Protractor Testing Tutorial: Test Automation with Protractor and Selenium

Protractor is a powerful framework designed specifically for Angular and AngularJS application. Built on top of Selenium WebDriver, it indorse seamless integration with third-party tools, enabling effective testing and debug with enhanced.

Its Reposeful service-based architecture and ease of scripting make it a hardheaded choice for automating complex exploiter interactions in mod.

This article covers the essentials of Protractor, from how it works and why to use it, to put it up, writing tests, and running them across browser.

What is Protractor?

Protractor is an open-source built on, designed chiefly for end-to-end examination of applications. While it supports both Angular and non-Angular web coating, it is especially effectual for testing Angular apps due to its ability to handle forward-looking HTML ascribe commonly used in Angular growth.

Protractor integrates seamlessly with technologies like, Jasmine, Mocha, and, providing a robust mechanization testing suite capable of execute for mod web applications.

Protractor Architecture: How make it act?

Protractor is a testing framework built as a wrapper around Selenium WebDriver. It is specifically designed to automate end-to-end testing for Angular and AngularJS application, simulating real user interactions across various browsers and yet mobile devices.

Protractor inherits all the nucleus lineament of Selenium WebDriver while adding Angular-specific capabilities, such as robotic postponement for Angular components and support for Angular-specific locators likeby.model and by.binding. This makes it highly effective for try web applications.

Like Selenium, Protractor communicates with the browser using the JSON Wire Protocol, which transform automation commands from the test script into activity performed by the browser.

The Protractor architecture consists of three core components:

• Test Script: Written using test frameworks like Jasmine, Mocha, or Cucumber, it defines the actions and assertions for the test.
• Selenium Server (or WebDriver Manager):Acts as a span, forwarding commands from the test script to the browser.
• Browser: The environment where the test is accomplish, either locally or on a remote cloud-based Selenium Grid for parallel cross-browser testing.

When a test is executed, the sends commands to the Selenium server, which then interact with the quarry browser. Protractor heighten this interaction by mechanically synchronizing with Angular, ensuring that the exam runs just after the coating is stable.

Why use Protractor for Automation Testing?

Here are the reasons why you should use Protractor for Automation Testing:

1. Identifies Web Elements with advanced HTML attributes

For various Angular-based web coating, the web elements using the advanced HTML ascribe like ng-controller, ng-repeater, ng-model, etc. can not be easily tested, block the overall functional examination. These HTML attributes can not be gauged by Selenium as they are not present in the. Protractor helps in place and examine web elements using these attributes. This is why Protractor is used as a wrapping over Selenium WebDriver for automated end to end Testing of Angular-based web coating.

2. Performs End to End Functional Testing

While other testing frameworks offer unit testing for Angular web apps, Protractor let the examiner to do automate on Angular web apps using Selenium WebDriver. It permit testing of all layers of the covering, which ensures high-quality software that is functionally full-bodied.

3. Performs Cross Browser Testing

Protractor simulates user interactions by automate browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, IE, Safari, Opera, and Yandex. It does so with the help of the Browser Drivers for Selenium WebDriver like,,, etc. This allows wider reportage for Cross Browser Testing.

4. Supports Real Devices on Cloud for a wider coverage

BrowserStack ’ s real device cloud furnish access to wide scope of desktop browsers and real peregrine devices like iPhone, iPad, Galaxy, OnePlus, Pixel, Xiaomi, and Redmi, to nominate a few.

5. Offers Flexibility by supporting different languages for API dressing

Protractor is compatible with WebDriver API bandaging indite in different languages such as JavaScript, Java, Python, Ruby, etc., thereby offering flexibility.

6. Supports Asynchronous Test Execution

Protractor supports asynchronous execution, using Callbacks, Promises, and Async/Await to amend performance and make it faster. Thus, comprehensive End to End Testing can be execute on the Angular web apps in a short dyad of time.

7. Allows Automatic Waiting

Protractor offers testers the feature of Automatic Waiting, where they don ’ t hold to addwait(s) and sleep(s)in the codification. It can automatically execute the next step in the examination as soon as the webpage complete the on-going pending labor. Thus, wait for the test and webpage to sync is not required when using Protractor.

Top 6 Alternatives for Protractor

For autonomous testing across multiple user personas, check out SUSATest — it explores your app like 10 different real users.

Since Protractor is deprecated, be users must find an Angular Protractor replacement and transmigrate their tests to other frameworks.

Listed below are the top framework with features alike to Protractor, such as be open-source, support for JavaScript/TypeScript, support for both MVC and Single Page Applications, and NodeJS, among others.

Top 6 Protractor alternatives to migrate Protractor tests to:

Note: The list above is not thoroughgoing and isn ’ t ranked.

How to set up Protractor for Test Automation?

