Welcome to Stere’s documentation!¶

Documentation¶

Getting Started¶

Requirements¶

Python >= 3.6

Installation¶

Stere can be installed with pip using the following command:

pip install stere

Setup¶

Specifying the automation library¶

Using a stere.ini file, the automation library used can be specified. This determines which library specific Fields are loaded.

splinter is used by default, and appium is supported. Any other value will be accepted, which will result in no specific Fields being loaded.

[stere]
library = appium

Stere.browser¶

Stere requires a browser (aka driver) to work with. This can be any class that ultimately drives automation. Pages, Fields, and Areas inherit their functionality from this object.

Here’s an example with Splinter:

from stere import Stere
from splinter import Browser

Stere.browser = Browser()

As long as the base Stere object has the browser set, the browser’s functionality is passed down to everything else.

Stere.url_navigator¶

Optionally, an attribute called url_navigator can be provided a string that maps to the method in the browser that opens a page.

In Splinter’s case, this is the visit method.

from stere import Stere
from splinter import Browser

Stere.browser = Browser()
Stere.url_navigator = 'visit'

This attribute is used by the Page class to make url navigation easier.

Pages¶

class stere.Page¶

Represents a single page in an application. The Page class is the base which all Page Objects should inherit from.

Inheriting from Page is not required for Fields or Areas to work.

All attribute calls that fail are then tried on the browser attribute. This allows classes inheriting from Page to act as a proxy to whichever browser/driver is being used.

Using Splinter’s browser.url method as an example, the following methods are analogous:

>>> MyPage.url == MyPage.browser.url == browser.url

The choice of which syntax to use depends on how you want to write your test suite.

navigate()¶

When the base Stere object has been given the url_navigator attribute, and a Page Object has a page_url attribute, the navigate() method can be called.

This method will call the method defined in url_navigator, with page_url as the first parameter.

Returns:	The instance where navigate() was called from.
Return type:	Page

Example

>>> from splinter import Browser
>>> from stere import Page
>>>
>>>
>>> class Home(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.page_url = 'https://en.wikipedia.org/'
>>>
>>>
>>> Stere.browser = Browser()
>>> Stere.url_navigator = 'visit'
>>>
>>> home_page = Home()
>>> home_page.navigate()

Using Page as a Context Manager¶

Page contains __enter__() and __exit__() methods. This allows any page to be used as a Context Manager.

Example:

from pages import Home

with Home() as p:
    p.login_button.click()

Fields¶

Field¶

class stere.fields.Field¶

Field objects represent individual pieces on a page. Conceptually, they’re modelled after general behaviours, not specific HTML elements.

Parameters:	strategy (str) – The type of strategy to use when locating an element. locator (str) – The locator for the strategy. workflows (list) – Any workflows the Field should be included with.

Example

>>> from stere.fields import Field
>>> my_field = Field('xpath', '//*[@id="js-link-box-pt"]/small/span')

element¶

The result of a search operation on the page. All attribute calls on the Field that fail are then tried on the element.

This allows classes inheriting from Field to act as a proxy to the underlying automation library.

Using Splinter’s visible attribute as an example, the following methods are analogous:

>>> Field.visible == Field.find().visible == Field.element.visible

includes()¶

Will search every element found by the Field for a value property that matches the given value. If an element with a matching value is found, it’s then returned.

Useful for when you have non-unique elements and know a value is in one of the elements, but don’t know which one.

Parameters:	value (str) – A text string inside an element you want to find.
Returns:	element

Example

>>> class PetStore(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.inventory = Link('xpath', '//li[@class="inv"]')
>>>
>>> pet_store = PetStore()
>>> pet_store.inventory_list.includes("Kittens").click()

before()¶

Called automatically before methods with the @use_before decorator are called.

By default it does nothing. Override this method if an action must be taken before the method has been called.

In this example, Dropdown has been subclassed to hover over the element before clicking.

from stere.fields import Dropdown

class CSSDropdown(Dropdown):
    """A Dropdown that's customized to hover over the element before attempting
    a select.
    """
    def before(self):
        self.element.mouse_over()

after()¶

Called automatically before methods with the @use_after decorator are called.

