Groovier Selenium
Denver JUG 8/13/2008
Frederic Jean
fred@fredjean.net
frederic.jean@sun.com
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 1

who am i
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 2

Topics
(Really) Quick intro to Selenium
Groovy Metaprogramming through
progressive refactorings of a single,
simple yet verbose Java Selenium RC
Driver example.
A few sundry items
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 3

Selenium
UI testing tool
Runs in browser
Well suited for Ajax applications
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 4

Selenium IDE
Firefox plugin
Simplifies writing and testing Selenese
test case
Can record and play back Selenese tests
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 5

Selenese
HTML Tables
Action
Target
Value
Intepreted by Selenium Core
Actions match JavaScript functions
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 6

Example
BlogTest
open /
clickAndWait link=Adoption
Out of my mind... : category
assertTitle
adoption
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 7

Selenese Locators
Allows an action to target a specific
DOM element on the page
<type>=<locator>
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 8

Selenese Locators
Locator Type Description
The name of an input element on a
name
form
The id associated with an element
id
on a page
The text contained within an anchor
link
element (<a/>)
A JavaScript expression that
dom
returns an element
An XPath expression pointing to an
xpath
element on the page
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9

Sample Test
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 10

Selenese TestSuites
Groups and organizes individual
Selenese tests
Can be run through ant
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11

Selenium RC
Runs as a process on a system
Listens to requests on a specific port
Has drivers for different languages
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 12

Selenium RC Drivers
Drives the Selenium RC Ser ver
programatically
Allows integration with xUnit
frameworks
Flow control and conditionals
Java driver provides a SeleneseTestCase
class
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 13

Generating Java Test
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 14

Generated Java
package com.example.tests;
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class NewTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
public void setUp() throws Exception {
setUp(\"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\");
}
public void testNew() throws Exception {
selenium.open(\"/\");
selenium.click(\"link=Adoption\");
selenium.waitForPageToLoad(\"30000\");
assertEquals(\"Out of my mind... : category adoption\", selenium.getTitle());
selenium.click(\"link=We Are Out!\");
for (int second = 0;; second++) {
if (second >= 60) fail(\"timeout\");
try { if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break; } catch (Exception e) {}
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
assertTrue(selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\"));
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 15

Generated Java
Where
package com.example.tests;
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*;
is it used?
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class NewTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
public void setUp() throws Exception {
setUp(\"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\");
}
public void testNew() throws Exception {
selenium.open(\"/\");
selenium.click(\"link=Adoption\");
selenium.waitForPageToLoad(\"30000\");
assertEquals(\"Out of my mind... : category adoption\", selenium.getTitle());
selenium.click(\"link=We Are Out!\");
for (int second = 0;; second++) {
if (second >= 60) fail(\"timeout\");
try { if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break; } catch (Exception e) {}
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
assertTrue(selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\"));
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 16

Generated Java
package com.example.tests;
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*; Need to rename class.
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class NewTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
public void setUp() throws Exception {
setUp(\"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\");
}
public void testNew() throws Exception {
selenium.open(\"/\");
selenium.click(\"link=Adoption\");
selenium.waitForPageToLoad(\"30000\");
assertEquals(\"Out of my mind... : category adoption\", selenium.getTitle());
selenium.click(\"link=We Are Out!\");
for (int second = 0;; second++) {
if (second >= 60) fail(\"timeout\");
try { if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break; } catch (Exception e) {}
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
assertTrue(selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\"));
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 17

Generated Java from
Must inherit
SeleneseTestCase
package com.example.tests;
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class NewTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
public void setUp() throws Exception {
setUp(\"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\");
}
public void testNew() throws Exception {
selenium.open(\"/\");
selenium.click(\"link=Adoption\");
selenium.waitForPageToLoad(\"30000\");
assertEquals(\"Out of my mind... : category adoption\", selenium.getTitle());
selenium.click(\"link=We Are Out!\");
for (int second = 0;; second++) {
if (second >= 60) fail(\"timeout\");
try { if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break; } catch (Exception e) {}
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
assertTrue(selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\"));
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 18

Generated Java
package com.example.tests;
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
Should rename method
public class NewTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
public void setUp() throws Exception {
setUp(\"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\");
}
public void testNew() throws Exception {
selenium.open(\"/\");
selenium.click(\"link=Adoption\");
selenium.waitForPageToLoad(\"30000\");
assertEquals(\"Out of my mind... : category adoption\", selenium.getTitle());
selenium.click(\"link=We Are Out!\");
for (int second = 0;; second++) {
if (second >= 60) fail(\"timeout\");
try { if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break; } catch (Exception e) {}
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
assertTrue(selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\"));
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 19

