Internet Explorer versions testing in February 201

I am currently (February 2014) trying to find the best tool to perform Internet Explorer versions testing (IE8, IE9, and so on).

I found that my options were the following:

Run any web browsers instantly from the web, using: www.browserstack.com, saucelabs.com , ghostLab or www.spoon.net
Run IE VMs from Modern.IE project (for IE web browsers testing)
One Windows VM + multiple standalone versions of Internet Explorer using http://utilu.com/IECollection/ (for IE web browsers testing)
Dedicated Windows VMs for each IE version (for IE web browsers testing)

4.a) Run multiple Windows XP mode (on Windows 7): "Windows XP Mode is an optional downloaded feature of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions that provides you a pre-installed image of Windows XP SP3 that you run using Windows Virtual PC". You run multiple Windows XP mode, each having a different version of IE8 installed. read more http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2011/02/04/testing-multiple-versions-of-ie-on-one-pc.aspx and http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/install-and-use-windows-xp-mode-in-windows-7

4.b) Run multiple MS Windows XP SP3 VMs with a VM software: You can use VirtualBox, VMware, etc...
DO NOT USE (from what I read across many blogs & SO posts):

5.a) IETester: inconsistencies with the "real" IE browsers

5.b) Tredosoft.com/Multiple_IE: inconsistencies with the "real" IE browsers

5.c) And any other emulators who try to reinvent the wheel.

5.d) Windows VPC + timebomb image: resources required circa 12GB! http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11575

Browserstack, SauceLabs & Spoon sound such an easier way to test my website! No setup required, just sign up & start playing.

Browserstack seems much better than Spoon though, maybe I am wrong, but Browserstack has hundreds (litterally) of web browsers. And I could not find old versions of IE in Spoon (maybe I missed something).

On top of that BrowserStack provides mobile & tablet web browser testing! I found it super slow but hey, it's still better than a screenshot. I suspect it does not get any faster once you are on a paid plan.

EDIT: I just came across SauceLabs which seems to be even better than BrowserStack (for manual testing), and they also cover many web browsers & tablet & mobile devices. Except that it is faster to use a mobile browser on Saucelab than BrowserStack, on the free trial version (this may change when you upgrade for a paid account?).

For those interested, Microsoft is now "supporting" browserstack by letting you have a free 3 months trial (for Windows OS web browsers) http://www.modern.ie/en-us/tools

So my question is: did I miss something? or is there something even better than one of these tools/tehchniques I listed here?

回答1:

You can also try services like http://browsershots.org/ if you need to check only UI/layout in many browsers. But if you need functional testing then this is not an option.

All of the cons you mentioned in DO NOT USE are valid so not much options left.

From all of the options available i would definitely go with BrowserStack. This would be the best option because you don't have to setup/maintain virtual machines yourself.

Hope this helps

回答2:

BrowserStack is the way to go buddy.

They also provide screenshot and responsive testing if you missed that.

http://browserstack.com/responsive

About Emulators - they occupy a lot of resources and so are inherently slow in nature.

Still the best one out there.

回答3:

Another "official" option would be using the VMs provided here: http://www.modern.ie/en-us/virtualization-tools#downloads

The disadvantage could be that you have several separate VMS for each browser (although you therefore have "real" conditions, as the browsers work also on separate OS ;)