By default it does nothing. Override this method if an action must be taken after the method has been called.

value_contains()¶

Check if the value of the Field contains an expected value.

Parameters:	expected (str) – The expected value of the Field wait_time (int) – The number of seconds to wait
Returns:	True if the value was found, else False
Return type:	bool

Example

>>> class PetStore(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.price = Link('xpath', '//li[@class="price"]')
>>>
>>> pet_store = PetStore()
>>> assert pet_store.price.value_contains("19.19", wait_time=6)

value_equals()¶

Check if the value of the Field equals an expected value.

Parameters:	expected (str) – The expected value of the Field wait_time (int) – The number of seconds to wait
Returns:	True if the value was found, else False
Return type:	bool

Example

>>> class PetStore(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.price = Link('xpath', '//li[@class="price"]')
>>>
>>> pet_store = PetStore()
>>> assert pet_store.price.value_equals("$19.19", wait_time=6)

Root¶

class stere.fields.Root¶

A simple wrapper over Field, it does not implement a performer method. Although Root has no specific behaviour, it can be useful when declaring a root for an Area or RepeatingArea.

Example

>>> from stere.areas import RepeatingArea
>>> from stere.fields import Root
>>>
>>>
>>> collections = RepeatingArea(
>>>     root=Root('xpath', '//table/tr'),
>>>     quantity=Text('css', '.collection_qty'),
>>> )

Text¶

class stere.fields.Text¶

A simple wrapper over Field, it does not implement a performer method. Although Root has no specific behaviour, it can be useful when declaring that a Field should just be static Text.

Example

>>> from stere.fields import Text
>>>
>>>
>>> self.price = Text('id', 'item_price')

Performer method¶

A Field can have a single method be designated as a performer. This causes the method to be called when the Field is inside an Area and that Area’s perform() method is called.

For example, Input’s performer is the fill() method, and Button’s performer is the click() method. Given the following Area:

search = Area(
    query=Input('id', 'xsearch'),
    submit=Button('id', 'xsubmit'),
)

and the following script:

search.perform()

When search.perform() is called, query.fill() is called, followed by submit.click().

See the documentation for Area for more details.

Subclassing Field¶

Field can be subclassed to suit your own requirements.

If the __init__() method is overwritten, make sure to call super() before your own code.

If your class needs specific behaviour when interacting with Areas, it must use the @stere_performer decorator to specify a performer method.

Assigning the performer method¶

When creating a new type of Field, the stere_performer class decorator can be used to assign a performer method.

from stere.fields.field import stere_performer

@stere_performer('philosophize', consumes_arg=False)
class DiogenesButton(Field):
    def philosophize(self):
        print("As a matter of self-preservation, a man needs good friends or ardent enemies, for the former instruct him and the latter take him to task.")

The consumes arg argument should be used to specify if the method should use an argument provided by Area.perform() or not.

Splinter Fields¶

The following Fields are available with the default Splinter implementation. Each implements a specific performer method.

Button: Clickable object.
Checkbox: Object with a set and unset state.
Dropdown: Object with multiple options to choose from.
Input: Object that accepts keyboard input.
Link: Clickable text.

All Fields that use Splinter also inherit the following convenience methods:

SplinterBase.is_present()¶

Checks if an element is present in the DOM.

Takes the same arguments as Splinter’s is_element_present_by_xpath

SplinterBase.is_not_present()¶

Checks if an element is not present in the DOM.

Takes the same arguments as Splinter’s is_element_not_present_by_xpath

SplinterBase.is_visible()¶

Checks if an element is present in the DOM and visible.

Parameters: wait_time (int) – The number of seconds to wait

SplinterBase.is_not_visible()¶

Checks if an element is present in the DOM but not visible.

Parameters: wait_time (int) – The number of seconds to wait

Example:
class Inventory(Page):
    def __init__(self):
        self.price = Link('css', '.priceLink')


assert Inventory().price.is_present(wait_time=6)

class stere.fields.Button¶

Convenience Class on top of Field, it implements click() as its performer.

Button.click()¶

Uses Splinter’s click method.

