Cross-browser automated testing in Javascript (Puppeteer/Playwright)
Hi all, What do people think about doing our cross-browser automated testing in Javascript rather than Perl? We're already using Node.js for generating Koha's CSS: https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Working_with_SCSS_in_the_OPAC_and_staff _interface. I've been playing with Puppeteer and Playwright lately for non-test related browser automation, and they're pretty easy to work with. Playwright is based on Puppeteer, and their basic APIs are the same, so fairly interchangeable. (We'd need to use another library like Jest or Playwright-test to do the test evaluation.) It looks like we only have 6 files that use Selenium, so it wouldn't be a big drama to replace them. There is a Perl library https://metacpan.org/pod/Playwright but it's just a wrapper around Playwright anyway and it's so new that I'd be a bit wary of using it. David Cook Software Engineer Prosentient Systems Suite 7.03 6a Glen St Milsons Point NSW 2061 Australia Office: 02 9212 0899 Online: 02 8005 0595
Hi :) On 21-02-01 05:08, dcook@prosentient.com.au wrote:
What do people think about doing our cross-browser automated testing in Javascript rather than Perl? We’re already using Node.js for generating Koha’s CSS: https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Working_with_SCSS_in_the_OPAC_and_staff... <https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Working_with_SCSS_in_the_OPAC_and_staff_interface>.
I’ve been playing with Puppeteer and Playwright lately for non-test related browser automation, and they’re pretty easy to work with. Playwright is based on Puppeteer, and their basic APIs are the same, so fairly interchangeable. (We’d need to use another library like Jest or Playwright-test to do the test evaluation.)
It looks like we only have 6 files that use Selenium, so it wouldn’t be a big drama to replace them.
Thanks for you exploration work :D I don't think I can help much in setting up the test stack **but** I can rewrite all the tests in whatever the community see fit. Though I don't really know what would be the gains in practice of switching to Playwright compared to staying with Selenium via Perl. Or switching to Selenium via JavaScript if our Perl lib gives troubles. No opinion for now. About our Selenium Perl lib, it's still being maintained with good work in progress to support the upcoming Selenium 4 https://github.com/teodesian/Selenium-Remote-Driver/issues/452#issuecomment-... Is Puppeteer needed in a stack using Playwright? Because it's centered on Chromium, it's already a good surprise that Google worked to bring experimental Firefox support. But it's hard to bet that it will get stable and still be maintained for years. https://github.com/puppeteer/puppeteer/#q-what-is-the-status-of-cross-browse...
There is a Perl library https://metacpan.org/pod/Playwright <https://metacpan.org/pod/Playwright> but it’s just a wrapper around Playwright anyway and it’s so new that I’d be a bit wary of using it.
If the tests are to be rewritten to use Playwright, +1 to do that in JS rather than Perl to avoid depending on an unofficial lib. -- Victor Grousset/tuxayo
Based on https://github.com/teodesian/Selenium-Remote-Driver/issues/452#issuecomment- 760415316, there's only 1 person maintaining that library, and he's even saying there's a lot of work to do on it. It would either be Puppeteer *or* Playwright. I'd be more inclined to go with Playwright as it supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. That said, I've only used it with Chromium. Selenium seems a lot more heavy-weight and has a diminishing reputation. With Selenium, you need a Java-based server (we're using a Docker container for that), whereas with Puppeteer/Playwright, all you need is Node.js installed and then you just need to install the puppeteer/playwright Node module and it installs everything you need into a disposable node_modules directory. (Actually, Playwright has a few options for where to install the browser binaries, but not relevant here.) I have a fair bit on my plate at the moment, but I know code speaks louder than words too, so maybe at some point I could put something together... David Cook Software Engineer Prosentient Systems Suite 7.03 6a Glen St Milsons Point NSW 2061 Australia Office: 02 9212 0899 Online: 02 8005 0595 -----Original Message----- From: Victor Grousset/tuxayo <victor@tuxayo.net> Sent: Friday, 5 February 2021 7:29 AM To: dcook@prosentient.com.au; 'koha-devel' <koha-devel@lists.koha-community.org> Cc: 'Tomas Cohen Arazi' <tomascohen@theke.io> Subject: Re: Cross-browser automated testing in Javascript (Puppeteer/Playwright) Hi :) On 21-02-01 05:08, dcook@prosentient.com.au wrote:
What do people think about doing our cross-browser automated testing in Javascript rather than Perl? We're already using Node.js for generating Koha's CSS: https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Working_with_SCSS_in_the_OPAC_and _staff_interface
<https://wiki.koha-community.org/wiki/Working_with_SCSS_in_the_OPAC_and_staf f_interface>.
I've been playing with Puppeteer and Playwright lately for non-test related browser automation, and they're pretty easy to work with. Playwright is based on Puppeteer, and their basic APIs are the same, so fairly interchangeable. (We'd need to use another library like Jest or Playwright-test to do the test evaluation.)
It looks like we only have 6 files that use Selenium, so it wouldn't be a big drama to replace them.
Thanks for you exploration work :D I don't think I can help much in setting up the test stack **but** I can rewrite all the tests in whatever the community see fit. Though I don't really know what would be the gains in practice of switching to Playwright compared to staying with Selenium via Perl. Or switching to Selenium via JavaScript if our Perl lib gives troubles. No opinion for now. About our Selenium Perl lib, it's still being maintained with good work in progress to support the upcoming Selenium 4 https://github.com/teodesian/Selenium-Remote-Driver/issues/452#issuecomment- 760415316 Is Puppeteer needed in a stack using Playwright? Because it's centered on Chromium, it's already a good surprise that Google worked to bring experimental Firefox support. But it's hard to bet that it will get stable and still be maintained for years. https://github.com/puppeteer/puppeteer/#q-what-is-the-status-of-cross-browse r-support
There is a Perl library https://metacpan.org/pod/Playwright <https://metacpan.org/pod/Playwright> but it's just a wrapper around Playwright anyway and it's so new that I'd be a bit wary of using it.
If the tests are to be rewritten to use Playwright, +1 to do that in JS rather than Perl to avoid depending on an unofficial lib. -- Victor Grousset/tuxayo
participants (2)
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dcook＠prosentient.com.au -
Victor Grousset/tuxayo