# automation-tools Published articles for automation-tools. This is one page of public article previews, not the complete archive. Follow Next page to continue. Summaries are not the original full articles. ## Choosing Between MCP Agents and Scripted Automation with LLM Assistance DevFeed: [Choosing Between MCP Agents and Scripted Automation with LLM Assistance]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Pamela Fox (noreply@blogger.com) Published: 2025-07-21T14:43:00Z Content type: opinion Language: en Sources: [Pamela Fox]() Topics: [Model Context Protocol](), [Large Language Model](), [Automation](), [SDKs](), [Framework]() Tags: [apis](), [automation](), [automation-tools](), [cost](), [energy](), [frameworks](), [llms](), [mcp](), [sdks]() ### AI overview The author compares MCP-based agents with scripted automation that uses APIs and SDKs alongside LLMs for selected decisions. They favor the scripted approach because it offers more control and potentially better accuracy, while requiring fewer tokens, lower cost, and less energy than MCP-powered workflows. ### Source excerpt When we're building automation tools in 2025, I see two main approaches: Agent + MCP: Point an LLM-powered Agent at MCP servers, give the Agent a detailed description of the task, and let the Agent decide which tools to use to complete the task. For this approach, we can use an existing Agent from agentic frameworks like PydanticAI, OpenAI-Agents, Semantic Kernel, etc., and we can either use an existing MCP server or build a custom MCP server depending on what tools are necessary to complete the range of tasks. Old school with LLM sprinkles: This is the way we would build it before LLMs: directly script the actions that are needed to complete the task, using APIs and SDKs, and then bring in an LLM for fuzzy decision/analysis points, where we might previously use regular expressions or loving handcrafted if statements. There's a big obvious benefit to approach #1: we can theoretically give the agent any task that is possible with the tools at its disposal, and the agent can complete that task. So why do I keep writing my tools using approach #2?? Control: I am a bit of a control freak. I like knowing exactly what's going on in a system, figuring out where a bug is happening, and fixing it so that bug never happens again. The more that my tools rely on LLMs for control flow, the less control I have, and that gives me the heebie jeebies. What if the agent only succeeds in the task 90% of the time, as it goes down the wrong path 10% of the time? What if I can't get the agent to execute the task exactly the way I envisioned it? What if it makes a horrible mistake, and I am blamed for its incompetence? Accuracy: Very related to the last point -- the more LLM calls are added to a system, the harder it is to guarantee accuracy. The impossibility of high accuracy from multi-LLM workflows is discussed in detail in this blog post from an agent developer. Cost: The MCP-powered approach requires far more tokens, and thus more cost and more energy consumption, all things that I'd ## Case Study: How Eneco Upgraded from Manual QA to Automated Testing with Maestro DevFeed: [Case Study: How Eneco Upgraded from Manual QA to Automated Testing with Maestro]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Jake Krupski Published: 2025-04-09T00:00:00Z Content type: article Language: en Sources: [mobile.dev - Medium]() Topics: [Testing](), [Automation](), [Mobile](), [Selenium]() Tags: [appium](), [automated](), [automation](), [automation-tools](), [case-study](), [maestro](), [mobile](), [open-source](), [qa](), [selenium](), [testing]() ### AI overview A case study of Eneco's transition from manual QA to automated testing across its mobile app and web portal. The team evaluated Appium, Tosca, and Maestro, with Maestro selected for its reported speed, reliability, simpler learning curve, and integration fit. The article also describes internal adoption after demonstrations to QA teams and company leadership. ### Source excerpt At Mobile.dev, we love hearing stories from teams putting Maestro to work in the real world - and Randy Sie and his team at Eneco have a story that's representative of what many... ## What is Gradle and why do we use it as Android developers? DevFeed: [What is Gradle and why do we use it as Android developers?]() Original publisher: [Read original article]() Author: Ban Markovic Published: 2023-01-16T12:52:02Z Content type: tutorial Language: en Sources: [Stories by Ban Markovic on Medium]() Topics: [Gradle](), [android-development](), [android-apps](), [Kotlin](), [Android Studio](), [Library]() Tags: [android](), [android-app-development](), [android-development](), [android-studio](), [automation-tools](), [bytecode](), [dependencies](), [gradle](), [groovy](), [kotlin](), [libraries]() ### AI overview A tutorial explaining Gradle's role in Android development, including how build.gradle files specify dependencies and how Gradle automates application building and running. ### Source excerpt At the start of a journey for an Android developer, no one pays attention to Gradle. We are mostly focused on writing Kotlin code and developing Android apps that bring great value to our customers and look as beautiful as possible. When building them, sometimes we stumble upon a problem that is already solved by someone else on the internet and they were kind enough to share their project in a form of library, that we are able to implement in our app, and customize it to our needs. To be able to do so, we are using build.gradle file for implementing those libraries that help us build our apps, by specifying their unique package names and versions. This is probably the most common use case of our Gradle usage inside our Android projects. Motivation At the beginning of my career I didn't see a need for better understanding of Gradle, because for me it represented only the place where I wrote the names of the libraries I wanted to use inside my project. With that kind of approach, I didn't have any knowledge regarding it, and I was scared to change anything inside those files, because I was afraid I would break everything. After some time I realized that gradle files are built with code.. And I am a programmer.. So why am I avoiding it when I can learn it like any other programming language. What an epiphany, right? That's why I decided to write an article regarding the gradle files inside Android project. Just so anyone can read and understand them. Gradle Gradle is a build tool that we use for Android development to automate the process of building and publishing apps. Now, you may think that building and running the application is quite easy; we can just press Run button in Android Studio. Well, that just triggers Gradle's built-in tasks (functions) that are responsible for running the application on our emulator or real device. This process requires a couple of steps to be successfully completed in order for us to see the running app. These are the general steps t