Example

>>> purchase = Button('id', 'buy_button')
>>> purchase.click()

class stere.fields.Checkbox¶

By default, the Checkbox field works against HTML inputs with type=”checkbox”.

Can be initialized with the default_checked argument. If True, the Field assumes the checkbox’s default state is checked.

It implements opposite() as its performer.

Checkbox.set_to()¶

Set a checkbox to the desired state.

Parameters:	state (bool) – True for check, False for uncheck

Example

>>> confirm = Checkbox('id', 'selectme')
>>> confirm.set_to(True)

Checkbox.toggle()¶

If the checkbox is checked, uncheck it. If the checkbox is unchecked, check it.

>>> confirm = Checkbox('id', 'selectme')
>>> confirm.toggle()

Checkbox.opposite()¶

Switches the checkbox to the opposite of its default state. Uses the default_checked attribute to decide this.

>>> confirm = Checkbox('id', 'selectme')
>>> confirm.opposite()

class stere.fields.Dropdown¶

By default, the Dropdown field works against HTML Dropdowns. However, it’s possible to extend Dropdown to work with whatever implementation of a CSS Dropdown you need.

It implements select() as its performer.

The option argument can be provided to override the default implementation. This argument expects a Field. The Field should be the individual options in the dropdown you wish to target.

self.languages = Dropdown('id', 'langDrop', option=Button('xpath', '/h4/a/strong'))

Dropdown.options()¶

Searches for all the elements that are an option in the dropdown.

Returns:	list

Dropdown.select()¶

Searches for an option by its html content, then clicks the one that matches.

Parameters:	value (str) – The option value to select.
Raises:	`ValueError` – The provided value could not be found in the dropdown.

class stere.fields.Input¶

A simple wrapper over Field, it implements fill() as its performer.

Input.fill()¶

Uses Splinter’s fill method.

Parameters:	value (str) – The text to enter into the input.

Example

>>> first_name = Input('id', 'fillme')
>>> first_name.fill('Joseph')

Fills the element with value.

class stere.fields.Link¶

A simple wrapper over Field, it implements click() as its performer.

Link.click()¶

Uses Splinter’s click method.

Example

>>> login = Link('id', 'loginLink')
>>> login.click()

Clicks the element.

Location Strategies¶

These represent the way a locator can be searched for.

By default, the strategies available with Splinter are:

css
xpath
tag
name
text
id
value

These strategies can be overridden with a custom strategy (ie: You can create a custom css strategy with different behaviour).

Custom Locator Strategies¶

Custom strategies can be defined using the @strategy decorator on top of a Class.

Any class can be decorated with @strategy, as long as the _find_all and _find_all_in_parent methods are implemented.

In the following example, the ‘data-test-id’ strategy is defined. It wraps Splinter’s find_by_xpath method to simplify the locator required on the Page Object.

from stere.strategy import strategy


@strategy('data-test-id')
class FindByDataTestId():
    def _find_all(self):
        """Find from page root."""
        return self.browser.find_by_xpath(f'.//*[@data-test-id="{self.locator}"]')

    def _find_all_in_parent(self):
        """Find from inside parent element."""
        return self.parent_locator.find_by_xpath(f'.//*[@data-test-id="{self.locator}"]')

With this implemented, Fields can now be defined like so:

my_button = Button('data-test-id', 'MyButton')

Support for data-* attributes is also available via the add_data_star_strategy function:

from stere.strategy import add_data_star_strategy

add_data_star_strategy('data-test-id')

This will automatically add the desired data-* attribute to the valid Splinter strategies.

Appium Fields¶

The following Fields are available with the default Appium implementation. Each implements a specific performer method.

Button: Clickable object.
Input: Object that accepts keyboard input.

class stere.fields.Button¶

Convenience Class on top of Field, it implements click() as its performer.

Button.click()¶

Uses Appium’s click method.

Example:

>>> purchase = Button('id', 'buy_button')
>>> purchase.click()

class stere.fields.Input¶

A simple wrapper over Field, it implements send_keys() as its performer.

Input.send_keys()¶

Uses Appium’s fill method.

Parameters:	value (str) – The text to enter into the input.

