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Appium Essentials

Chapter 1. Appium – Important Conceptual Background

In this chapter, we will learn about the Appium architecture, JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) wire protocol, and Appium sessions as well as gain an understanding of the desired capabilities before starting Appium. This chapter will also touch upon the topics of the Appium server and its client library.

In short, we will cover the following topics:

Appium's architecture
The Selenium JSON wire protocol
Appium sessions
Desired capabilities
The Appium server and its client library

Appium architecture

Appium is an HTTP server written in Node.js that creates and handles WebDriver sessions. The Appium web server follows the same approach as the Selenium WebDriver, which receives HTTP requests from client libraries through JSON and then handles those requests in different ways, depending on the platform it is running on.

Let's discuss how Appium works in iOS and Android.

Appium on iOS

On an iOS device, Appium uses Apple's UIAutomation API to interact with the UI elements. UIAutomation is a JavaScript library provided by Apple to write test scripts; Appium utilizes these same libraries to automate iOS apps.

Let's take a look at the architecture, which is shown in the following diagram:

In the preceding diagram, when we execute the test scripts, it goes in the form of JSON through an HTTP request to the Appium server. The Appium server sends the command to the instruments, and the instruments look for the bootstrap.js file, which is pushed by the Appium server to the iOS device. Then, these commands execute in the bootstrap.js file within the iOS instruments' environment. After the execution of the command, the client sends back the message to the Appium server with the log details of the executed command.

A similar kind of architecture follows in the case of Android app automation. Let's discuss the Appium architecture for Android.

Appium on Android

On an Android device, Appium uses the UIAutomator framework to automate the apps. UIAutomator is a framework that is developed by the Android developers to test the Android user interface.

Let's take a look at the architecture, which is shown in the following diagram:

In the preceding diagram, we have a UIAutomator/Selendroid in place of Apple instruments and bootstrap.jar in place of the bootstrap.js file.

Appium supports Android versions greater than or equal to 17; for earlier versions, it uses the Selendroid framework. When we execute the test scripts, Appium sends the command to the UIAutomator or Selendroid on the basis of the Android version.

Here, bootstrap.jar plays the role of a TCP server, which we can use to send the test command in order to perform the action on the Android device using UIAutomator/Selendroid.

Desired capabilities

Desired capabilities is a JSON object (a set of keys and values) sent by the client to the server. It describes the capabilities for the automation session in which we are interested.

Let's discuss the capabilities one by one; first, we will see the Appium server's capabilities:

We need to import "import org.openqa.Selenium.remote.DesiredCapabilities" library for Java to work with the desired capabilities.

