Instrumentation Testing: Robot Pattern - devrath/RunTracer GitHub Wiki

What is the use case for using a robot pattern

• Consider a scenario where there is a check-box and we have a logic that sets it checked/not-checked based on logic.
• Now if we change the check-box to a image-view then a lot of things need to be modified.

Solution - Separate what from how

• By separating the what and the how our tests are more maintainable.
• In the above example,
  • What -> whether the checkbox needs to be checked.
  • How -> whether the widget is checked.

Robot Pattern

• This pattern exposes an API that separates the what and the how.
• By separating the actions (robot) from the assertions (tests), the Robot Pattern ensures that tests are easier to read and maintain.

Structure

Robot Class

• This contains methods that interact with UI elements.
• The method corresponds to action on the UI such as clicking a button or entering text.

Test Class

• This contains actual test cases that use the robot class to perform action and verify outcomes.

Advantages of Robot Pattern

• Test cases are more readable.
• The entire logic is encapsulated in a separate place, so if the UI changes then we just need to modify the test case in one place.
• They can be re-used in other places if needed