What is Selenium ?

It's a tool to build automatic tests for your website

But tests at the browser level

To be closer to the real user experience

Exercises your JavaScript

You can even tests your site in any browser (including Android and iOS!)

Selenium’s Tool Suite

Selenium is composed of multiple software tools. Each has a specific role.

• Was the main selenium project, still supported.

• It's a new version including a more cohesive and object oriented API.

• Firefox plugin with UI.Only intended as a prototyping tool.

• Part of the Webdriver, used to scale for large test suites and for test suites in multiple environments.

Quick Selenium IDE Overview

Just to show you quickly what that can do.

With basic code for basic actions

Cool?

It's easy, non-coders can easily create tests.

That record your actions in the browser.

And replay them.

BUT !

Tests are unreliable.

It's using a built-in langage. Eurk.

You have to use built-in methods, you can't create your own. Eurk!

You don't have any access with the db, you have to create all objects you need. Eurk!!

Selenium Ruby Webdriver

Selenium is pretty easy to configure for a RoR App.

You just need to add the gem into your gemfile

group :selenium do
  gem 'selenium-webdriver', '2.30.0'
end
						

Create a helper to setup all your preferences, and setup a Selenium DB

def driver
  @driver ||= Selenium::WebDriver.for :firefox, :profile => set_profile
end

def wait
  @wait ||= Selenium::WebDriver::Wait.new(:timeout => 10)
end
						

You are done ! Then let's code !

Using Factories

I'm able to create all the objects I need directly to the DB

factory :track do
  association :project
  artist 'Chab'
  title 'Foo'
  deleted_at nil
  uploaded_file { File.new('test/fixtures/mp3s/sample.mp3') }
  nature { Track::Natures::ORIGINAL }
  isrc nil
  after(:build)  { |t| t.uploaded_file.stubs(:original_filename => 'uploaded_original_filename') }
 end
						

To build robust tests

With this track factory I'm able to create a test without creating a user, a project ...

def test_password_protection
  track = FactoryGirl.create(:track)
  track_picture_url_medium  =  'http:' + track.picture.url(size = 'medium')
  track_pwd = '123456'
  login(track.project.creator)
  click_on_edit
  switch_to_restricted_with_password(track_pwd)
  click_on_promopages
  check_password_protected_page(track_pwd, track, track_picture_url_medium)
  cant_click_player_share_panel_button
end
					

Cool?

It's easy to write, with your own methods.

In case of errors, you can debug easily using the backtrace or even logs.

You can handle high level event, such as drag and drop, ajax requests ...

Even Cooler !

You can integrate test suites with Jenkins or Travis.

You can setup as many drivers you want to test multiple browsers.

BUT !

Be careful, selenium is a high consumer of computer resources, and his performances are linked to your hardware.

Always make Selenium waits for elements to load before running a task on them.

As selenium is testing complex scenarios, running the whole test suite can be long