Android automation using espresso without the app source code

Question

Is it not possible to automation android app using espresso without source code. Gradle expects a structure like this:

src/main/
src/androidTest/
         


        

Answer 1

I am not sure if this is still relevant to you but I will leave my comment for the ages. First some general information:

White-box Testing is simply put - testing an app WITH the source code. It requires programming and understanding of the app architecture when designing the tests

Black-box Testing is testing your app WITHOUT the source code of the app. It again requires some programming, but you design your tests without any knowledge of the architecture.

In your case:

Is it not possible to automation android app using espresso without source code.

As per the upper two definitions - Yes it is possible with a Black-box testing framework.

But I would like to run these automation tests on a different version of the app? Is this possible just by installing the app and running the tests?

Yes this is possible using a black-box app.

However, your choice - Espresso is a white-box testing framework. You have two possible solutions:

1. Get the source code of the version you want to test and write the tests for the version.
2. Try a black-box testing framework - I can give you further advice on this if you need