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Overview
Robot Framework is a tool used by teams adopting ATDD(Acceptance Test Driven Development).
Broadly speaking, it can be used to automate acceptance “test cases” (i.e. scripts) no matter the moment you decide to do so or the practices your team follows even though it's preferable to do it at start, involving the whole team in order to pursue shared understanding.
In this article, we will specify some tests using Robot Framework and see how we can have visibility of the corresponding results in Jira, using Xray.
This tutorial explores the specific integration Xray provides for Robot Framework XML reports.
Common requirements
- Robot Framework
- SeleniumLibrary
- Java (if using the Java variant of the "Robot Framework")
Examples
The full ATDD workflow
In this example we're going to validate a dummy website (provided in the GitHub repository), checking for valid and invalid logins.
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You may find the full source for this example in this GitHub repository, which corresponds in essence to previous work by Pekka Klärck from the Robot Framework Foundation. |
If the team is adopting ATDD and working collaboratively in order to have a shared understanding of what is going to be developed, why and some concrete examples of usage, then the flow would be something similar to the following diagram.
All starts with a user story or some sort of “requirement” that you wish to validate. This is materialized as a Jira issue and identified by the corresponding issue key (e.g. ROB-11).
We can promptly check that it is “UNCOVERED” (i.e. that it has no tests covering it, no matter their type/approach).
A Test Plan can be created to define the scope of the testing that we aim to perform, group, and consolidate the corresponding results. Besides the user story, we may also add the Test Plan to the Board and assign it explicitly to a sprint. This will increase visibility of testing progress and help closing the gap between dev<>testers.
A tester/SDET could simply focus on implementing the automated test cases:
- The tester would write one or more test suites and corresponding test cases, using his/her favorite tool/IDE
- Each test case could be linked to the corresponding requirement/user story in Jira by adding its key as a tag
- Tests could then be run locally, or from the CI pipeline
- Unique, non-duplicating, Test entities would be auto-provisioned in Xray, corresponding to each test case; tester could also, optionally, enforce the result to an existing Test entity by specifying its issue key as a tag
Let’s take the following .robot file as an example, which acts as a suite containing one test case.
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*** Settings ***
Documentation A test suite with a single test for valid login.
...
... This test has a workflow that is created using keywords in
... |
Overview
In this tutorial, we will execute some tests using the Robot Framework. This tutorial explores the specific integration Xray provides for Robot Framework XML reports.
Requirements
- Robot Framework
- SeleniumLibrary (previously Selenium2Library)
- Java (if using the Java variant of the "robot framework")
Description
Below are several Robot test suites, each one containing several Robot test cases.
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*** Settings ***
Documentation A test suite with a single Gherkin style test.
...
... This test is functionally identical to the example in
... valid_login.robot file.
Resource resource.robot
Test Teardown Close Browser
*** Test Cases ***
Gherkin Valid Login
[Tags] CALC-1 CALC-42
Given browser is opened to login page
When user "admin" logs in with password "admin"
Then welcome page should be open
*** Keywords ***
Browser is opened to login page
Open browser to login page
User "${username}" logs in with password "${password}"
Input username ${username}
Input password ${password}
Submit credentials |
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*** Settings *** Documentation A test suite containing tests related to invalid login. ... ... These tests are data-driven by their nature. They use a single ... keyword, specified with Test Template setting, that is called ... with different arguments to cover different scenarios. ... ... This suite also demonstrates using setups and teardowns in ... different levels. Suite Setup Open Browser To Login Page Suite Teardown Close Browser Test Setup Go To Login Page Test Template Login With Invalid Credentials Should Fail Resource resource.robot *** Test Cases *** USER NAME PASSWORD Invalid Username invalid ${VALID PASSWORD} Invalid Passwordthe imported resource file. Resource resource.robot *** Test Cases ${VALID USER} invalid Invalid Username And Password invalid *** Valid Login [Tags] ROB-11 UI Open Browser To Login Page Input Username whateverdemo Empty Username Input Password mode Submit Credentials Welcome Page ${EMPTY}Should Be Open [Teardown] ${VALID PASSWORD} Empty Password ${VALID USER} ${EMPTY} Empty Username And Password ${EMPTY} Close Browser |
The previous Robot file uses a common resource that contains some generic variables and some reusable "keywords" (i.e., steps).
