I've been using Zombie.js with my cucumber-js scripts but having a bit of trouble and can't get my issues resolved as of yet. It's extremely late in my game to switch to a different headless browser, but, if I can't solve my issues in zombie, I might need to make the jump.
However, I can't seem to figure out if I can integrate it into my cucumber-js scripts the way I integrated zombie. PhantomJS seems to be a standalone thing, but I need it to run as a required module.
I've scanned the documentation and can't figure out if I can do this.
Is this possible?
Yes. We created an open source package that allows you to do exactly this, it runs Phantom in GhostDriver mode so it runs without selenium.
https://github.com/xolvio/chimp
You also get synchronous javascript for Webdriver (no callbacks, no promises) ;)
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I need to write a node cli script that will run some tests on the forms of a website I'm working on. I want to use puppeteer but I'm a bit confused about the difference between the full version and puppeteer-core. What is the best choice if I want to run the tests from a cli script without opening the browser and only simulating it?
To put it simply, puppeteer-core is for when you already have a browser and don't want to download a whole Chromium which the main puppeteer package does, automatically.
It is better to go with the full puppeteer since this way you will be getting the "batteries included, tested and are guaranteed to work" experience.
Official documentation offers a detailed comparison.
Following my first question, I realized that the reason I couldn't get anything to work was that I was trying to use the require() method in the browser. In learning that this is not how Node works, I was confused. I understand now that Node is only a run-time environment that allows the use of JavaScript within the console. However, I'm still left with the question of how to achieve the functions of Node within the browser. (i.e. creating a button in the browser that creates a file using Node.) I've installed Browserify but I cannot find a good tutorial on how to use it. I'm very new to Computer Science so please forgive me for the redundant questions. Thanks a lot.
Things do change. Apparently it will be possible to use node.js in the browser soon. You might be interested in this: Run Node.js in the browser
Node as you made the point is server-side runtime environment for js and the browser is client-side. Node.js has many useful built-in functionalities and they are not accessible in browser.
I recommend you to take a look how backend and frontend differs and how do they communicate with themselves. Then I think you will understand how to achieve creating a file by clicking a button in the browser.
Sorry I don't know anything about browserify but it would be better to learn node in cli.
I would like to create an electron app that can do some web automation based on user input into a GUI. In my research it seems my two best bets are Phantom and Selenium+Chromedriver.
The thing I'd like to do is have an app that someone else could download and run without any additional setup. It seems with Chromedriver and Phantom that I'd need to have others download and add these things to their PATH. In order to get things functioning.
Is there a way around this? Or is there another approach I should be taking? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!
First off, you should have a look at Nightmare.js which is like PhantomJS in many ways, but uses Electron under the hood (and that's good, because Chromium in Electron is very fresh compared to PhantomJS engine).
If you still want to use PhantomJS in Electron that's quite fine too. You may bundle it with your application or install npm module as a dependency and require that in your script. The main thing is - PhantomJS will be installed together with your app and you know the path to that folder.
I'm used to PhantomJS and Watir, which both provide a REPL out of the box. The REPL lets me execute automation calls on a currently-running browser.
This is a fun way to make automation scripts because I can watch the effect of each step as I build an automation script.
In fact, I can even write a script that defines methods for opening a browser, performing a log-in, and other common tasks, and then call them as I please from within the generic Node or Ruby REPL.
Can I execute NightmareJS calls without closing the browser (Electron)?
Without closing? Yes - don't call .end().
If you're asking if you could disconnect the IPC - meaning the calling program ends but does not end the Nightmare instance - and then pick up the Nightmare instance again somewhere else, the answer is no.
#393 (packaging Nightmare functions with an existing Electron application) and #593 (covering v3 wants, including one Electron instance for many applications) are related, but I'm not convinced attaching IPC from new calling applications is a great idea.
If you provide more information about what your circumstances are and what you're trying to do, I'll edit this answer to try to help.
Having a REPL is a different question - I will add it to my list of things to look into. It's a good idea.
I need to put some tests around a nodejs command line utilities\modules. No browser involved and I'm using a lot of the "fs" module to work the file system, so i'm not sure a browser based test mechanism would work (sandboxing).
any modules that would help here?
Check out Vorpal.js. This lets you create an interactive CLI in node, in which you can then run custom commands to test the various things you want to test.
Disclaimer: I am its author.