Comprehensive Guide to Angular Testing with Protractor Framework: Setup, Features, and Future

Protractor is a robust, end-to-end test framework designed specifically for Angular and AngularJS applications. As with any tool, it is important to understand its features, how to set it up, and how to navigate its life cycle.

The Anatomy of Protractor

Protractor stands atop the WebDriverJS, leveraging its native events and browser-specific drivers to interact with your application just like a user would. This creates a realistic testing environment and gives developers the ability to understand how their applications will be used in a real-world context.

Angular-Specific Features

Being tailored for Angular apps, Protractor supports Angular-specific locator strategies. This means you can test Angular-specific elements without going through any setup hassles.

Eliminating the Need for Manual Waiting

Waiting around for tests to complete and pages to load is a thing of the past with Protractor. When your webpage is done with pending tasks, Protractor efficiently steps up to automatically execute the next step in your test suite. No more wasted time coordinating your test and webpage syncing!

Getting started with Protractor

Setting up Protractor is straightforward using npm for global installation:

npm install -g protractor
protractor --version
webdriver-manager update 

Once installed, you can start up a server with:

webdriver-manager start

Then navigate to http://localhost:4444/wd/hub in your web browser.

Writing Your First Test

Protractor uses a spec file and a configuration file to run.

Here’s a simple test as an example that navigates to the AngularJS website todo list and adds a new todo item:

/* todo-spec.js */
describe('angularjs homepage todo list', function() {
    it('should add a todo', function() {
        browser.get('https://angularjs.org');
        element(by.model('todoList.todoText')).sendKeys('write first protractor test');
        element(by.css('[value="add"]')).click();

        var todoList = element.all(by.repeater('todo in todoList.todos'));
        expect(todoList.count()).toEqual(3);
        expect(todoList.get(2).getText()).toEqual('write first protractor test');

        /* You wrote your first test, cross it off the list */
        todoList.get(2).element(by.css('input')).click();
        var completedAmount = element.all(by.css('.done-true'));
        expect(completedAmount.count()).toEqual(2);
    });
});

Your configuration file (conf.js) looks like this:

/* conf.js */
exports.config = {
    seleniumAddress: 'http://localhost:4444/wd/hub',
    specs: ['todo-spec.js']
};

To run the test, use protractor conf.js in your terminal.

Protractor’s Future

It’s worth noting that Protractor is deprecated and reached its end-of-life in August 2023. Remaining conversant with its lifecycle is fundamental to understanding how it will evolve and what it means for those using it around this transition period.

For more updates, regularly visit your resources and stay informed!

#Protractor #AngularJS #EndToEndTesting #WebDriverJS

[Reference Link](https://www.protractortest.org/)