Application testing using sandboxes

1. A method performed by a session establishment node for providing a sandbox to a developer, the method comprising:

determining, by the session establishment node, that a session is to be established for the developer;

transmitting, to a sandbox server, an instruction to establish a sandbox for the session;

transmitting to the sandbox server, an identification of a device emulator associated with the session, wherein the device emulator emulates a device that executes application code developed by the developer; and

notifying the developer that the sandbox is available for use,

wherein the step of transmitting to the sandbox server an identification of a device emulator associated with the session comprises transmitting the device emulator to the sandbox server.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a second device emulator to the sandbox server, wherein the device emulator and the second device emulator emulate different types of devices.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a test tool associated with the session to the sandbox server.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining that a session is to be established for the developer comprises:

receiving, by the session establishment node from the developer, a request for a session;

scheduling the establishment of the session in association with a time slot; and

determining, based on a current time and the time slot, that the session is to be established for the developer.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sandbox server is associated with a cloud computing architecture.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of notifying the developer that the sandbox is available for use includes transmitting a uniform resource locator (URL) for accessing the sandbox.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the session establishment node and the sandbox server are different physical devices.

8. A method performed by a sandbox server for providing a sandbox to a developer, the method comprising:

receiving, by the sandbox server, an instruction to establish a sandbox for the developer;

receiving an identification of a device emulator associated with the session, wherein the emulator emulates a device that executes application code developed by the developer;

establishing the sandbox on the sandbox server; and

instantiating the device emulator on the sandbox wherein the device emulator emulates a device that executes application code developed by the developer,

wherein the step of receiving an identification of a device emulator associated with the session comprises receiving the device emulator at the sandbox server.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising instantiating a second device emulator on the sandbox, wherein the device emulator and the second device emulator emulate different types of devices.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising instantiating a test tool on the sandbox.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the step of establishing the sandbox comprises reserving cloud resources for use by the developer.

12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving application code from the developer; and

configuring the device emulator to run the application code.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising managing the distribution of processing resources among a plurality of sandboxes.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising providing a user interface to the developer, wherein the user interface enables the developer to:

transmit commands to the device emulator, and

transmit commands to at least one test tool.

15. A method performed by a developer device for accessing a sandbox including a device emulator that executes application code developed by a developer, the method comprising:

transmitting, by a developer device to a session establishment node, a request for a sandbox and at least one device emulator, wherein the device emulator emulates a device that executes application code developed by the developer;

receiving a notification that the sandbox is available for access by the developer device at a sandbox server; and

transmitting, to the sandbox server, a request to access the sandbox,

wherein the step of transmitting the request comprises transmitting the device emulator to the session establishment node.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the session establishment node and the sandbox server are different physical devices.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the request for a sandbox includes an indication of at least one requested device emulator and at least one requested testing tool.

18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising transmitting application code to the sandbox server.

19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the step of transmitting a request to access the sandbox comprises accessing a web user interface.