Capability	Explanation
`automationName`	This capability is used to define the automation engine. If you want to work with an Android SDK version less than 17, then you need to define the value as `Selendroid`; otherwise, the capability takes the default value as `Appium`. Let's see how we can implement it practically: DesiredCapabilities caps = new DesiredCapabilities(); // creating an object caps.setCapability("automationName","Selendroid"); // to set capability value We can also set the capabilities using Appium's client library. For this, users need to import "`import io.appium.java_client.remote.MobileCapabilityType`" library: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.AUTOMATION_NAME,"Selendroid"); There's no need to use this capability in the case of iOS.
`platformName`	It is used to set the mobile OS platform. It uses the value as `iOS`, `Android`, or `FirefoxOS`: caps.setCapability("platformName","Android"); In case of the Appium client library, you can use this: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.PLATFORM_NAME, "Android");
`platformVersion`	To set the mobile OS version, for example, `7.1`, `4.4.4`, use the following command: caps.setCapability("platformVersion","4.4.4"); Alternatively, you can use the following command as well: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.PLATFORM_VERSION, "4.4.4");
`deviceName`	We can define the type of mobile device or emulator to use, using the following command, for example, `iPhone Simulator`, `iPad Simulator`, `iPhone Retina 4-inch`, `Android Emulator`, `Moto x`, `Nexus 5`, and so on: caps.setCapability("deviceName", "Nexus 5"); You can use the following command as well: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.DEVICE_NAME,"Nexus 5");
`app`	We can add the absolute local path or remote HTTP URL of the `.ipa`,`.apk`, or `.zip` file. Appium will install the app binary on the appropriate device first. Note that in the case of Android, if you specify the `appPackage` and `appActivity` (both the capabilities will be discussed later in this section) capabilities, then this capability shown here is not required: caps.setCapability("app","/apps/demo/demo.apk or http://app.com/app.ipa"); Alternatively, you can use the following command: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.APP,"/apps/demo/demo.apk or http://app.com/app.ipa");
`browserName`	If you want to automate mobile web applications, then you have to use this capability to define the browser. For Safari on iOS, you can use this: caps.setCapability("browserName", "Safari"); Also, you can use the following command: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.BROWSER_NAME, "Safari"); For Chrome on Android, you can use this: caps.setCapability("browserName", "Chrome"); Alternatively, you can use the following command: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.BROWSER_NAME, "Chrome");
`newCommandTimeout`	To end the session, Appium will wait for a few seconds for a new command from the client before assuming that the client quit. The default value is `60`. To set this time, you can use the following command: caps.setCapability("newCommandTimeout", "30"); You can also use this command to end the session: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.NEW_COMMAND_TIMEOUT,"30");
`autoLaunch`	This capability is used to install and launch the app automatically. The default value is set to `true`. You can set the capability with the following command: caps.setCapability("autoLaunch","false");
`language`	This is used to set the language on the simulator/emulator, for example, `fr`, `es`, and so on. The following command will work only on the simulator/emulator: caps.setCapability("language","fr");
`locale`	This is used to set the locale for the simulator/emulator, for example, `fr_CA`, `tr_TR`, and so on: caps.setCapability("locale","fr_CA");
`udid`	A unique device identifier (`udid`) is basically used to identify iOS physical device. It is a 40 character long value (for example, 1be204387fc072g1be204387fc072g4387fc072g). This capability is used when you are automating apps on iOS physical device. We can easily get the device udid from iTunes, by clicking on Serial Number: caps.setCapability("udid", "1be204387fc072g1be204387fc072g4387fc072g");
`orientation`	This is used to start in a certain orientation in simulator/emulator only, for example, `LANDSCAPE` or `PORTRAIT`: caps.setCapability("orientation", "PORTRAIT");
`autoWebview`	If you are automating hybrid apps and want to move directly into the Webview context, then you can set it by using this capability; the default value is `false`: caps.setCapability("autoWebview", "true");
`noReset`	This capability is used to reset the app's state before the session starts; the default value is `false`: caps.setCapability("noReset"-," true");
`fullReset`	In iOS, this will delete the entire simulator folder. In Android, you can reset the app's state by uninstalling the app instead of clearing the app data; also, it will remove the app after the session is complete. The default value is `false`. The following is the command for `fullReset`: caps.setCapability("fullReset", "true");

Android capabilities

Now, let's discuss the Android capabilities, as shown in the following table:

