Welcome to the tutorial on working with background steps in Cucumber. Background steps allow you to eliminate repetitive setup steps in your Cucumber scenarios, making your feature files more concise and easier to maintain. In this tutorial, we will explore how to use background steps effectively in Cucumber.
Example
Let's consider an example where you have a Cucumber feature file with repetitive setup steps:
Feature: Search Products
Background:
Given I am on the homepage
And I am logged in as a registered user
Scenario: Searching for a product
When I enter "Cucumber" in the search box
And I click the search button
Then I should see a list of products
Scenario: Filtering products by category
When I select the "Electronics" category
And I click the filter button
Then I should see a filtered list of products
less
Copy code
Working with Background Steps
Follow these steps to work with background steps in Cucumber:
Step 1: Identify Common Setup Steps
Analyze your scenarios and identify the setup steps that are common across multiple scenarios. These setup steps are good candidates for background steps as they can be reused.
Step 2: Define Background Steps
In your feature file, define the background steps using the "Background" keyword. Specify the common setup steps that you identified in the previous step. These steps will be executed before each scenario in the feature file.
Step 3: Write Scenarios
Write your scenarios without repeating the common setup steps. Only include the specific steps that are unique to each scenario. Cucumber will automatically execute the background steps before each scenario, ensuring the necessary setup is in place.
Common Mistakes
- Not identifying common setup steps and duplicating them in each scenario.
- Including scenario-specific steps in the background, leading to confusion and potential conflicts.
- Overusing background steps and making the feature file harder to understand and maintain.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I have multiple background sections in a feature file?
No, a feature file can only have one background section. The background steps defined in the feature file are applicable to all scenarios within that feature.
2. Can I override or skip the background steps for specific scenarios?
Yes, you can override or skip the background steps for specific scenarios by providing explicit steps in those scenarios. If you specify steps that are already covered in the background, they will take precedence over the background steps.
3. Can I use scenario outlines with background steps?
Yes, you can use scenario outlines with background steps. The background steps will be executed for each example in the scenario outline, providing the necessary setup for each variation of the scenario.
4. Are background steps executed before every step in a scenario?
No, background steps are only executed once at the beginning of each scenario, before any of the scenario-specific steps. They provide the common setup for the scenario.
5. Can I pass data from background steps to scenario steps?
No, background steps cannot directly pass data to scenario steps. If you need to share data between background steps and scenario steps, you can use scenario-level or feature-level variables or context objects.
Summary
Working with background steps in Cucumber allows you to eliminate repetitive setup steps and make your feature files more concise. By identifying common setup steps, defining background steps, and writing focused scenarios, you can improve the readability and maintainability of your Cucumber tests.