Step-by-Step Guide to Robot Framework for Automation with Examples

Robot Framework is a generic open-source automation framework used for test automation. It has simple plain text syntax and utilizes keywords to abstract away the complexities, making it easy to use even for those with minimal programming knowledge. This guide will walk you through setting up Robot Framework and writing your first automation script with code snippets.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following installed:

• Python (version 3.6 or higher)
• pip (Python package installer)

Step 1: Setting Up Your Environment

1. Install Robot Framework:

bash

pip install robotframework        

2. Install SeleniumLibrary (for web testing):

bash

pip install robotframework-seleniumlibrary        

3. Install a web driver (e.g., ChromeDriver for Chrome): Download the appropriate driver from ChromeDriver and ensure it's in your system PATH.

Step 2: Creating Your First Robot Framework Test

1. Create a new directory for your project:

bash

mkdir robotframework-automation
cd robotframework-automation        

2. Create a test suite file, e.g., example_test.robot:

bash

touch example_test.robot        

3. Open 'example_test.robot' and add the following code:

robot

*** Settings ***
Library    SeleniumLibrary

*** Variables ***
${URL}    https://example.com
${BROWSER}    chrome

*** Test Cases ***
Open Browser and Take Screenshot
    Open Browser    ${URL}    ${BROWSER}
    Capture Page Screenshot
    Close Browser        

This script does the following:

• Imports the SeleniumLibrary.
• Sets the URL and browser type as variables.
• Defines a test case that opens the specified URL in the specified browser, takes a screenshot, and closes the browser.

Step 3: Running Your Test

To execute your Robot Framework test, run the following command in your terminal:

bash

robot example_test.robot        

You should see a browser window open, navigate to the specified URL, and then close after a screenshot is taken. The results will be stored in an output folder created in your project directory.

Step 4: Interacting with Web Elements

Robot Framework allows you to interact with web elements easily using keywords. Let's extend our script to perform a search on a website.

1. Modify example_test.robot to perform a search on DuckDuckGo:

robot

*** Settings ***
Library    SeleniumLibrary

*** Variables ***
${URL}    https://duckduckgo.com
${BROWSER}    chrome
${SEARCH_TERM}    Robot Framework

*** Test Cases ***
Search in DuckDuckGo
    Open Browser    ${URL}    ${BROWSER}
    Input Text    name=q    ${SEARCH_TERM}
    Click Button    xpath=//input[@type="submit"]
    Wait Until Page Contains    ${SEARCH_TERM}
    Capture Page Screenshot
    Close Browser        

Step 5: Utilizing Keywords

Keywords help in abstracting and reusing code. You can define your own keywords to make the tests more readable and maintainable.

1. Create a keyword to perform a search:

robot

*** Settings ***
Library    SeleniumLibrary

*** Variables ***
${URL}    https://duckduckgo.com
${BROWSER}    chrome
${SEARCH_TERM}    Robot Framework

*** Keywords ***
Open DuckDuckGo And Search
    [Arguments]    ${term}
    Open Browser    ${URL}    ${BROWSER}
    Input Text    name=q    ${term}
    Click Button    xpath=//input[@type="submit"]
    Wait Until Page Contains    ${term}

*** Test Cases ***
Search in DuckDuckGo
    Open DuckDuckGo And Search    ${SEARCH_TERM}
    Capture Page Screenshot
    Close Browser        

Step 6: Running Tests with Assertions

To perform assertions, you can use built-in keywords like Should Be Equal or Should Contain. Let's add an assertion to verify the search results.

1. Modify the test case to include an assertion:

robot

*** Settings ***
Library    SeleniumLibrary

*** Variables ***
${URL}    https://duckduckgo.com
${BROWSER}    chrome
${SEARCH_TERM}    Robot Framework

*** Keywords ***
Open DuckDuckGo And Search
    [Arguments]    ${term}
    Open Browser    ${URL}    ${BROWSER}
    Input Text    name=q    ${term}
    Click Button    xpath=//input[@type="submit"]
    Wait Until Page Contains    ${term}

*** Test Cases ***
Search in DuckDuckGo
    Open DuckDuckGo And Search    ${SEARCH_TERM}
    Page Should Contain    ${SEARCH_TERM}
    Capture Page Screenshot
    Close Browser        

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've now set up Robot Framework, written your first automation script, interacted with web elements, and performed assertions. Robot Framework's simple syntax and powerful libraries make it an excellent choice for automating and testing web applications.

Continue exploring Robot Framework’s documentation and features to build more advanced and robust automation scripts. Happy testing!