Structuring your Page Objects
Many classes have shortcut names used when creating (instantiating) a class with a
configuration object. The shortcut name is referred to as an alias (or xtype if the
class extends Ext.Component). The alias/xtype is listed next to the class name of
applicable classes for quick reference.
Framework classes or their members may be specified as private or protected. Else,
the class / member is public. Public, protected, and private are access
descriptors used to convey how and when the class or class member should be used.
Public classes and class members are available for use by any other class or application code and may be relied upon as a stable and persistent within major product versions. Public classes and members may safely be extended via a subclass.
Protected class members are stable public members intended to be used by the
owning class or its subclasses. Protected members may safely be extended via a subclass.
Private classes and class members are used internally by the framework and are not intended to be used by application developers. Private classes and members may change or be omitted from the framework at any time without notice and should not be relied upon in application logic.
static label next to the
method name. *See Static below.Below is an example class member that we can disect to show the syntax of a class member (the lookupComponent method as viewed from the Ext.button.Button class in this case).
Let's look at each part of the member row:
lookupComponent in this example)( item ) in this example)Ext.Component in this case). This may be omitted for methods that do not
return anything other than undefined or may display as multiple possible values
separated by a forward slash / signifying that what is returned may depend on the
results of the method call (i.e. a method may return a Component if a get method calls is
successful or false if unsuccessful which would be displayed as
Ext.Component/Boolean).PROTECTED in
this example - see the Flags section below)Ext.container.Container in this example). The source
class will be displayed as a blue link if the member originates from the current class
and gray if it is inherited from an ancestor or mixed-in class.view source in the example)item : Object in the example).undefined a "Returns" section
will note the type of class or object returned and a description (Ext.Component in the
example)Available since 3.4.0 - not pictured in
the example) just after the member descriptionDefaults to: false)The API documentation uses a number of flags to further commnicate the class member's function and intent. The label may be represented by a text label, an abbreviation, or an icon.
classInstance.method1().method2().etc();false is returned from
an event handler- Indicates a framework class
- A singleton framework class. *See the singleton flag for more information
- A component-type framework class (any class within the Ext JS framework that extends Ext.Component)
- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version
- Indicates a class member of type config
- Indicates a class member of type property
- Indicates a class member of type
method
- Indicates a class member of type event
- Indicates a class member of type
theme variable
- Indicates a class member of type
theme mixin
- Indicates that the class, member, or guide is new in the currently viewed version
Just below the class name on an API doc page is a row of buttons corresponding to the types of members owned by the current class. Each button shows a count of members by type (this count is updated as filters are applied). Clicking the button will navigate you to that member section. Hovering over the member-type button will reveal a popup menu of all members of that type for quick navigation.
Getting and setter methods that correlate to a class config option will show up in the methods section as well as in the configs section of both the API doc and the member-type menus just beneath the config they work with. The getter and setter method documentation will be found in the config row for easy reference.
Your page history is kept in localstorage and displayed (using the available real estate) just below the top title bar. By default, the only search results shown are the pages matching the product / version you're currently viewing. You can expand what is displayed by clicking on the button on the right-hand side of the history bar and choosing the "All" radio option. This will show all recent pages in the history bar for all products / versions.
Within the history config menu you will also see a listing of your recent page visits. The results are filtered by the "Current Product / Version" and "All" radio options. Clicking on the button will clear the history bar as well as the history kept in local storage.
If "All" is selected in the history config menu the checkbox option for "Show product details in the history bar" will be enabled. When checked, the product/version for each historic page will show alongside the page name in the history bar. Hovering the cursor over the page names in the history bar will also show the product/version as a tooltip.
Both API docs and guides can be searched for using the search field at the top of the page.
On API doc pages there is also a filter input field that filters the member rows using the filter string. In addition to filtering by string you can filter the class members by access level, inheritance, and read only. This is done using the checkboxes at the top of the page.
The checkbox at the bottom of the API class navigation tree filters the class list to include or exclude private classes.
Clicking on an empty search field will show your last 10 searches for quick navigation.
