Day 24 How to's and Why's of Cucumber

1. Adding Cucumber to IntelliJ IDE:

To add Cucumber to IntelliJ IDE, follow these steps:

1. Open IntelliJ IDE and create a new project or open an existing project.
2. Go to "File" -> "Settings" (or "Preferences" on macOS) to open the settings window.
3. Navigate to "Plugins" and click on the "Marketplace" tab.
4. Search for "Cucumber for Java" in the marketplace search bar.
5. Install the "Cucumber for Java" plugin.
6. Restart IntelliJ IDE to activate the plugin.

Cucumber support should now be enabled in IntelliJ IDE, allowing you to work with Cucumber feature files and step definitions.

Similarly it is important to install the Gherkin plugin in IntelliJ. This is the reason why:

The Gherkin plugin in IntelliJ IDE plays a crucial role in successfully running a Cucumber project. It provides essential features and functionality that enhance the development and execution of Cucumber tests. Here's an explanation of the importance of the Gherkin plugin:

1. Syntax Highlighting: The Gherkin plugin highlights the syntax of Gherkin feature files, making it easier to read and understand the scenarios. It helps in identifying any syntax errors or inconsistencies in the feature file, ensuring that the file follows the correct Gherkin syntax.
2. Code Navigation: With the Gherkin plugin, you can easily navigate between feature files and their associated step definitions. It allows you to jump from a step in a feature file to its corresponding step definition, enabling efficient code navigation and quick access to the implementation code.
3. Auto-Completion: The plugin provides auto-completion suggestions while writing Gherkin scenarios, step definitions, and other Gherkin elements. It helps in reducing manual typing errors and improves productivity by offering suggestions based on existing step definitions and Gherkin keywords.
4. Step Definition Generation: One of the valuable features of the Gherkin plugin is the ability to generate step definitions from feature files. By right-clicking on a step in a feature file, you can generate the skeleton code for the step definition in the appropriate location. This saves time and effort in creating step definitions manually.
5. Integration with Test Runners: The Gherkin plugin seamlessly integrates with popular test runners like TestNG and JUnit. It enables you to execute Cucumber tests directly from the IDE, view the test execution results, and access detailed reports. The plugin provides convenient options to run individual scenarios, specific tags, or the entire test suite.
6. Error Reporting and Quick Fixes: When running Cucumber tests, the Gherkin plugin highlights any errors or failures in the feature files or step definitions. It provides detailed error messages and quick fixes, allowing you to address issues promptly and improve the overall quality of your tests.
7. Integration with Version Control Systems: The Gherkin plugin works well with version control systems like Git, allowing you to track changes made to feature files and step definitions. It provides seamless integration with code repositories and facilitates collaboration among team members working on the same Cucumber project.

In summary, the Gherkin plugin in IntelliJ IDE is essential for successful execution of Cucumber projects. It enhances the development experience by providing syntax highlighting, code navigation, auto-completion, step definition generation, integration with test runners, error reporting, and version control integration. Leveraging the plugin's capabilities can greatly improve productivity and ensure the correctness of your Cucumber tests.

2. Creating Step Definitions by Right-Clicking on the Feature File:

To create step definitions by right-clicking on the feature file in IntelliJ IDE, follow these steps:

1. Create a feature file or open an existing feature file in IntelliJ IDE.
2. Write the test scenarios in Gherkin syntax in the feature file.
3. Right-click on a step in the feature file.
4. Select the option "Create Step Definition" from the context menu.
5. Choose the target directory where you want to create the step definition file.
6. IntelliJ IDE will generate the step definition file with the necessary code structure.
7. Implement the automation logic for each step in the generated step definition file.

This approach allows you to quickly generate step definitions based on the steps in the feature file, reducing the manual effort required to create the step definition file from scratch.

3. Understanding the TestNG Runner and Cucumber Options:

The TestNG runner class is responsible for executing Cucumber tests and configuring the Cucumber options. Here's an example of how the TestNG runner class looks like:

java

import io.cucumber.testng.CucumberOptions; 
import io.cucumber.testng.AbstractTestNGCucumberTests; 
@CucumberOptions( features = "src/test/resources/features", 
glue = "stepDefinitions", 
tags = "@smoke", 
plugin = {"pretty", "html:target/cucumber-reports"} ) 
public class TestRunner extends AbstractTestNGCucumberTests { } 
        

Let's understand the various Cucumber options used in the TestNG runner:

• features: Specifies the path to the directory or file where the feature files are located.
• glue: Defines the package or path to the directory where the step definitions are located.
• tags: Allows you to run specific scenarios or features based on the specified tags.
• plugin: Specifies the plugins to generate different types of reports. In the example above, it generates a pretty console output and an HTML report in the specified target directory.

You can customize these options based on your project structure and requirements. TestNG provides extensive support for running Cucumber tests and offers additional configuration options for test parallelization, data providers, listeners, and more.

By leveraging the TestNG runner and Cucumber options, you can control the execution flow and generate meaningful reports for your Cucumber tests in IntelliJ IDE.