Functional Testing for Web Applications

I put together an article on functional testing for web applications. In it, I argue that a solution for performing functional testing on modern web applications should have the following properties:

1. User input should be able to be simulated using native key and mouse events.
   
2. Tests should be able to be written in JavaScript.
   
3. Test code should be able to suspend execution while waiting for network
   or other events.
   
4. Tests should be able to run in multiple browsers and on multiple platforms.
   
5. Tests should not hardcode XPaths, element ids, or CSS class names.
   
6. Test suites should be able to be run via a cron job.
   

I discuss the properties in detail, give an example of a system that exhibits most (but not all) of the properties, and then ask browser vendors to come in and save the day.