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Ilyoskhuja
Ilyoskhuja

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The State of End-to-end Testing with Angular - Prepare for Protractor Deprecation

Angular is a popular open-source framework for building web applications, and end-to-end (e2e) testing is a crucial part of ensuring that your application is working as expected. However, with the recent deprecation of Protractor, the e2e testing landscape for Angular has changed significantly. In this article, we'll explore the state of e2e testing with Angular and provide a step-by-step guide to prepare for the deprecation of Protractor.

What is End-to-end Testing?

End-to-end testing is a type of testing that involves testing an application from start to finish, simulating the user's experience. This type of testing helps to catch bugs and issues that may not have been detected through unit or integration testing. With Angular, e2e tests are written using the Protractor framework.

Why is Protractor being Deprecated?

Protractor was developed as an open-source e2e testing framework for Angular applications. However, over time, it has become increasingly complex, and its performance has become a concern for many developers. Additionally, Protractor is built on top of the deprecated WebDriverJS library, which has made it difficult to maintain and update. As a result, the Angular team has decided to deprecate Protractor and replace it with a new e2e testing tool called Playwright.

How to Prepare for Protractor Deprecation?

If you're currently using Protractor for e2e testing in your Angular applications, it's important to start planning for the transition to Playwright. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you prepare:

Review your existing e2e tests: Take a look at your existing e2e tests and make a list of any test cases that you need to migrate to Playwright.

Install Playwright: Playwright can be installed as a node module by running npm install -g playwright.

Write Playwright tests: Playwright tests are written in JavaScript and are similar in structure to Protractor tests. Start by writing simple tests for your most important features and work your way up to more complex tests.

Run your tests: Once you have written your tests, you can run them using the Playwright CLI by running playwright run .js.

Debug and refine: As with any new testing tool, you may encounter bugs or issues. Use the Playwright debugging tools to identify and resolve these issues.

In conclusion, the deprecation of Protractor marks an important turning point in the development of Angular e2e testing. However, by following the steps outlined in this article, you can prepare for this change and ensure that your Angular applications continue to be thoroughly tested and bug-free.

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