Example:

>>> first_name = Input('id', 'fillme')
>>> first_name.send_keys('Joseph')

Fills the element with value.

Location Strategies¶

These represent the way a locator will be searched for.

By default, the strategies available are:

accessibility_id
android_uiautomator
ios_class_chain
ios_predicate
ios_uiautomation

These strategies can be overridden with a custom strategy (ie: You can create a custom accessibility_id strategy with different behaviour).

Areas¶

Areas represent groupings of Fields on a Page.

The following Area objects are available:

Area: A non-hierarchical, unique group of Fields.
RepeatingArea: A hierarchical, non-unique group of Areas. They require a Root Field.

class stere.areas.Area¶

A collection of unique fields.

The Area object takes any number of Fields as arguments. Each Field must be unique on the Page and only present in one Area.

Example:

>>> from stere.areas import Area
>>> from stere.fields import Button
>>>
>>> class Album(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.tracks = Area(
>>>             first_track=Button('xpath', '//my_xpath_string'),
>>>             second_track=Button('xpath', '//my_xpath_string'),
>>>             third_track=Button('xpath', '//my_xpath_string'),
>>>         )
>>>
>>> def test_stuff():
>>>     album = Album()
>>>     album.tracks.third_track.click()

perform()¶

For every Field in an Area, “do the right thing” by calling the Field’s perform() method.

Fields that require an argument can either be given sequentially or with keywords.

Parameters:	args – Arguments that will sequentially be sent to Fields in this Area. kwargs – Arguments that will be sent specifically to the Field with a matching name.

Example

Given the following Page Object:

>>> from stere.areas import Area
>>> from stere.fields import Button, Input
>>>
>>> class Login():
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.form = Area(
>>>             username=Input('id', 'app-user'),
>>>             password=Input('id', 'app-pwd'),
>>>             submit=Button('id', 'app-submit')
>>>         )

Any of the following styles are valid:

>>> def test_login():
>>>     login = Login()
>>>     login.my_area.perform('Sven', 'Hoek')

>>> def test_login():
>>>     login = Login()
>>>     login.my_area.perform(username='Sven', password='Hoek')

>>> def test_login():
>>>     login = Login()
>>>     login.my_area.perform('Sven', password='Hoek')

workflow()¶

Sets the current workflow for an Area.

Designed for chaining before a call to perform().

Parameters:	value (str) – The name of the workflow to set.
Returns:	The calling Area
Return type:	Area

Example:

>>> my_area.workflow('Foobar').perform()

class stere.areas.RepeatingArea¶

Represents multiple identical Areas on a page.

A root argument is required, which is expected to be a non-unique Field on the page.

A collection of Areas are built from every instance of the root that is found. Every other Field provided in the arguments is populated inside each Area.

In the following example, there’s a table with 15 rows. Each row has two cells. The sixth row in the table should have an item with the name “Banana” and a price of “$7.00”

>>> from stere.areas import RepeatingArea
>>> from stere.fields import Root, Link, Text
>>>
>>> class Inventory(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.inventory_items = RepeatingArea(
>>>             root=Root('xpath', '//table/tr'),
>>>             name=Link('xpath', './td[1]'),
>>>             price=Text('xpath', './td[2]'),
>>>         )

>>> inventory = Inventory()
>>> assert 15 == len(inventory.areas)
>>> assert "Banana" == inventory.areas[5].name
>>> assert "$7.00" == inventory.areas[5].price

areas¶

Find all instances of the root, then return a list of Areas: one for each root.

Returns:	list-like collection of every Area that was found.
Return type:	Areas

Example

>>> def test_stuff():
>>>     listings = MyPage().my_repeating_area.areas
>>>     listings[0].my_input.fill('Hello world')

area_with()¶

Searches the RepeatingArea for a single Area where the Field’s value matches the expected value and then returns the entire Area object.

