Test *.ios application on Mac with Xamarin.UI from Visual Studio
RUMember ✭✭
Hello. I need testing UI on my ios Application. I have mac and Visual Studio on it. Can I start test without Source code (only build *.ipa file) ? and can i use .app and .ipa files only for testing in Xamarin Test Cloud or Visual Studio App Center ?
Best Answer
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Kent.Green
USXamarin Team Xamurai
Sort of. Your IPA has to be linked with either Calabash or Xamarin Test Cloud Agent (0.21.4). Both of these are actually different names for the same thing, but the nomenclature varies depending on where you're linking it.
If it's a Xamarin C# app, you would handle it with these two steps:
- https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/testcloud/uitest/adding-uitest/#Adding_the_Xamarin_Test_Cloud_Agent_to_the_iOS_Project
- https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/testcloud/uitest/adding-uitest/#Initialize_the_Xamarin_Test_Cloud_Agent
If it's an XCode app, you have to install and link the Calabash framework:
- https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/testcloud/calabash/quickstarts/xcode/installing-gems/
- https://developer.xamarin.com/guides/testcloud/calabash/quickstarts/xcode/linking-the-calabash-framework/
As long as your IPA is linked with Calabash (aka Test Cloud Agent), and signed with a Development Provisioning Profile that you're able to use; then any Xamarin.UITests you write against it should work normally locally or in Test Cloud / App Center. If you don't personally have access to the source code for the IPA, then whomever is working with the IPA could link it with Calabash, and provide the packaged IPA to you to write your tests against that way.
You can't use .app files in Test Cloud or App Center, because a .app file is only compatible with iOS simulators; and in our cloud only physical devices are used. (Though if you just want to test locally, you can, as long as the .app also contains and starts Calabash.)
For one more piece of background that has confused some of our devs, note that Calabash as an independent testing framework is being depreciated past iOS 11/Android 8...but Xamarin.UITest is not being depreciated, and any Calabash bits that Xamarin.UITest depends on will either still be maintained or replaced because Xamarin.UITest itself is still continuing.
5
Answers
Sort of. Your IPA has to be linked with either Calabash or Xamarin Test Cloud Agent (0.21.4). Both of these are actually different names for the same thing, but the nomenclature varies depending on where you're linking it.
If it's a Xamarin C# app, you would handle it with these two steps:
If it's an XCode app, you have to install and link the Calabash framework:
As long as your IPA is linked with Calabash (aka Test Cloud Agent), and signed with a Development Provisioning Profile that you're able to use; then any Xamarin.UITests you write against it should work normally locally or in Test Cloud / App Center. If you don't personally have access to the source code for the IPA, then whomever is working with the IPA could link it with Calabash, and provide the packaged IPA to you to write your tests against that way.
You can't use .app files in Test Cloud or App Center, because a .app file is only compatible with iOS simulators; and in our cloud only physical devices are used. (Though if you just want to test locally, you can, as long as the .app also contains and starts Calabash.)
For one more piece of background that has confused some of our devs, note that Calabash as an independent testing framework is being depreciated past iOS 11/Android 8...but Xamarin.UITest is not being depreciated, and any Calabash bits that Xamarin.UITest depends on will either still be maintained or replaced because Xamarin.UITest itself is still continuing.