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*** Settings *** Documentation A resource file with reusable keywords and variables. ... ... ${EMPTY} *** Keywords *** Login With Invalid Credentials Should Fail The system specific [Arguments]keywords created here form ${username} our own ... ${password} Input Username ${username} domain Inputspecific Passwordlanguage. They utilize keywords ${password} provided ... Submit Credentials Login Should Have Failed Loginby Shouldthe Haveimported FailedSeleniumLibrary. Library Page Should Contain Element xpath=//*[@id="login-form"]/div[1]/div[@class="aui-message error"] ${txt}=SeleniumLibrary *** Variables *** ${SERVER} 192.168.56.1:7272 ${BROWSER} Firefox ${DELAY} Get Text 0 ${VALID USER} demo ${VALID PASSWORD} xpath=//*[@id="login-form"]/div[1]/div[@class="aui-message error"]/p Should Be Equal As Strings ${txt} mode ${LOGIN URL} http://${SERVER}/ ${WELCOME URL} http://${SERVER}/welcome.html ${ERROR URL} http://${SERVER}/error.html *** Keywords *** Open Browser To Login Page Sorry, your username andOpen passwordBrowser are incorrect - please try again. ${LOGIN URL} ${BROWSER} Title Should Be Maximize Browser Window Set Selenium Speed ${DELAY} LogLogin inPage -Should Xray Demo Environment (JIRA 7) | ||||
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*** Settings *** DocumentationBe Open Login Page Should Be Open Title AShould testBe suite with a single test for valid login. ... ...Login Page Go To Login Page Go To ${LOGIN URL} Login Page ThisShould test has a workflow that is created using keywords in ...Be Open Input Username [Arguments] ${username} Input Text username_field ${username} Input Password the [Arguments] imported resource file. Resource ${password} Input Text resource.robot *** Test Cases *** Valid Login [Tags] CALC-1 CALC-2 Open Browser To Login Page Input Username adminpassword_field ${password} Submit Credentials Click Button login_button Welcome Page Should Be Open Location Should Be ${WELCOME URL} InputTitle PasswordShould Be admin Submit Credentials Welcome Page Should Be Open [Teardown] Close Browser |
The "CALC-1" and "CALC-2" tags above can be used to link the test case to existing requirement(s) or to an existing Test. When a requirement issue key is given, a link between test and requirement is created.
The previous Robot files use a common resource that contains some generic variables and some reusable "keywords" (i.e., steps).
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*** Settings ***
Documentation A resource file with reusable keywords and variables.
...
... The system specific keywords created here form our own
... domain specific language. They utilize keywords provided
... by the imported Selenium2Library.
Library BuiltIn
Library Selenium2Library
*** Variables ***
${SERVER} localhost:8080
${BROWSER} chrome
${DELAY} 0.5
${VALID USER} admin
${VALID PASSWORD} admin
${LOGIN URL} http://${SERVER}/login.jsp
${WELCOME URL} http://${SERVER}/secure/Dashboard.jspa
*** Keywords ***
Open Browser To Login Page
Open Browser ${LOGIN URL} ${BROWSER}
Maximize Browser Window
Set Selenium Speed ${DELAY}
Login Page Should Be Open
Login Page Should Be Open
Title Should Be Log in - Xray Demo Environment (JIRA 7)
Go To Login Page
Go To ${LOGIN URL}
Run Keyword And Ignore Error Get Alert Message
Login Page Should Be Open
Input Username
[Arguments] ${username}
Input Text login-form-username ${username}
Input Password
[Arguments] ${password}
Input Text login-form-password ${password}
Submit Credentials
Click Button login-form-submit
Welcome Page Should Be Open
Location Should Be ${WELCOME URL}
Title Should Be Tests Dashboard - Xray Demo Environment (JIRA 7) |
After running the tests and generating the Robot XML report (e.g., output.xml), it can be imported to Xray via the REST API.