Parameters:	field_name (str) – The name of the Field object. field_value (str) – The value of the Field object.
Returns:	The Area object that matches the search.
Return type:	Area

Example

>>> class Inventory(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.items = RepeatingArea(
>>>             root=Root('xpath', '//my_xpath_string'),
>>>             description=Text('xpath', '//my_xpath_string')
>>>         )
>>>
>>> def test_stuff():
>>>     inventory = Inventory()
>>>     found_area = inventory.items.area_with(
>>>         "description", "Bananas")

class stere.areas.Areas¶

Searchable collection of Areas.

Behaves like a list.

containing()¶

Searches for Areas where the Field’s value matches the expected value and then returns an Areas object with all matches.

Parameters:	field_name (str) – The name of the Field object. field_value (str) – The value of the Field object.
Returns:	A new Areas object with matching results
Return type:	Areas

Example

>>> class Inventory(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.items = RepeatingArea(
>>>             root=Root('xpath', '//my_xpath_string'),
>>>             description=Text('xpath', '//my_xpath_string')
>>>         )
>>>
>>> def test_stuff():
>>>     # Ensure 10 items have a price of $9.99
>>>     inventory = Inventory()
>>>     found_areas = inventory.items.areas.containing(
>>>         "price", "$9.99")
>>>     assert 10 == len(found_areas)

contain()¶

Check if a Field in any Area contains a specific value.

Parameters:	field_name (str) – The name of the Field object. field_value (str) – The value of the Field object.
Returns:	True if matching value found, else False
Return type:	bool

Example

>>> class Inventory(Page):
>>>     def __init__(self):
>>>         self.items = RepeatingArea(
>>>             root=Root('xpath', '//div[@id='inventory']'),
>>>             description=Text('xpath', './td[1]')
>>>         )
>>>
>>> def test_stuff():
>>>     inventory = Inventory()
>>>     assert inventory.items.areas.contain(
>>>         "description", "Bananas")

Reusing Areas¶

Sometimes an identical Area may be present on multiple pages. Areas do not need to be created inside a page object, they can be created outside and then called from inside a page.

header = Area(
    ...
)

class Items(Page):
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.header = header

Subclassing Areas¶

If an Area appears on many pages and requires many custom methods, it may be better to subclass the Area instead of embedding the methods in the Page Object:

class Header(Area):
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)

    def my_custom_method(self, *args, **kwargs):
        ...


class Main(Page):
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.header = Header()


class Other(Page):
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        self.header = Header()

Repeating¶

class stere.areas.Repeating¶

Parameters:	root (Field) – A non-unique root to search for. repeater (Repeating) – An object that inherits from Repeating.

Represents abstract non-unique collections that repeat, based on a common root.

This can be used to identify anything that not only appears multiple times, but also contains things which appear multiple times.

Repeating are inherintly confusing and should only be used if something appears multiple times, contains something else that appears multiple times, and is truly non-unique with no other way to target it.

The last object in a chain of Repeating must be a RepeatingArea. This is because ultimately, there must be an end to the number of things that repeat.

Example

A page where multiple “project” containers appear, each with a table of items.

>>> from stere.areas import Repeating, RepeatingArea
>>> from stere.fields import Root, Link, Text
>>>
>>> projects = Repeating(
>>>     root=Root('css', '.projectContainer'),
>>>     repeater=RepeatingArea(
>>>         root=Root('xpath', '//table/tr'),
>>>         description=Link('xpath', './td[1]'),
>>>         cost=Text('xpath', './td[2]'),
>>>    )
>>> )
>>>
>>> assert 2 == len(projects.children)
>>> first_project = projects.children[0]
>>> assert first_project.areas.contains(
>>>     'description', 'Solar Panels')
>>>
>>> second_project = projects.children[1]
>>> assert second_project.areas.contains(
>>>     'description', 'Self-Driving Cars')

new_container()¶

Must return an object to contain results from Repeater.children()

By default a list is returned.

Returns:	list

children()¶

Find all instances of the root, then return a collection containing children built from those roots.

Returns:	list-like collection of every repeater that was found.

Workflows¶

When working with an Area that has multiple possible routes, there may be Fields which you do not want the .perform() method to call under certain circumstances.

