Boost Testing with Playwright

  • Importance of scheduling activities to maintain motivation and energy.
  • Playwright's capabilities for reliable end-to-end testing across multiple browsers and platforms.
  • Utilizing the Playwright VSCode extension for efficient test management and execution.
  • The advantages of using Codegen for auto-generating tests and the Trace Viewer for debugging.
  • Integrating Playwright with GitHub Actions for continuous integration and testing.

Staying motivated and energetic in software development is a challenge many face. A simple yet effective strategy is to schedule activities, including breaks and exercise, into your calendar. This approach ensures you don't lose track of time, especially when engrossed in coding tasks, and helps maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Playwright offers reliable end-to-end testing for modern web applications, supporting any browser and platform with a single API. This ensures tests run in full isolation, preventing any cross-test data leakage, which is vital for maintaining test accuracy. Playwright's fast execution and powerful tooling make it a preferred choice for developers looking to streamline their testing process.

One of the key features of Playwright is its support for multiple programming languages, including C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript. This flexibility allows developers to write tests in their preferred language, facilitating collaboration across teams using different technologies. The VSCode extension for Playwright further enhances this experience by providing an integrated environment to manage and run tests efficiently.

With the Playwright VSCode extension, installing and configuring the necessary testing environment is straightforward. Developers can choose from browsers like Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit, and even configure GitHub Actions for automated testing. This out-of-the-box functionality simplifies the setup process, allowing developers to focus on writing and running tests without delving into complex configurations.

Running tests in Playwright is seamless, with options to execute all tests, specific sets, or individual tests. The parallel execution feature speeds up the testing process, making it incredibly efficient. Developers can easily view test results and debug any issues directly within VSCode, thanks to the live debugging and error messaging capabilities.

Locators in Playwright are designed to find elements on a page with built-in auto-waiting and retry abilities. This feature eliminates the need for manual timeout settings, ensuring that tests wait for elements to be ready before proceeding. Playwright's user-friendly APIs, inspired by the testing library, offer intuitive methods like getByText, getByRole, and getByLabel, making it easier to write precise and reliable tests.

Codegen is a standout feature of Playwright, allowing developers to generate tests by recording their actions. This tool is particularly useful for those new to testing, providing a convenient starting point by automatically writing test scripts based on interactions with a web application. Although it's not perfect, Codegen significantly reduces the time and effort required to create comprehensive test cases.

For those interested in debugging, the Trace Viewer is an invaluable tool. It records every action during a test, providing a detailed timeline that developers can navigate to pinpoint issues. The Trace Viewer displays both image and DOM snapshots, offering insights into each test step and allowing for in-depth analysis of test failures.

Integration with GitHub Actions for continuous integration is another advantage of using Playwright. By ticking the GitHub Actions box during setup, developers can run tests automatically on every push and pull request, ensuring code quality and reliability. The Playwright report and trace features help identify and resolve issues quickly, making it easier to maintain a stable codebase.

Playwright continues to evolve, with a future focused on making testing accessible and enjoyable for everyone. By simplifying the testing process and providing robust tools, Playwright aims to foster a culture where testing is an integral part of software development. This vision aligns with the broader goal of enhancing user experience by ensuring that web applications function smoothly and efficiently.

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Testing is hard, testing takes time to learn and to write, and time is money. As developers we want to test. We know we should but we don't have time. So how can we get more developers to do testing? We can create better tools.

Let me introduce you to Playwright - Reliable end-to-end cross browser testing for modern web apps, by Microsoft and fully open source. Playwright's codegen generates tests for you in JavaScript, TypeScript, Dot Net, Java or Python. Now you really have no excuses. It's time to play your tests wright.

This talk has been presented at TestJS Summit 2022, check out the latest edition of this JavaScript Conference.

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FAQ

Playwright is a tool for reliable end-to-end testing of modern web applications that works across all browsers and platforms. It is suitable for developers and testers who want to automate testing in multiple programming languages such as C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript.

To install Playwright in VSCode, look for the 'Playwright Test for VSCode by Microsoft' extension. Use the command panel and write 'Install Playwright'. Follow the prompts to configure browsers and other settings.

Yes, during the installation of Playwright, you can select which browsers to test on, including Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. You can choose one or all of them, and modify these selections later if needed.

Yes, Playwright supports testing in full isolation where tests run in separate browser contexts, ensuring they do not interfere with each other.

Playwright supports testing in multiple programming languages including C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, and TypeScript, making it a versatile choice for diverse development teams.

Playwright tests run in parallel by default, which speeds up execution. It also has built-in auto-wait features to manage dynamic content without manual timeouts.

Playwright offers powerful tooling including Code Gen, which auto-generates tests from actions, and Trace viewer for detailed debugging. It also integrates with GitHub Actions for CI/CD pipelines and supports live debugging in VSCode.

Yes, Playwright can emulate mobile devices and test mobile-specific functionalities, allowing comprehensive testing across device types.

Locators in Playwright are methods used to find elements on the page with built-in auto-waiting and retry ability. They are strict by default and can be used with various selectors like getByText, getByRole, and more.

Playwright allows you to view test executions and failures through the Trace viewer, which provides detailed snapshots and logs of the test. You can analyze actions, network requests, and other elements to debug issues.

Debbie O'Brien
Debbie O'Brien
20 min
03 Nov, 2022

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Video Summary and Transcription
Testing web applications with Playwright, a reliable end-to-end testing tool. Playwright offers fast execution, powerful tooling, and support for multiple languages. It provides precise selectors, web-first assertions, and code generation for easy testing. Playwright also offers features like live debugging, tracing, and running tests on CI. The future of Playwright aims to make testing easy and fun, with a focus on creating frustration-free web experiences.

1. Introduction to Playwright Testing

Testing web applications with Playwright. Playwright testing is reliable end-to-end testing for modern web apps. It works on any browser and any platform. Tests run in full isolation, with fast execution and powerful tooling. You can run your tests in multiple languages, such as C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, or TypeScript. The VSCode extension for Playwright provides seamless integration and allows you to choose browsers, configure options, and use GitHub Actions for automated testing.

2. Running Tests and Live Debugging with Playwright

Once you've installed Playwright, you'll have access to the GitHub folder with actions, a test folder with example files, and the Playwright config. Running tests is easy with the VS Code extension, which provides live debugging and error messaging. By setting breakpoints, you can analyze and debug your tests to resolve any issues. Playwright also offers parallel test execution and the option to show or hide the browser window during testing.

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