If you're using Python:
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robot -d output . |
If you're using Java:
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java -jar robotframework-3.0.jar -d output . |
Each Robot's test case is mapped to a Generic Test in Jira, having the summary with the name of the test case, and the Generic Test Definition field contains the concatenated names of the test suites along with the name of the test case. Note that Robot Framework considers the base folder of the project as the first test suite. The way you run your tests also affects Robot's XML; so, if you execute the file from somewhere else or you execute the file directly by passing it as an argument, the test suite's information will potentially be different.
You will see information about each Robot keyword (i.e., step) and its corresponding status in the Context section of the Execution Details of the Generic Test.
References
Welcome Page |
Running the tests can be done from the command line or from within Jenkins (or any other CI tool); this will produce a XML based report (e.g. output.xml).
Importing results is as easy as submitting them to the REST API with a POST request (e.g. curl), or by using one of the CI plugins available for free (e.g. Xray Jenkins plugin).
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Running tests is primarily done using the "robot" utility which provides many options that allow you to define which tests to run, the output directory and more. You may also specify some variables and their values. Next follows some different usage examples. If you're using Python:
If you're using Java:
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An unstructured (i.e. "Generic") Test issue will be auto-provisioned the first time you import the results, based on the name of the test case and of the corresponding test suites.
If you maintain the test case name and the respective test suites, the Test will be reused on subsequent result imports. You may always enforce the results to be reported against an existing Test, if you wish so: just specify its issue key as a tag.
Tags can also be used to cover an existing requirement/user story (e.g. “ROB-11”): when a requirement issue key is given, a link between the test and the requirement is created during the results import process.
Otherwise, tags are mapped as labels on the corresponding Test issue.
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Note that Robot Framework considers the base folder of the project as the first test suite. The way you run your tests also affects Robot's XML; so, if you execute the file from somewhere else or you execute the file directly by passing it as an argument, the test suite's information will potentially be different. |
A Test Execution will be created containing results for all test cases executed. In this case, you can see that it is also linked back to an existing Test Plan where you can track the consolidated results from multiple "iterations" (i.e. Test Executions).
Within the execution screen details, accessible from each row, you can look at the Test Run details which include the overall result and also specifics about each keyword, including duration and status.
Running tests in parallel, against different environments
In this distinct and more evolved example we're going to run tests in parallel using "pabot"; we'll also take advantage of the Test Environments concept provided by Xray.
This example uses a fake travel agency site (kindly provided by BlazeMeter) as the testing target.
We have two tests that use low-level keywords (note: this is not a good practice; it's just for simplicity) and one of those keywords is defined within a SeleniumLibrary plugin (i.e. it extends the keywords provided by SeleniumLibrary).
