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The Role of Data Structures in Test Automation
An easy-to-understand guide
Ever found yourself tangled in messy test scripts with no clear way to organize data or manage execution?
As automation testers, we often deal with mountains of data, complex dependencies, and the constant need to keep things efficient. That’s where data structures swoop in to save the day!
They’re like the invisible scaffolding that keeps your test automation framework sturdy and manageable.
In this article, we’ll explore how data structures aren’t just theoretical concepts from programming courses — they’re practical tools that can make your test automation smarter and more effective.
Let’s go!
1. Storing Test Data
Test automation often requires running the same test with multiple sets of data, a practice known as data-driven testing. Data structures like arrays, lists, and dictionaries are perfect for storing these sets of data. These structures allow you to handle different inputs and expected outputs in a clean and efficient manner, reducing redundancy in test scripts.
For example, in Python, a list can be used to store multiple user credentials for testing a login functionality:
test_data = [
{"username"…
