Should we write scripts that work 'page by page' or 'by functionality' which may mean several pages?
Note we are using Java but obviously this question is not language specific
I agree with the other commenters that the Page Object Model is a great way to structure test code for interacting with the page, however, for the tests themselves, I recommend writing tests for functionality instead of page-by-page.
Tests aren't about validating pages, after all. All of your users and most of your staff don't care which page something is on, they care whether it works or not.
There's a bit of nuance. Unit tests will often run against a single component of a page, whereas functional tests run across multiple pages. For a functional test, grouping by functionality reflects how your developers will make changes, and allows for sensible multi-page tests. For instance, imagine you're writing a mortgage application. There are five steps for making a new application:
Your users will never visit the 'Property Details' page directly. They must take the other steps first.
If you wrote 5 separate page tests, you'd have to make extra, crappy tests for each page to make sure it was receiving and providing the right data. If you add a new page between 4&5, you now need to change the test code for page 4, the new page, and page 5.
If your application is composed of re-usable components, page-based tests make even less sense. Say users can provide financial information without logging in, on order to estimate how much they can borrow. If you're using page-based tests, you have to write and update both tests when that component changes.
If instead you're doing functionality grouped tests, you can instead create a page object for that component and write a unit tests for it. Then, during your functional tests, just pass the page object the relevant data for either page, and assume that
However I recommend staying to the full path (end to end) for the functionality being tested. However, this does not cover many of the cases or tests that are usually desired, therefore, in addition to selenium tests for full functionality I also try to have:
Essentially, save your expensive (in terms of time and resources), slow and brittle selenium tests for:
Follow the agile testing pyramid which has
Tests per page can be good cases for UI unit tests in frameworks such as jest and jasmine. However they will typically not be device dependent to test device specific issues.
Try using Page Object model, to verify the elements let the function return boolean value and check if it's not false. For example, if you got click on login button create a function with try catch. If the element is available then click on it and return true else return false.
Option1: If you want to use selenium for page by page verifications, you can use page object model in following way:
/***
* Tests login feature
*/
public class Login {
public void testLogin() {
// fill login data on sign-in page
driver.findElement(By.name("user_name")).sendKeys("testUser");
driver.findElement(By.name("password")).sendKeys("my supersecret password");
driver.findElement(By.name("sign-in")).click();
// verify h1 tag is "Hello userName" after login
driver.findElement(By.tagName("h1")).isDisplayed();
assertThat(driver.findElement(By.tagName("h1")).getText(), is("Hello userName"));
}
}
Option 2: If you are using selenium framework to test web UI, accessibility and API services, then preferable to use cucumber boilerplate:
Reference: webdriverio/cucumber-boilerplate Sample Cucumber Feature File with maximum reusability:
Feature:
In order to keep my product stable
As a developer or product manager
I want to make sure that everything works as expected
Scenario: Check title of website after search
Given I open the url "http://google.com"
When I set "WebdriverIO" to the inputfield "#lst-ib"
And I press "Enter"
Then I expect that the title is "WebdriverIO - Google Search"
Option3: If you want to use an automation framework for locally built app for web UI, preferable to use Cypress instead Selenium:
Feature: Home Page Test on OrangeHRM website
Scenario: Check valid home page tabs display
Given I open OrangeHRM homepage
When I SignIn as user
Then the user name should be displayed
And the Admin tab should be displayed
Scenario: Click on Admin Tab of home page
Given I open OrangeHRM homepage
When I SignIn as user
And I click on admin tab of home page
Then the admin sub tab section displayed
Reference: narayananpalani/cypress-test-techniques.
I would recommend using page object model where you create a specific class where you put all the elements/objects and actions can be done within a page that makes them reusable to test cases that you'll automate.
You must note that selenium is an automation tool and not a test library. Having said that its always preferred to write tests (usually provided by manual testing services) with respect to functionality.
Given we have the tests (or scenarios incase of BDD) then automation scripts for these tests can be programmed using your preferred combination of test library (JUnit, TestNG) and automation tool (Selenium). For purposes of code maintainability of you can use design patterns like Page Object Model or Screenplay Pattern.