Capability	Explanation
`appPackage`	This capability is for the Java package of the Android app that you want to run, for example, `com.android.calculator2`, `com.android.settings`, and so on: caps.setCapability("appPackage", "com.android.calculator2"); Alternatively, you can use this command: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.APP_PACKAGE, "com.android.calculator2");
`appActivity`	By using this capability, you can specify the Android activity that you want to launch from your package, for example, `MainActivity`, `.Settings`, `com.android.calculator2.Calculator`, and so on: caps.setCapability("appActivity", "com.android.calculator2.Calculator"); You can also use the following command: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.APP_ACTIVITY, "com.android.calculator2.Calculator");
`appWaitActivity`	Android activity for which the user wants to wait can be defined using this capability: caps.setCapability("appWaitActivity","com.android.calculator2.Calculator"); Alternatively, you can also use this command: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.APP_WAIT_ACTIVITY,"com.android.calculator2.Calculator");
`appWaitPackage`	The Java package of the Android app you want to wait for can be defined using the following capability, for example, `com.example.android.myApp`, `com.android.settings`, and so on: caps.setCapability("appWaitPackage","com.example.android.myApp");
`deviceReadyTimeout`	You can set the timeout (in seconds) while waiting for the device to be ready, as follows; the default value is `5` seconds: caps.setCapability("deviceReadyTimeout","10"); Alternatively, you can also use this command: caps.setCapability(MobileCapabilityType.DEVICE_READY_TIMEOUT,"10");
`enablePerformanceLogging`	You can enable the Chrome driver's performance logging by the use of this capability. It will enable logging only for Chrome and web view; the default value is `false`: caps.setCapability("enablePerformanceLogging", "true");
`androidDeviceReadyTimeout`	To set the timeout in seconds for a device to become ready after booting, you can use the following capability: caps.setCapability("androidDeviceReadyTimeout","20");
`androidDeviceSocket`	This capability is used to set DevTools socket name. It is only needed when an app is a Chromium-embedding browser. The socket is opened by the browser and the ChromeDriver connects to it as a DevTools client, for example, `chrome_DevTools_remote`: caps.setCapability("androidDeviceSocket","chrome_DevTools_remote");
`Avd`	Using this capability, you can specify the name of `avd` that you want to launch, for example, `AVD_NEXUS_5`: caps.setCapability("avd","AVD_NEXUS_5");
`avdLaunchTimeout`	This capability will help you define how long you need to wait (in milliseconds) for an `avd` to launch and connect to the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) (the default value is `120000`): caps.setCapability("avdLaunchTimeout","230000");
`avdReadyTimeout`	You can specify the wait time (in milliseconds) for an `avd` to finish its boot animations using the following capability; the default wait timeout is `120000`: caps.setCapability("avdReadyTimeout","240000");
`avdArgs`	To pass the additional emulator arguments when launching an `avd`, use the following capability, for example, `netfast`: caps.setCapability("avdArgs","netfast");
`chromedriverExecutable`	You can give the absolute local path to the WebDriver executable (if the Chromium embedder provides its own WebDriver, it should be used instead of the original ChromeDriver bundled with Appium) using the following capability: caps.setCapability("chromedriverExecutable","/abs/path/to/webdriver");
`autoWebviewTimeout`	The following capability allows you to set the time (in milliseconds) for which you need to wait for the Webview context to become active; the default value is `2000`: caps.setCapability("autoWebviewTimeout","3000");
`intentAction`	Intent action is basically used to start an activity, as shown in the following code. The default value is `android.intent.action.MAIN`. For example, `android.intent.action.MAIN`, `android.intent.action.VIEW`, and so on: caps.setCapability("intentAction","android.intent.action.VIEW");
`intentCategory`	This provides the intent category that will be used to start the activity (the default is `android.intent.category.LAUNCHER`), for example, `android.intent.category.LAUNCHER`, `android.intent.category.APP_CONTACTS`: caps.setCapability("intentCategory","android.intent.category.APP_CONTACTS");
`intentFlags`	Flags are used to start an activity (the default is `0x10200000`), for example, `0x10200000`: caps.setCapability("intentFlags","0x10200000");
`unicodeKeyboard`	You can enable Unicode input by using the following code; the default value is `false`: caps.setCapability("unicodeKeyboard","true");
`resetKeyboard`	You can reset the keyboard to its original state by using this capability. The default value is `false`: caps.setCapability("resetKeyboard","true");

iOS capabilities

Let's discuss the iOS capabilities, as shown in the following table:

