Writing Cucumber tests that pass extra information - ruby-on-rails

Question

I have a Ruby on Rails program with feature tests in Cucumber.
I just implemented a feature where an admin can create a new password for a client-user. Now, on the "edit client" page, there's an additional button that allows the admin to set the password. Now, I just need to make a cucumber test.
I am trying to base this off of the normal test for client changing password, and the test for admin changing the user's information. What I have is this:
Feature: Analyst changes client's password
As an Analyst
I want to change client's password
So that I can reset the client's account
Background:
Given the following client accounts
| email | password |
| user1#someorg.com | password |
And I am logged in as an admin
#javascript
Scenario: Update a Client user
Given I navigate to the Clients Management Page
When I edit the Client User "user1#someorg.com"
And I click on "button"
Then I should be on the Clients Password Page
#javascript
Scenario: Can change password if confirmation matches
Given I navigate to the Clients Password Page
And I enter "Password1" as the password
And I enter "Password1" as the password confirmation
And I submit the form
Then I should be taken to the Client Landing Page
And The client's password should be "Password1"
In the steps, I have:
Given /^I navigate to the Clients Password Page$/ do
client_management_index_page = ClientsPasswordPage.new Capybara.current_session
client_management_index_page.visit
end
Then /^I should be on the Clients Password Page$/ do
client_password_page = ClientsPasswordPage.new Capybara.current_session
expect(client_password_page).to be_current_page
end
and ClientsPaswordPage:
class ClientsPasswordPage
include PageMixin
include Rails.application.routes.url_helpers
def initialize session
initialize_page session, edit_admin_client_password_path
end
end
except that edit_admin_client_password_path takes an :id, for the user who's being edited. I can't figure out how to get that information into it.
In case it matters, I'm using Devise for the security stuff...

Answer 1

There are a few ways to do this. The simplest is to realize that you're only creating one client during the test so
Client.first # whatever class represents clients
will always be that client. Obviously that doesn't work if you have tests where you create one more than client, so then you can create instance variables in your cucumber steps which get set on the World and can then be accessed from other steps and passed to your page objects
When I edit the Client User "user1#someorg.com"
#current_client = Client.find_by(email: "user1#someorg.com") # obviously would actually be a parameter to the step
...
end
Then /^I should be on the Clients Password Page$/ do
client_password_page = ClientsPasswordPage.new Capybara.current_session, #current_client
expect(client_password_page).to be_current_page
end
of course without the page object overhead this would just become
Then /^I should be on the Clients Password Page$/ do
expect(page).to have_current_path(edit_admin_client_password_path(#current_client))
end

Answer 2

There are a number of things you can do to simplify this scenario. If you have simpler scenarios, with simpler step definitions then it will be easier to solve implementation problems like how you get a client in one step to be available in a second step.
The main way to simplify scenarios is to not have anything at all in the scenario that explains HOW you have implemented the functionality. If you take all the clicking on buttons, filling in fields, and visiting pages out of your scenarios you can focus on the business problem.
So how about
Background
Given there is a client
And I am logged in as an admin
Scenario: Change clients password
When I change the clients password
Then the client should have a new password
Note: This immediately raises the question 'How does the client find out about there new password?', which is what good simple scenarios do, they make you ask valuable questions. Answering this is probably out of scope here.
Now lets have a look at the implementation.
Given 'there is a client' do
#client = create_new_client
end
When 'I change the clients password' do
visit admin_change_password_path(#client)
change_client_password(client: #client)
end
Just this might be sufficient to get you on the right path. In addition something like
Given 'I am logged in as an admin' do
#i = create_admin_user
login_as(user: #i)
end
would help.
What we have done here is
Push the HOW down your stack so that now the code you right to make this work is out of your scenarios and step definitions
Used variable to communicate between steps the line #client = create_new_client creates a global (actually global to Cucumber::World) variable that is available in all step definitions
You can create helper methods by adding modules to Cucumber world and defining methods in them. Note these methods are global so you have to think carefully about names (there are very good reasons why these methods are global). So
module UserStepHelper
def create_new_client
...
end
def create_admin_user
...
end
def change_client_password(client: )
...
end
end
World UserStepHelper
Will create a helper method you can use in any of your step definitions.
You can see an example of this approach here. A project I used for a talk at CukeUp 2013. Perhaps you could use this as your tutorial example.