The Way of the Web Tester

A Beginner's Guide to Automating Tests

by Jonathan Rasmusson

This book is for everyone who needs to test the web. As a tester, you’ll automate your tests. As a developer, you’ll build more robust solutions. And as a team, you’ll gain a vocabulary and a means to coordinate how to write and organize automated tests for the web. Follow the testing pyramid and level up your skills in user interface testing, integration testing, and unit testing. Your new skills will free you up to do other, more important things while letting the computer do the one thing it’s really good at: quickly running thousands of repetitive tasks.

Printed in full color.

This book shows you how to do three things:

• How to write really good automated tests for the web.
• How to pick and choose the right ones.
• How to explain, coordinate, and share your efforts with others.

If you’re a traditional software tester who has never written an automated test before, this is the perfect book for getting started. Together, we’ll go through everything you’ll need to start writing your own tests.

If you’re a developer, but haven’t thought much about testing, this book will show you how to move fast without breaking stuff. You’ll test RESTful web services and legacy systems, and see how to organize your tests.

And if you’re a team lead, this is the Rosetta Stone you’ve been looking for. This book will help you bridge that testing gap between your developers and your testers by giving your team a model to discuss web testing, and most importantly, to coordinate their efforts.

The Way of the Web Tester is packed with cartoons, graphics, best practices, war stories, plenty of humor, and hands-on tutorial exercises that will get you doing the right things, the right way.

• Errata, typos, suggestions

• Source Code (zip file)

Releases:

• P3.0 2017/06/29
• P3.0 2017/06/29
• P2.0 2016/11/21
• P1.0 2016/09/14

Preface

• Mapping the Pyramid
  • The Testing Pyramid excerpt
    • It Was Beautiful
    • The Wheels on the Bus
    • Three Hard Lessons Learned
    • Enter the Testing Pyramid
    • UI Tests
    • Integration Tests
    • Unit Tests
    • Rules of Thumb
    • Who’s Writing These Things
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Smoking User Interface Tests
    • Another Botched Release
    • Enter the User Interface Test
    • How They Work
    • HTML Is for Asserting
    • CSS Is for Selecting
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Adding UI Tests to Legacy Systems
    • Step 1: Confirm You’re on the Right Test Page
    • Step 2: Figure Out Your CSS Selectors
    • Step 3: Make Your Assertions
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Connecting the Dots with Integration Tests
    • There Is No UI
    • Enter the Integration Test
    • How the Web Works
    • Talking HTTP
    • Taking a REST
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Integration Testing RESTful Web Services
    • Testing the RESTful Permit API
    • HTTP GET
    • HTTP POST
    • HTTP PUT
    • HTTP DELETE
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Covering Our Bases with Unit Tests excerpt
    • Everything Is Awesome!
    • The Challenge with UI Tests
    • Enter the Unit Test
    • How They Work
    • Turning It Up
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Unit Testing in the Browser with JavaScript
    • Magic in the Browser
    • JavaScript and the Pyramid
    • Bug Hunt
    • Step 1: Scan the HTML
    • Step 2: Check the JavaScript
    • Step 3: Write the Tests
    • Static vs. Dynamic Typing
    • Open Mic
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Climbing the Pyramid
    • The Pyramid in Action
    • Start with the Unit Tests
    • Step Up to the Integration Tests
    • Reach for the UI Tests
    • The Inverted Pyramid
    • How to Deal with Flaky Tests
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
• Exploring the Pyramid
  • Programming 101
    • The Mechanics of Programming
    • The Importance of Style excerpt
    • Naming
    • Spacing
    • Dealing with Duplication
    • Playing the Game
    • Step 1: Fix the Spacing
    • Step 2: Choose Good Names
    • Step 3: Tackle Duplication in the Class
    • Step 4: Remove Duplication in the Test
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Organizing Tests: Bringing Method to the Madness
    • The Land of Confusion
    • The Beauty of Isolation
    • The Clarity of Context
    • Intruder Alert
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Effective Mocking
    • Listen to the Music
    • Enter the Mock
    • Step 1: Prepare the Mock
    • Step 2: Set Expectations
    • The Shackles of Coupling
    • The Swamp of Mocking
    • Ports and Adapters
    • Open Mike
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
  • Writing Tests First
    • Where to Begin
    • What Is Test-Driven Development (TDD)?
    • Step 1: Write a Failing Test
    • Step 2: Make the Test Pass
    • Step 3: Refactor
    • Advantages of Working This Way
    • Seeing It in Action
    • Cycle, Rinse, Repeat
    • Open Mic
    • What We’ve Learned So Far
    • Final Words
  • CSS Cheat Sheet
  • Google Chrome Developer Tools