Compatibility testing is a type of software testing used to ensure compatibility of the system/application/website built with various other objects such as other web browsers, hardware platforms, users (in case if it’s very specific type of requirement, such as a user who speaks and can read only a particular language), operating systems etc.
This type of testing helps find out how well a system performs in a particular environment that includes hardware, network, operating system and other software etc.
## Browser compatibility testing
It is a compatibility testing to check the compatibility of the software application on different browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, Default Browser (Smartphone) etc.
A site will look different in different browsers and not everyone uses the same browser so we need to use the browser testing. It assures the consistency and the stability of a website to users.
The web page should be tested with the browser and OS (Operating System) combination such as:
* Win XP: IE8, FF37, Chrome 41
* Win 7: IE10, IE11, FF37, Chrome 41
* Ubuntu 14.04: FF37, Chrome 34
-With Browser testing, we should focus on the following:
* Page validations with and without JavaScript enabled
* Ajax and JQuery functionality
* Font size validation
* All images and alignment
* Page content alignment to center, Left Hand Sight or Right Hand Sight
* Date formats
* Special characters with HTML character encoding
* Page layout in different resolutions
* Page layout in different browsers (with different versions) and different operating systems
-Support tools for Browser testing:
* Multiple Installations – Install real browsers and OS on your devices. Use virtual machine like VMWare and VirtualBox. After installing VirtualBox, you can use Genymotion to get Android
simulation...
* Web-Based Screenshot Service – Services which grab a screenshot of your chosen website in a wide array of browsers and operating systems.
* Some browsers offer plugins and tools which allow them to mimic the behavior of other browsers. Ex:FireMobileSimulator for Chrome, FireMobileSimulator for Firefox...