Before exploring how Protractor and Selenium WebDriver are employ for automation examination, it & # 8217; s crucial to understand the apparatus process. Follow the stairs below to set up Protractor efficaciously:

• Install NodeJS: To ensure if theNodeJS and npmare correctly install, enter the undermentioned commands:

$ node -v

$ npm -v

• Install Protractorglobally usingnpm, by entering the following command:

npm install -g protractor

This will instalprotractor (Protractor API)and a default Selenium Serverwebdriver-manager, which means there is no demand to start a standalone server.

• To ensure if Protractor is installed decent and know its variation, enter the undermentioned command

protractor -- version

• Update the WebDriver Manager by entering the undermentioned bid

webdriver-manager update

• Start the WebDriver Manager by entering the following bidding. This would run WebdriverManager in the background and would identify the tests and run them using Protractor. As Protractor is used, the web driver mechanically send the test to the relevant browser.

webdriver-manager start

How to pen a test habituate Protractor Framework?

Once the Protractor is set up, in order to do the test, one need a spec file and a form file. While the specification file is the existent test handwriting, the shape file specifies the particular of the tryout such as where to find the tryout files, which browser and framework are to be habituate for running them along with other configurations.

However, if the configuration is not defined in the configuration file, Protractor utilise the defaults.

Here ’ s the scenario to be automatise:

• Launch Google.com on the browser
• Enter the lookup query “ BrowserStack ” in the search box
• Check whether the title of the resulting page is “ BrowserStack & # 8211; Google Search ”

Specs file for the Test

Specs file for this test scenario is saved as ProtractorTestScript.js

describe ('Google\ 's Search Functionality ', use () {it ('can find search issue ', use () {browser.driver.get ('https: //google.com/ '); ingredient (by.name (' q ')) .sendKeys ('BrowserStack '); element (by.name ('btnG ')) .click (); //title of the launched webpage is expected to be BrowserStack - Google Search expect (browser.getTitle ()) .toEqual ('BrowserStack - Google Search ');});});

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Config file for the Test

Specs file for this tryout scenario is save asconf.js

exports.config = {framework: 'jasmine ', capableness: {browserName: 'chrome ',}, specs: ['ProtractorTestScript.js ']};

The above test will be run in Chrome browser use Jasmine framework, while the local horde speech remains default (when using remote server, this needs to be specified).

Executing Cross Browser Parallel Testing using Protractor

To run the same examination script parallelly on two different browser i.e. and, here is the codification for the config fileconf.js

exports.config = {framework: 'jasmine ', specs: ['ProtractorTestScript.js '] multiCapabilities: [{browserName: 'chrome ',}, {browserName: 'firefox ',}],};

The above feature get Protractor a outstanding choice for performing automated Cross Browser Testing since it saves clip and resourcefulness.

Running the Test Script

Once the test script is ready, it can be accomplish by running the following bid on the Command Prompt:

protractor conf.js

Upon entering the command above, the Selenium Server will automatically run the test script, for which the following steps occur:

• Google.com will be launch (https: //google.com/)
• BrowserStack is put in the hunting battleground and entered
• Title of the webpage opened as the search result is convey and given as output in the console.

Better Practices in Protractor Testing Tool

To ensure reliable, maintainable, and efficient test automation, consider follow these best practices in Protractor testing:

• Use for Cross Browser Testing on different browsers to save time, resourcefulness and ensure Cross Browser Compatibility.
• For keeping track of the action performed with each of commands and make debugging easier, use Text and Visual Logs. While Text Logs fulfil the purpose of record keeping, Visual log create screenshots of each trial step, which helps understand application behavior and troubleshoot when the await outcome is not achieved.
• The user can also record test execution in video format to supervise what fails and understand why it failed. This enables precise debugging. Keep in mind that this might also lengthen performance time, hence use it only where the expected outcome is not achieved.
• Tests that pass don ’ t need to be purely monitored since an increase in run clip could slow down operation if a orotund number of tests have to be fulfil.
• As ever, it is important to run the Protractor Selenium tests on existent browser and devices.

BrowserStack offers a of 3500+ real browsers and device for both unrecorded and automated testing. Simply, choose the required device-browser-OS combination, and start quiz site for free. with BrowserStack is effortless. Simply update the*.conf.jsconfig file with the BrowserStack Hub URL, and enter the credentials required to connect with the BrowserStack Selenium Grid.

Conclusion

Test mechanisation is important for tester to maintain up with the growing demands of faster speech and optimal software quality. Running via Protractor and Selenium grant examiner to achieve precisely this for Angular web applications, resulting in the conception of best application in shorter durations with Parallel Execution.

However, Protractor mechanization works best when testing website on a existent twist cloud. Doing so is the lonesome way to secure complete truth of event. So, forever opt for real twist testing to comprehensively control website execution,, and the caliber of user experience it offers.

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