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*** Settings ***
Library SeleniumLibrary plugins=${CURDIR}/MyPlugin.py
Library Collections
Suite Setup Open browser ${URL} ${BROWSER}
Suite Teardown Close All Browsers
*** Variables ***
${URL} http://blazedemo.com/
${BROWSER} Chrome
@{allowed_destinations} Buenos Aires Rome London Berlin New York Dublin Cairo
*** Test Cases ***
The search page presents valid options for searching
[Tags] 1
Go To ${URL}
Title Should Be BlazeDemo
Element Should Be Visible css:input[type='submit']
Wait Until Element Is Enabled css:input[type='submit']
Wait Until Element Is Clickable input[type='submit']
${values}= Get List Items xpath://select[@name='fromPort'] values=True
Log ${values}
${allowed_departures}= Create List Paris Philadelphia Boston Portland San Diego Mexico City São Paolo
Lists Should Be Equal ${allowed_departures} ${values}
${values}= Get List Items xpath://select[@name='toPort'] values=True
Log ${values}
Should Be Equal ${allowed_destinations} ${values}
The user can search for flights
[Tags] search_flights
Go to ${URL}
Select From List By Value xpath://select[@name='fromPort'] Paris
Select From List by Value xpath://select[@name='toPort'] London
Click Button css:input[type='submit']
@{flights}= Get WebElements css:table[class='table']>tbody tr
Should Not Be Empty ${flights} |
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from robot.api import logger
from SeleniumLibrary.base import LibraryComponent, keyword
from SeleniumLibrary.locators import ElementFinder
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support.expected_conditions import presence_of_element_located
from selenium.webdriver.support.expected_conditions import element_to_be_clickable
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
class MyPlugin(LibraryComponent):
def __init__(self, ctx):
LibraryComponent.__init__(self, ctx)
@keyword
def wait_until_element_is_clickable(self, selector):
"""Adding new keyword: Wait Until Element Is Clickable."""
self.info('Wait Until Element Is Clickable')
wait = WebDriverWait(self.driver, 10)
my_elem = self.element_finder.find("css:"+selector)
print(my_elem)
first_result = wait.until(element_to_be_clickable((By.CSS_SELECTOR, selector)))
return first_result
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Running the tests in parallel is possible using pabot.
Tests can be parallelized in different ways; we'll split them for running on a test basis.
We can also specify some variables; in this case, we'll use it to specify the "BROWSER" variable which is passed to the SeleniumLibrary.
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--variable BROWSER:Chrome |
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pabot --argumentfile1 ffbrowser.txt --argumentfile2 chromebrowser.txt --argumentfile3 headlessffbrowser.txt --argumentfile4 safaribrowser.txt --testlevelsplit 0_basic/search_flights.robot |
Running these tests will produce a report per each "argumentfileX" parameter (i.e. per each browser). We can then submit those to Xray (e.g. using "curl" and the REST API), and assign it to distinct Test Executions where each one is in turn assigned to a specific Test Environment identifying the browser.
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#!/bin/bash
BROWSERS=(firefox chrome headlessff safari)
PROJECT=CALC
TESTPLAN=CALC-6424
i=1
for browser in ${BROWSERS[@]}; do
curl -H "Content-Type: multipart/form-data" -u admin:admin -F "file=@pabot_results/output$i.xml" "http://jiraserver.example.com/rest/raven/1.0/import/execution/robot?projectKey=$PROJECT&testPlanKey=$TESTPLAN&testEnvironments=$browser"
i=$((i+1))
done |
In Xray, at the Test Plan-level we can see the consolidated results and for each test case we may drill-down and see all the runs performed and in which environment/browser.
In this case, we have the total of 4 Test Executions (i.e. for safari, headlessff, chrome, firefox).
Tracking automation results
Besides tracking automation results on the Test Execution issues themselves, it's also possible to track in different places so the team gets fully aware of them.
On the user story issue screen
Right from within the user story issue screen, we now see one test (i.e. automated script) covering it. We can also see its latest result and how it impacts the overall coverage calculation for the user story; if the user story shows as “OK”, you know that all tests covering it passed, accordingly with the latest results obtained for each one of them.
On the Agile Board
On Agile Boards (e.g. Scrum boards), we can now assess the coverage of our user story taking into account the testing results.
We may also track the overall Test Plan consolidated progress on the Test Plan issue related card. Note that we could include Test Executions in the board if we wish so; however, in CI scenarios that could be counterproductive.
On the Test Plan
At the Test Plan-level, the entity that defines the scope of testing and tracks its progress, we can quickly assess the latest consolidated test results (i.e. the latest result obtained for each Test being tracked).