The Curious Case of the Collapsing Cucumber

Cucumber is NOT a testing framework!

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So, Cucumber steps in and tries to transform the above specifications into something valuable and alive. The specification format or structure, if you prefer is almost free, so to leave the writer the freedom to express himself freely. This is even less structured than the template above, but there are good practices telling us how to maximize the result, like providing the list of actors and the general goal at the very beginning.

“THESE WEIRD OBJECTS”

A file represents a use case feature in the Gherkin language , so you end up having multiple files, each one representing a piece of the software. This greatly simplifies version management, collaboration and merging, enabling multiple writers and revisors working on a single system. Files can be structured in a hierarchical fashion via folder structure, so big systems with lots of features can organize their specifications.

What makes the biggest confusion, though, is Gherkin files can be executed. That is what Cucumber provides: By mapping each statement in each scenario with some lines of code in the language you like Ruby? Only this last part resembles a test. Only at this stage there is some code involved. And usually testing frameworks and automation libraries are used to do such verification, like JUnit and Selenium. So, if you need to test your system, please use a testing framework!

If, instead, you want to document your system, you are welcome to use Gherkin and Cucumber! In relation to your last statement regarding wanting to test vs document; how do you feel about using both a framework AND a BDD tool. For example Calabash is a framework much like Selenium is, however it uses Cucumber on top of it for ease of business language translation and documentation as you mentioned.

You can also use Cucumber on top of Selenium and with other frameworks as well. It seemed as you gave a hard black or white opinion so I was wondering how you felt about the gray area you left out of the article. Good read btw, thanks for posting. Hi Piotr, Thanks for passing by and leaving your feedback. Even if well written, a test remains a test and it would be much easier to just write the test rather than blow your mind trying to describe the test in business language.

What is the difference? Where you start from, obviously. My whole point is: As a friend of mine tried to explain to me a few years ago: Remove the business representative from the equation and the overall result will be negative. So, while there are grey areas out there, they usually are a little brighter or a little darker… Those that are completely neutral have still to smash into my face. Five Blogs — 21 January 5blogs. Aslak explained how Cucumber is used for high quality communication.

BREAKING NEWS

I used this technique in one of the interview test for a major media company in West London. The interviewer rejected my application stating my strange use of Cucumber. I would say you have been lucky enough not to be selected for a job which would have led you in the wrong direction. Like Liked by 1 person. One comment I do have: It is a browser automation framework. Selenium itself does not contain any methods for performing checks and assertions, which would classify it as a testing framework. Thanks for stumbling on this blog! Your post was just what I was feeling about cucumber… Could you please tell me whether we should use cucumber for API testing.

And not using cucumber.. But some ppls in my team are arguing that cucumber will do better than anything for api testing… pls, shed some light.. On the other hand, if you also wish to create the API end user documentation in the format of usage examples and expected behavior than Cucumber might be worth the extra effort spent in describing the behavior in a natural language plain English, I suppose.

Sea cucumbers are being eaten to death

The best results with Cucumber are obtained writing the feature files before the implementation starts along with the business partner or committer, if you prefer. BTW, if anybody asks you to use Cucumber for testing something than you should question the request: Cucumber is not a testing framework and apparently this is still misunderstood. This seems like an attempt to focus on the part of Cucumber that is actually just another bundled dependency Gherkin and to write off the actual code that the Cucumber library comprises as an afterthought.

If you want a specification and you want to collaborate with 3 amigos, just Gherkin is sufficient. If you want an executable specification conforming to the Gherkin grammar, then you use Cucumber. The fact that it needs to leverage an assertion library, whether in Ruby RSpec matchers, or Watir timeouts, etc. As for setting up and tearing down the test rig, it provides a scaffolding for that with Hooks. Some Anthophora species certainly can. Anthophora is in the family Apidae, though, right?

Sorry about the grant application. Does chard need pollinators? I mention these are they self-seed so readily in my garden. I have seen insects round the rocket but not sure about the others. Not sure about lettuce — again, it may vary with the variety. Chard is wind pollinated. I thought most Solanums had the anthers held in a cone over the stigmas, so was surprised that so many people were saying they needed pollinators. Mine never have, but I used to tap the stems just to make sure. Sorry about the grant.

Jeff Ollertons Biodiversity BlogSent: Wednesday, 13 July My latest hybridisation experiment…. As the pollen is quite dry and loose it can trickle out under gravity, but yes, tapping the plants can encourage this. Thanks Simon, best of luck with the application. Just out of interest, do you recall what the success rates were for Research Council grants back in the 80s and 90s? Presumably not as low as they are now?

Imagination is more important than knowledge. [A. Einstein]

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July 13, at July 13, at 3: July 13, at 4: Thanks for this, I love the clarification. Can Megachile buzz pollinate? July 13, at 7: Yes, or the older Anthophoridae.

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