by Maven.
  6. Key Difference 6: Test Configuration - TestNG allows the use of XML configuration files for defining test suites, test parameters, and other test-related configurations. It provides flexibility in configuring and running tests in various environments. Maven, however, does not offer specific XML-based test configuration. It relies on the underlying test framework (like TestNG or JUnit) for test configuration.

In Summary, Apache Maven is a build automation tool that focuses on project and dependency management, while TestNG is a testing framework specifically designed for implementing and executing test cases. TestNG provides features like test annotations, comprehensive reporting, integration with CI tools, and flexible test configuration, which are not covered by Maven.

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Detailed Comparison

Apache Maven
Apache Maven
TestNG
TestNG

Maven allows a project to build using its project object model (POM) and a set of plugins that are shared by all projects using Maven, providing a uniform build system. Once you familiarize yourself with how one Maven project builds you automatically know how all Maven projects build saving you immense amounts of time when trying to navigate many projects.

It is a testing framework designed to simplify a broad range of testing needs, it covers all categories of tests: unit, functional, end-to-end, integration, etc.Run your tests in arbitrarily big thread pools with various policies available (all methods in their own thread, one thread per test class, etc.

Simple project setup that follows best practices - get a new project or module started in seconds;Consistent usage across all projects means no ramp up time for new developers coming onto a project;Superior dependency management including automatic updating, dependency closures (also known as transitive dependencies);Able to easily work with multiple projects at the same time;A large and growing repository of libraries and metadata to use out of the box, and arrangements in place with the largest Open Source projects for real-time availability of their latest releases;Extensible, with the ability to easily write plugins in Java or scripting languages;Instant access to new features with little or no extra configuration;Ant tasks for dependency management and deployment outside of Maven
Support for data-driven testing ; Support for parameters; Powerful execution model (no more TestSuite); Supported by a variety of tools and plug-ins (Eclipse, IDEA, Maven, etc
Statistics
GitHub Stars
4.8K
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Forks
2.8K
GitHub Forks
-
Stacks
3.4K
Stacks
1.2K
Followers
1.7K
Followers
198
Votes
414
Votes
0
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 138
    Dependency management
  • 70
    Necessary evil
  • 60
    I’d rather code my app, not my build
  • 48
    Publishing packaged artifacts
  • 43
    Convention over configuration
Cons
  • 6
    Complex
  • 1
    Inconsistent buillds
  • 0
    Not many plugin-alternatives
No community feedback yet
Integrations
No integrations available
IntelliJ IDEA
IntelliJ IDEA
Eclipse
Eclipse

What are some alternatives to Apache Maven, TestNG?

Gradle

Gradle

Gradle is a build tool with a focus on build automation and support for multi-language development. If you are building, testing, publishing, and deploying software on any platform, Gradle offers a flexible model that can support the entire development lifecycle from compiling and packaging code to publishing web sites.

Bazel

Bazel

Bazel is a build tool that builds code quickly and reliably. It is used to build the majority of Google's software, and thus it has been designed to handle build problems present in Google's development environment.

Robot Framework

Robot Framework

It is a generic test automation framework for acceptance testing and acceptance test-driven development. It has easy-to-use tabular test data syntax and it utilizes the keyword-driven testing approach. Its testing capabilities can be extended by test libraries implemented either with Python or Java, and users can create new higher-level keywords from existing ones using the same syntax that is used for creating test cases.

Karate DSL

Karate DSL

Combines API test-automation, mocks and performance-testing into a single, unified framework. The BDD syntax popularized by Cucumber is language-neutral, and easy for even non-programmers. Besides powerful JSON & XML assertions, you can run tests in parallel for speed - which is critical for HTTP API testing.

Cucumber

Cucumber

Cucumber is a tool that supports Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) - a software development process that aims to enhance software quality and reduce maintenance costs.

Pants

Pants

Pants is a build system for Java, Scala and Python. It works particularly well for a source code repository that contains many distinct projects.

TestCafe

TestCafe

It is a pure node.js end-to-end solution for testing web apps. It takes care of all the stages: starting browsers, running tests, gathering test results and generating reports.

Spock Framework

Spock Framework

It is a testing and specification framework for Java and Groovy applications. What makes it stand out from the crowd is its beautiful and highly expressive specification language. It is compatible with most IDEs, build tools, and continuous integration servers.

Selenide

Selenide

It is a library for writing concise, readable, boilerplate-free tests in Java using Selenium WebDriver.

Capybara

Capybara

Capybara helps you test web applications by simulating how a real user would interact with your app. It is agnostic about the driver running your tests and comes with Rack::Test and Selenium support built in. WebKit is supported through an external gem.

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