If you had to pick two words typically NOT associated with testing iPhone and iPad apps, “automation” and “agile” would be near the top of the list . As of today, that no longer applies, as Gorilla Logic released FoneMonkey 5, the latest version of their open-source functional testing tool for the iPhone and iPad platforms.

The tool is sure to become a go-to among iOS developers, as no other mobile testing product offers a comprable suite of features. In fact, FoneMoneky 5 is currently the only tool for iOS that records all actions with the iPhone or iPad (while in use) and plays them back as a test script at any time. Even better, the tools enables interactive creation, editing and playback of automation scripts that exercise an application’s user interface.

Essentially, what this means is that developers and testers can now create suites of tests that automate and perform user operation sequences, and then verify results. A game-changer in the testing space, no doubt about it. Oh, and did I mention that it works on both simulators and real devices?

You can watch a video demo of the product here.

Other features include:

• Robust script recording and playback – more comprehensive recording and playback for user interactions, including taps, keyboard input, dragging and scrolling for all Cocoa Touch components.
• Code generation options – FoneMonkey can now generate ready-to-run test scripts in Objective-C that can be run under OCUnit, or JavaScript that can be run with Apple’s UI Automation tools.
• Optimized for both iPhone and iPad platforms and user interfaces.
• Works on both simulators and real devices.
• Test playbacks can be completely automated.

“FoneMonkey fills a huge gap in the iPhone/iPad developer’s toolkit and makes Agile development a reality through automated testing, something that has never been feasible for this critical consumer platform with millions of users worldwide,” said Stu Stern, president and CEO of Gorilla Logic and co-creator of FoneMonkey. “FoneMonkey is a single, easy-to-learn tool that can be used effectively by both engineering and QA organizations, from one-person startups to large enterprises.”

Stu Stern was kind enough to take a few minutes last week and brief me on the product, it’s background and evolution. After discussing some of the beta test results, I must say, Stu and the other “refugees” from Sun Microsystems are definately on to something big with this tool. He said that in some ways, it’s analogous to the Selenium web plug-in, which should give you an indication of just how big this could be. Time will tell.

In the meantime, I urge all you mobile app testers and developers out there familiarize yourself with FoneMonkey 5 ASAP. Your life just got a whole lot easier.