Generated Java
package com.example.tests;
selenium.this
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
selenium.that
public class NewTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
public void setUp() throws Exception {
} selenium.thisandthat
setUp(\"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\");
public void testNew() throws Exception {
selenium.open(\"/\");
selenium.click(\"link=Adoption\");
selenium.waitForPageToLoad(\"30000\");
assertEquals(\"Out of my mind... : category adoption\", selenium.getTitle());
selenium.click(\"link=We Are Out!\");
for (int second = 0;; second++) {
if (second >= 60) fail(\"timeout\");
try { if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break; } catch (Exception e) {}
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
assertTrue(selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\"));
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 20

Generated Java
package com.example.tests;
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*;
import java.util.regex.Pattern;
public class NewTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
public void setUp() throws Exception {
setUp(\"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\");
}
public void testNew() throws Exception { Where did
waitForTextPresent go?
selenium.open(\"/\");
selenium.click(\"link=Adoption\");
selenium.waitForPageToLoad(\"30000\");
assertEquals(\"Out of my mind... : category adoption\", selenium.getTitle());
selenium.click(\"link=We Are Out!\");
for (int second = 0;; second++) {
if (second >= 60) fail(\"timeout\");
try { if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break; } catch (Exception e) {}
Thread.sleep(1000);
}
assertTrue(selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\"));
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 21

Generated Java
Good start
Needs some work to be useful
Certainly faster than coding by hand
Noisy
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 22

Groovy
package com.example.tests
import com.thoughtworks.selenium.*
class NewGroovyTest extends SeleneseTestCase {
void setUp() {
setUp \"http://fredjean.net/\", \"*chrome\"
}
void testNew() {
selenium.open \"/\"
selenium.click \"link=Adoption\"
selenium.waitForPageToLoad \"30000\"
assert \"Out of my mind... : category adoption\" == selenium.title
selenium.click \"link=We Are Out!\"
for (second in 0..60) {
if (second == 60) fail \"timeout\"
if (selenium.isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break;
sleep(1000)
}
assert selenium.isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\")
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 23

Groovy
Less noisy than Java
Still repetitive
waitForTextPresent is still missing
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 24

Metaprogramming
Writing of computer programs that write or
manipulate other programs (or themselves) as
their data.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaprogramming
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 25

Metaprogramming
Increases code expressiveness
Allows SMEs to understand the code
Domain Specific Languages
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 26

Meta Object Protocol
Establishes the rules behind method
calling in Groovy
Provides the hooks to modify your
program's behavior
invokeMethod
propertyMissing
methodMissing
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 27

Metaclass
All Groovy objects have one
Can be defined for Java objects
Per class vs per instance
Allows developers to \"mutate\" a class
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 28

Delegation
For ward method calls to another object
Tedious to do in Java
Extend delegate
Manually code delegation code
Almost trivial in Groovy
ExpandoMetaClass
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 29

Groovy Delegation
/**
* Called when a method cannot be found in the class
* or the meta class for an object or class.
* @param name The name of the missing method
* @param args The arguments for the method
*/
void methodMissing(String name, args) {
selenium.\"$name\"(* args)
}
/**
* Called when a property cannot be found in the class
* or the meta class associated with a class or object.
* @param name The name of the property
*/
void propertyMissing(String name) {
selenium.\"$name\"
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 30

Goodbye Repetition
void testDelegation() {
open \"/\"
click \"link=Adoption\"
waitForPageToLoad \"30000\"
assert \"Out of my mind... : category adoption\" == title
click \"link=We Are Out!\"
for (second in 0..60) {
if (second == 60) fail \"timeout\"
if (isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break;
sleep(1000)
}
assert isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\")
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 31

Performance Hit
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 32

Performance Hit
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 33

Intercept, Cache, Invoke
/**
* Called when a method cannot be found in the class
* or the meta class for an object or class.
* @param name The name of the missing method
* @param args The arguments for the method
*/
void methodMissing(String name, args) {
NewGroovyTest.metaClass.\"$name\" = { Object varArgs ->
delegate.selenium.metaClass.invokeMethod(delegate.selenium, name, varArgs)
}
selenium.\"$name\"(* args)
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 34