Capability	Explanation
`calendarFormat`	This is used to set the calendar format for the iOS simulator. It applies only to a simulator, for example, `Gregorian`: caps.setCapability("calendarFormat"," Gregorian");
`bundleId`	`BundleId` is basically used to start an app on a real device or to use other apps that require the `bundleId` during the test startup, for example, `io.appium.TestApp`: caps.setCapability("bundleId"," io.appium.TestApp");
`launchTimeout`	This is used to specify the amount of time (in millisecond) you need to wait for Instruments before assuming that it hung and the session failed. This can be done using the following command: caps.setCapability("launchTimeout","30000");
`locationServicesEnabled`	This capability is used to enable location services. You can apply it only on a simulator; you can give the Boolean value, as follows: caps.setCapability("locationServicesEnabled","false");
`locationServicesAuthorized`	If you want to use this capability, you must provide the `bundleId` by using the `bundleId` capability. You can use this capability on a simulator. After setting this, the location services alert doesn't pop up. The default is the current simulator setting and its value is `false`: caps.setCapability("locationServicesAuthorized","true");
`autoAcceptAlerts`	Using this capability, you can accept privacy permission alerts automatically, such as location, contacts, photos, and so on, if they arise; the default value is `false`: caps.setCapability("autoAcceptAlerts","true");
`nativeInstrumentsLib`	You can use the native instruments library by setting up this capability: caps.setCapability("nativeInstrumentsLib","true");
`nativeWebTap`	This can be used to enable real web taps in Safari, which are non-JavaScript based. The default value is `false`. Let me warn you that this might not perfectly deal with an element; it depends on the viewport's size/ratio: caps.setCapability("nativeWebTap","false");
`safariAllowPopups`	You can use this capability on a simulator only. It allows JavaScript to open new windows in Safari. The default is the current simulator setting. To do this, you can use the following command: caps.setCapability("safariAllowPopups","false");
`safariIgnoreFraudWarning`	This capability can be used only on a simulator. It prohibits Safari from displaying a fraudulent website warning. The default value is the current simulator setting, as follows: caps.setCapability("safariIgnoreFraudWarning","false");
`safariOpenLinksInBackground`	This capability enables Safari to open links in new windows; the default keeps the current simulator settings: caps.setCapability("safariOpenLinksInBackground","true");
`keepKeyChains`	Whether you need to keep keychains (Library/Keychains) when an Appium session is started/finished can be defined using this capability. You can apply it on a simulator, as follows: caps.setCapability("keepKeyChains","true");
`processArguments`	This capability allows you to pass arguments while AUT using instruments, for example, `myflag`: caps.setCapability("processArguments","myflag");
`interKeyDelay`	You can delay the keystrokes sent to an element when typing uses this capability. It takes the value in milliseconds: caps.setCapability("interKeyDelay","100");

We have seen all the desired capabilities that are used in Appium. Now, we will talk in brief about the Appium server and its client library.

What you will learn

Understand the desired capabilities that need to be acquired before starting Appium

Get to know and use the settings that are required to automate mobile applications

Interact with mobile applications by identifying elements using different locator strategies and techniques

Install mobile apps onto an emulator/simulator or a real device using Appium scripts

Test scripts written to automate applications

Configure mobile devices and perform automation testing on them

Explore the advanced features of Appium such as scroll, zoom, and swipe

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Jitendra Kumar Jul 20, 2015

This is very good help for beginners in mobile automation testing .Author has started from the basics & the book has been written in a good way to cover all that which requires to run Appium.

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Ajay Mar 22, 2023

Good Book for beginners

Ram Jul 18, 2015

Very effective for beginners,covers most advanced topics in Appium.its a quick reference for anyone who's working on Appium automation.Author has described everything from basic to advance , I admire the author’s approach towards explaining the concepts .I would very much recommend this book for all the Appium users!

megha sapra Jul 20, 2015

Easy understandable.Described each and every concept thoroughly.Good book for mobile tester. Appium Essentials

liyiwan Mar 02, 2015

even i haven't saw it,but it maybe good for us!

Appium Essentials: Explore mobile automation with Appium and discover new ways to test native, web, and hybrid applications

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Appium Essentials

Chapter 1. Appium – Important Conceptual Background

Appium architecture

Appium on iOS

Appium on Android

The Selenium JSON wire protocol

Note

Appium session

Desired capabilities

Android capabilities

iOS capabilities

The Appium server and its client libraries

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