Each API doc page (with the exception of Javascript primitives pages) has a menu view of metadata relating to that class. This metadata view will have one or more of the following:
Ext.button.Button class has an alternate class name of Ext.Button). Alternate class
names are commonly maintained for backward compatibility.Runnable examples (Fiddles) are expanded on a page by default. You can collapse and expand example code blocks individually using the arrow on the top-left of the code block. You can also toggle the collapse state of all examples using the toggle button on the top-right of the page. The toggle-all state will be remembered between page loads.
Class members are collapsed on a page by default. You can expand and collapse members using the arrow icon on the left of the member row or globally using the expand / collapse all toggle button top-right.
Viewing the docs on narrower screens or browsers will result in a view optimized for a smaller form factor. The primary differences between the desktop and "mobile" view are:
The class source can be viewed by clicking on the class name at the top of an API doc page. The source for class members can be viewed by clicking on the "view source" link on the right-hand side of the member row.
“If you have WebDriver APIs in your test methods, You’re Doing It Wrong.” - Simon Stewart
Simon Stewart, the lead committer of the Selenium Project, shared in his initial vision of Selenium that Page Objects are the mandatory layer on top of the WebDriver. Both of them belong together, Sencha WebTestIt was created with this fact in mind.
To use Sencha WebTestIt efficiently, you have to understand the Page Object Pattern.
The Page Object pattern is a classic example of encapsulation. It wraps the mechanics required to find and manipulate the data in the GUI with an application-specific API. The basic rule of thumb for a Page Object is that it should allow a software client to do and see anything that a human can.
Despite the name, do not create a Page Object for each page. Create them rather for the significant components on a page, such as headers, menus, or content regions.
We use our demo shop as an example of how to derive Page Objects.
We can divide the initial start page into at least three Page Objects:
ShoppingCartPo: This shopping cart summary expands out of the header, but it contains enough functionality and elements to make it its own Page Object.
Now that we have our page divided into Page Objects, let’s find out how we can use them in tests.
The Page Object pattern’s intention is to separate the Application and Assertion APIs from the WebDriver API. This means, that tests should never use HTML elements or WebDriver directly, but only consume exposed (public) methods, referred as Actions.
These actions encapsulate units of user interaction, such as “Click on a button”, “Log in” or “Submit a form”, internally using the WebDriver API and the elements associated with the Page Object.
Therefore, when creating an action method, keep the following best practices in mind:
this) when you’re just acting upon elements.Using the Page Objects from above, let’s build a simple test, with the rules we have just learned. The test should: 1. Add one item to the cart, 2. Go to the cart, and 3. Assert, that the total price is correct.
Note
This example uses Java, but the same principles apply to TypeScript projects.*
This action takes place in the ItemsOverviewPo, and adds an item to the cart. Just adding an item to the cart should not navigate us anywhere, and you may want to do more in the ItemsOverviewPo in other tests, so we return this:
public ItemsOverviewPo addItemToCart() {
this.wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(this.addItemToCartButton)).click();
return this;
}
In the same Page Object, when you click the View cart button, you expect to land on the Cart page, so you return a new instance of the corresponding Page Object class, CartPo:
public CartPo viewCart() {
this.wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(this.viewCartButton)).click();
return new CartPo(this.driver);
}
Finally, you are ready to verify that the price is displayed correctly. Do not put assertions into the Page Object action. Instead, create a method that returns the text of the element holding the total price:
public String getTotalPrice() {
String totalPriceText = this.wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(this.totalPrice)).getText();
return totalPriceText;
}
Now you can use these actions in a test. Note, how thanks to returning Page Object instances in our actions, you can chain the action methods like this, improving readability of the test:
@Test
public void checkTotalPrice() {
// 1. Arrange
WebDriver driver = getDriver();
ItemsOverviewPo itemsOverviewPo = new ItemsOverviewPo(driver)
.open("https://demoshop.webtestit.com");
// 2. Act
String totalPrice = itemsOverviewPo
.addItemToCart()
.viewCart()
.getTotalPrice();
// 3. Assert
Assert.assertEquals(totalPrice, "€1,500.00");
}
After reading this article, you have learned about the Page Object pattern, how to divide a complex website into individual Page Objects, and how to structure your Page Object actions using best practices.
If you want to know more about Page Objects, be sure to read Martin Fowler’s article about PageObjects.
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