Performance Hit
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 35

Groovy Delegation
Results in cleaner test code
Almost trivial to implement in Groovy
Performance hit can be mitigated
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 36

waitForTextPresent?
void testDelegation() {
open \"/\"
click \"link=Adoption\"
waitForPageToLoad \"30000\"
assert \"Out of my mind... : category adoption\" == title
click \"link=We Are Out!\"
for (second in 0..60) {
if (second == 60) fail \"timeout\"
if (isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break;
sleep(1000)
}
assert isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\")
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 37

waitForTextPresent?
void testDelegation() {
open \"/\" Replaces waitFor...
click \"link=Adoption\"
waitForPageToLoad \"30000\" with a loop
assert \"Out of my mind... : category adoption\" == title
click \"link=We Are Out!\"
for (second in 0..60) {
if (second == 60) fail \"timeout\"
if (isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break;
sleep(1000)
}
assert isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\")
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 38

waitForTextPresent?
void testDelegation() {
open \"/\"
click \"link=Adoption\"
waitForPageToLoad \"30000\"
assert \"Out of my mind... : category adoption\" == title
click \"link=We Are Out!\"
for (second in 0..60) {
How about
if (second == 60) fail \"timeout\"
assertTextPresent?
if (isTextPresent(\"Comments\")) break;
sleep(1000)
}
assert isTextPresent(\"Trackbacks\")
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 39

waitForTextPresent?
Selenese generates waitFor, verify, and
assert methods
Java driver doesn't provide them
Java -> Explicitly typed language
JavaScript -> What's a type?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 40

Wait a minute...
JavaScript is a dynamic language...
Groovy is a dynamic language...
Why not synthesize these methods in
Groovy?
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 41

Synthetic Methods
Methods that don't really exist
Grails finder methods
Person.findByFirstNameAndAge(...)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 42

Steps to Take
Identify synthetic methods
Implement behavior
Locate actual getter method
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 43

Identifying Methods
def methodMissing(String name, args) {
switch (name) {
case ~/waitForNot.*/: return waitForNot(name, args)
case ~/waitFor.*/: return waitFor(name, args)
case ~/assertNot.*/:
assertNot(name, args)
break
case ~/assert.*/:
assertThat(name, args)
break
case ~/verifyNot.*/:
return verifyNot(name, args)
case ~/verify.*/:
return verifyThat(name, args)
default:
return createAndCallMethod(name, args)
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 44

Implement Behavior
private waitFor(name, args) {
// Make the bold assumption that the time out is the first param.
def timeout = args[0]
if (timeout instanceof Integer) {
args = args[1..args.length - 1].toArray()
} else {
timeout = 60000
}
def methodName = getMethodName(\"waitFor\", name);
for (i in 0..(timeout / 1000)) {
if (\"$methodName\"(* args)) {
return true;
}
sleep(1000)
}
fail(\"Timeout occured in $name for $args\")
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 45

Locating Getter
def getMethodName(prefix, name) {
[\"is\", \"get\"].collect {
name.replaceFirst(prefix, it)
}.find {
delegate.selenium.metaClass.respondsTo(delegate.selenium, it)
}
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 46

Loop Begone!
void testDelegation() {
open \"/\"
click \"link=Adoption\"
waitForPageToLoad \"30000\"
assert \"Out of my mind... : category adoption\" == title
click \"link=We Are Out!\"
waitForTextPresent \"Comments\"
assertTextPresent \"Trackbacks\"
}
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 47

Refactor!
Move methods to super class
methodMissing
propertyMissing
Supporting methods
Group Groovy tests in one suite
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 48

GroovierSelenium
Extends SeleneseTestCase with
methodMissing
Allows Groovy users to write tests that
almost look like Selenese
http://groovierselenium.googlecode.com
Licensed under ASLv2.0
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 49

Near Future
JUnit 4.5 test runners
GroovierSeleniumRunner
GroovySuiteRunner
@Selenium annotation
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 50

NetBeans & Groovy
Grails and Groovy Plugin integrated
with NetBeans 6.5
Adds Groovy Support to Java Projects
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 51

Looking Back
Talked about Selenium
Leveraging Groovy metaprogramming
Delegating to another object
Creating synthetic methods
GroovierSelenium
NetBeans
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 52

Book
Programming Groovy (Venkat S.)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 53

Links
http://groovy.codehaus.org
http://groovierselenium.googlecode.com
http://www.pragprog.com/titles/vslg/
programming-groovy
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 54