How should I go about this in asunit 4?

aim.txt

I'm growing an end-to-end test which has more steps to it than my 
usual end-to-end tests.

As a result I'd like to split my test-stages into separate test cases 
(or something similar - could be helper classes of some kind) 
and run them in a specific order.

The test cases follow on from each other - that is, they pick the 
application up in the state it was in at the end of the previous test, 
and then move it forward and verify that everything is working up to that point.

I tried implementing this in asunit3 but I've found that 
beyond the first test case the tests don't really run.

If I switch to asunit 4 can I inject the same instance into each
test case, and can I control the order the test cases run in, 
other than alphabetically?

The code below is what I've set up in asunit3. The child test case
run first (the one added in line 21) does run properly. The one added
afterwards doesn't. Obviously I *could* just not null out the RobotEyes
instance, as it is actually static... but that feels a bit gross.

Thanks!

Stray

EndToEndTestWishes.as

package strategy.xendtoendtests {

	// imports removed for brevity

	public class PyramidGameEndToEndTest extends TestCase {
		private var robotEyes:RobotEyes;                     
		private var config:IGameConfig;                      
		private var endToEndTests:Vector.<Class>;            
		private var runningEndToEndTests:Boolean;            
		private var dummyDispatcher:EventDispatcher = new EventDispatcher();

		public function  PyramidGameEndToEndTest (methodName:String=null) {
			super(methodName)
		}
		
		private function appendTests():void
		{
			// each of these is a test case in itself, but it should report
			// its results back into this test
			endToEndTests = new Vector.<Class>();
			endToEndTests.push( StartingConditions );
			endToEndTests.push( FirstStoneSupplyOffer );
			// and further stages of the end-to-end test,
		}

		override public function run():void{
			config = new FirstGameConfig();

			robotEyes = new RobotEyes(PyramidGame);
			addChild(robotEyes);
			robotEyes.visible = false;
			
			appendTests();

			// need to wait a while
			var timer:Timer = new Timer(1000,1);
			timer.addEventListener(TimerEvent.TIMER, timerHandler);
			timer.start();
		}
		
		private function timerHandler(e:TimerEvent):void{
			robotEyes.visible = true;
			super.run();
		}
		
		override protected function cleanUp():void{
			removeChild(robotEyes);
			robotEyes = null;
		}

		
		public function testEndToEnd():void {
			// this async is only to keep the test alive while
			// all the child testcases run
			var handler:Function = addAsync(application_tests_complete, 20000);
			dummyDispatcher.addEventListener(Event.COMPLETE, handler);
			runNextEndToEndTest();
		}
		
		private function prepareTest(testClass:Class):TestCase {
			var nextTest:TestCase = new testClass() as TestCase;
			nextTest['onTestComplete'] = runNextEndToEndTest;
			nextTest['config'] = config;
			nextTest['robotEyes'] = robotEyes;
			return nextTest;
		}

		private function runNextEndToEndTest():void
		{
		    if(endToEndTests.length > 0)
			{
				var nextTest:TestCase = prepareTest(endToEndTests.shift());
				getResult().run(nextTest);
			}
			else
			{
				dummyDispatcher.dispatchEvent(new Event(Event.COMPLETE));
			}
		}

		private function application_tests_complete(e:Event = null):void
		{
			// just to make the async keep the test alive
		}
		
	}
}             

Send any questions you have to me on Twitter.

I took a look at RobotEyes and it looks cool. I thought you said RobotLegs and I couldn't figure out how you used that library to end-to-end test. :) RE looks a lot easier to UI test in ActionScript than hand coding in AsUnit or FlexUnit. I've done that before and it's brutal. That's why I wrote an interface to Cucumber.

Melomel is a really simple remote interface to the Flash VM so you can still use RobotEyes in your Cucumber step definitions. I have some built-in utility methods for finding components but it looks like RobotEyes has more fine-grain control and is more advanced.

Is the game open source or is it a private project? If it's open, let me know where the repo is and I'll take a look.

The documentation on http://melomel.info should be up to date but if it isn't, feel free to update it via the Melomel GitHub wiki. The web site is just a mirror using Smeagol.

Excellent - thanks Ben! I was just checking out Melomel + Cucumber and I think at the moment it's not fine-grained enough for me on the non-flex side. Also, with RobotEyes is that you can listen for events to use as cues, which I have found to be pretty useful when you're picking up async stuff etc where timings are variable. AS3 doesn't have the busy cursor (afaik).

It's open source - repo is at: https://github.com/Stray/RobotEyes

I've added some more functionality since I last pushed - the nice thing about it being actionscript is that it's very, very simple to extend as your tests require something new. I'll add all my changes to the repo today.

Oddly the broken-down-tests thing is actually working really nicely now in asunit 3 - just using a really primitive approach of having a static instance of the application running in the RobotEyes master class, and using alphabetical naming to keep my tests in order. Crude but it's not getting in my way right now, so I can focus on the detail of what I'm testing.

So - as these tests are part of an open-source 'TDD a strategy game using robotlegs' thing, I'll do it all in this slightly dirty way, and then refactor to Cucumber / Melomel + RobotEyes afterwards because that'll be a really good learning path I think, and will produce something useful in terms of a complete "how" in asunit and then in Cucumber+Melomel as well.

It also potentially highlights where you'd want to switch from in-suite end-to-end testing to external end-to-end testing. If there are pain points then I'm sure I'll hit them :)

I saw the RobotEyes repo. Is your game project's source available? Or is it private?

Oh! Sorry ... duh :)

Yes - game repo is at https://github.com/Stray/robotlegs-demo-StrategyGame

In the interests of full disclosure:

• It's a project for a client. We provide their e-learning platform and content and it's an immersive learning exercise in project management that sits within an "introduction to project management" lesson.
• But the client is pro open-source so when we develop something generic they are happy for us to share it.

So - dig in!

I have (as Stray knows) just ported RobotEyes for use in Flex and written an end to end test case using ASUnit4. Keep an eye here for example link: https://github.com/newtriks/RobotEyes/tree/flex