Webinar - Intro to Selenium2Library & Robot Framework (also Cucumber & Gherkin)

Webinar – Intro to Selenium2Library & Robot Framework (also Cucumber & Gherkin)

I recently attended a webinar on the uTest platform, which was titled “Intro to Selenium2Library & Robot Framework”. I hadn’t heard of Selenium2Library or the Robot Framework, so this was a really useful intro to both of these at once. Also there was some information on Cucumber and Gherkin, as used in Acceptance Testing. You can check out the webinar on YouTube.

I’ll briefly outline what I learnt here, for future reference.

Robot Framework

The Robot Framework is open source from Google
General purpose automation framework, with focus on Acceptance Testing

Selenium2Library

Python implementation of Selenium WebDriver, for use with Google Robot Framework
Uses Open Browser commands and BuiltIn library

Installation on Mac OSX

Robot Framework installation:

Requires Python – already on most Macs
To install Robot Framework – use pip install robotframework
To check its been installed – type pybot –version

Selenium2Library installation:

Use github
or use easy_install

Cucumber & Gherkin

Cucumber is a tool for automated Acceptance Tests
Gherkin is used in Acceptance Testing and is the language used in Cucumber
Natural language format, similar to user stories
Agile way of specifying software requirements
Often specified by business and then given to developers

Example Keywords in Gherkin

Scenario …
Given …
When …
Then …
AND …
BUT …

Gherkin Example

Given I have an existing blog account
When I login as user Bert
Then I can see blog welcome page

My Observations on the Robot Framework

Robot Framework coding looks a lot like Python coding, with the same indents and spacing – so easy to read, if you know Python.
The Robot Framework files shown in the webinar had the format of:
Settings
Variables
Keywords
Was described as a good tool to enable non-technical testers to write Gherkin tests – with developers then adding keywords (and processing coding) that the non-technical testers may need for their tests.

We hired Pat to help with QA of a music streaming app. We needed someone with that magic “6th sense” of where the bugs are lurking; the ones which developers tend to miss. Pat more than fulfilled this need, with highly methodical approach and a great eye for detail.

Subsequently Pat has provided QA services for a personal app project of mine, finding a significant issue which had been lurking for some time.

Pat is a real asset to any team – highly competent technically but also easy going and a great guy to work with. Highly recommended!

Andrew Ebling, Head of App Development, Composed

Couldn’t recommend Pat highly enough. He goes beyond what you’d expect of a QA tester, commenting more broadly on user experience and even design. He’s quick, efficient and thorough – couldn’t ask for any more.

Rob Calvert, Director, Click

Pat came to Composed to respond to our (increasingly urgent) need of QA on mobile and web and I can testify he more than fulfilled the task. On the Android side, his very structured approach (first exploratory testing, then focus on defining test plans for a variety of scopes) and his clear knowledge of the latest mobile technologies have quickly paid off. He was involved directly with the developers (including myself) and this very dynamic relationship enabled us to annihilate bugs swiftly and efficiently.

David Ferrand, Android Developer, Composed

Pat has been absolutely incredible at testing each of our projects he works on. He’s very professional, organised and diligent. I look forward to using him again in the future.

Oliver Thurtle, Director of Technology, Drum

Pat performs comprehensive website testing for us, across all the main browsers and platforms, including mobile devices. His flexible approach to testing and clear feedback enable us to have confidence that the business end of our website is still working smoothly after system updates and changes.

Steve Liu, Manager, Wicked Lasers

Pat Walsh fixed my site within hours of my contacting him – his WordPress website fix service clearly works!

Douglas Green, Douglas Software

Pat Walsh provided Kingston Valdes with a professional and personable service that was excellent value. The site was built and tested quickly, we are delighted with the results, and we have already had positive feedback from some of our clients. If you’re thinking of building a new site or adapting an existing one, I’d certainly recommend speaking with Pat about it.

Kathy Valdes, Kingston Valdes

We’ve worked with Pat Walsh on a number of very different projects, from interactive video projects to mobile apps. His work is very thorough and has quickly become an essential and important phase of all the production work we do at Storythings. He’s thorough, diligent, and a pleasure to work with.

Matt Locke, Director, Storythings

Pat is an excellent one-stop-shop for testing Apps and Websites. He is a self-starter who just knows what needs to be done and gets on with it, and is responsive to requests for any specific testing requirements. He provides test plans and reports as a matter of course and was a pleasure to work with. I will definitely be working with Pat again if the opportunity arises.

Andrew Birley, PM, Storythings

Webinar – Intro to Selenium2Library & Robot Framework (also Cucumber & Gherkin)