Take the following example Page Object:

class AddSomething(Page):
    def __init__(self):
        self.form = Area(
            item_name=Input('id', 'itemName'),
            item_quantity=Input('id', 'itemQty'),
            save=Button('id', 'saveButton'),
            cancel=Button('id', 'cancelButton')
        )

Calling AddSomething().form.perform() would cause the save button and then the cancel button to be acted on.

In these sorts of cases, Workflows can be used to manage which Fields are called.

class AddSomething(Page):
    def __init__(self):
        self.form = Area(
            item_name=Input('id', 'itemName', workflows=["success", "failure"]),
            item_quantity=Input('id', 'itemQty', workflows=["success", "failure"]),
            save=Button('id', 'saveButton', workflows=["success"]),
            cancel=Button('id', 'cancelButton', workflows=["failure"])
        )

Calling AddSomething().form.workflow(“success”).perform() will ensure that only Fields with a matching workflow are called.

Best Practices¶

A highly opinionated guide. Ignore at your own peril.

Favour adding methods to Fields and Areas over Page Objects¶

If a new method is acting on a specific Field, subclass the Field and add the method there instead of adding the method to the Page Object.

Wrong:

class Inventory(Page):
    def __init__(self):
        self.medals = Field('id', 'medals')

    def count_the_medals(self):
        return len(self.medals.find())


def test_you_got_the_medals():
    inventory = Inventory()
    assert 3 == inventory.count_the_medals()

Right:

class Medals(Field):
    def count(self):
        return len(self.find())


class Inventory(Page):
    def __init__(self):
        self.medals = Medals('id', 'medals')


def test_you_got_the_medals():
    inventory = Inventory()
    assert 3 == inventory.medals.count()

Explanation:

Even if a Field or Area initially appears on only one page, subclassing will lead to code that is more easily reused and/or moved.

In this example, inventory.count_the_medals() may look easier to read than inventory.medals.count(). However, creating methods with long names and specific verbiage makes your Page Objects less predictable and more prone to inconsistency.

Favour page composition over inheritance¶

When building Page Objects for something with many reused pieces (such as a settings menu) don’t build an abstract base Page Object. Build each component separately and call them in Page Objects that reflect the application.

Inheritance:

class BaseSettings(Page):
    def __init__(self):
        self.settings_menu = Area(...)


class SpecificSettings(BaseSettings):
    def __init__(self):
        super().__init__()

Composition:

from .another_module import settings_menu

class SpecificSettings(Page):
    def __init__(self):
        self.menu = settings_menu

Explanation:

Doing so maintains the benefits of reusing code, but prevents the creation of Page Objects that don’t reflect actual pages in an application.

Creating abstract Page Objects to inherit from can make it confusing as to what Fields are available on a page.

Single blank line when changing page object¶

Wrong:

def test_the_widgets():
    knicknacks = Knicknacks()
    knicknacks.menu.gadgets.click()
    knicknacks.gadgets.click()
    gadgets = Gadgets()
    gadgets.navigate()

    gadgets.add_widgets.click()
    gadgets.add_sprocket.click()

Right:

def test_the_widgets():
    knicknacks = Knicknacks()
    knicknacks.menu.gadgets.click()
    knicknacks.gadgets.click()

    gadgets = Gadgets()
    gadgets.navigate()
    gadgets.add_widgets.click()
    gadgets.add_sprocket.click()

Explanation:

Changing pages usually indicates a navigation action. Using a consistent line break style visually helps to indicate the steps of a test.

Welcome to Stere’s documentation!¶

Documentation¶

Getting Started¶

Requirements¶

Installation¶

Setup¶

Specifying the automation library¶

Stere.browser¶

Stere.url_navigator¶

Pages¶

Using Page as a Context Manager¶

Fields¶

Field¶

Root¶

Text¶

Performer method¶

Subclassing Field¶

Assigning the performer method¶

Splinter Fields¶

Location Strategies¶

Custom Locator Strategies¶

Appium Fields¶

Location Strategies¶

Areas¶

Reusing Areas¶

Subclassing Areas¶

Repeating¶

Workflows¶

Best Practices¶

Favour adding methods to Fields and Areas over Page Objects¶

Favour page composition over inheritance¶

Single blank line when changing page object¶

Indices and tables¶