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Waiting in TestDriver: Ensuring stability and reducing flakiness

Waiting is a critical feature in TestDriver that ensures tests are stable and reliable, even in dynamic or slow-loading environments.
  • Automatically adjusts to varying load times, reducing the need for hardcoded delays.
  • Ensures that tests wait for dynamic elements to appear, reducing false negatives caused by incomplete rendering.
  • By waiting for the screen and network to stabilize, redraw minimizes the risk of interacting with incomplete or incorrect elements.

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Summary of waiting features

FeatureDescription
redraw(automatic)TestDriver automatically waits for UI changes and network activity to resolve.
wait-for-textWaits for specific text to appear on the screen.
wait-for-imageWaits for a specific image or visual element to appear on the screen.

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Key waiting features in TestDriver

  1. Automatic Waiting with redraw:
  • TestDriver automatically waits for the machine before moving to the next step.
  • This includes waiting for:
    • UI changes to complete.
    • Network activity to stabilize (for example, API calls).
  • Reduces the need for manual waits, making tests faster and less prone to flakiness.
  1. wait-for-text Command:
  • Waits for specific text to appear on the screen.
  • Useful for validating dynamic content or ensuring that a page has fully loaded before proceeding.
  1. wait-for-image Command:
  • Waits for a specific image or visual element to appear on the screen.
  • Ideal for verifying the presence of icons, logos, or other graphical elements.

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Commands for explicit waiting

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1. wait-for-text

The wait-for-text command pauses the test until the specified text appears on the screen. This is particularly useful for dynamic content that takes time to load.

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Syntax

- command: wait-for-text
  text: <text to wait for>
  timeout: <time in milliseconds> # Optional, defaults to 5000ms or 5 seconds

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Example

- command: wait-for-text
  text: Welcome, Test User!
  timeout: 10000
In this example, the test waits up to 10 seconds for the text “Welcome, Test User!” to appear.

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wait-for-image

The wait-for-image command pauses the test until the specified image or visual element appears on the screen.

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Syntax:

- command: wait-for-image
  description: <description of the image>
  timeout: <time in milliseconds> # Optional, defaults to 10000ms or 10 seconds

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Example:

- command: wait-for-image
  description: Company logo in the top-left corner
  timeout: 8000
In this example, the test waits up to 8 seconds for the company logo to appear in the top-left corner.

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Automatic waiting with redraw

TestDriver’s redraw function is a built-in mechanism that automatically waits for the screen to stabilize before proceeding to the next step. This includes:
  1. UI Changes:
  • Waits for animations, transitions, or DOM updates to complete.
  • Ensures that the screen is fully rendered before interacting with elements.
  1. Network Stabilization:
  • Waits for network activity (for example, API calls, AJAX requests) to finish.
  • Ensures that dynamic content is fully loaded before proceeding.
  1. Screen Stabilization:
  • Continuously monitors the screen for changes and only moves forward when the screen is stable.

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Best practices for waiting

  1. Leverage Automatic Waiting:
  • Rely on TestDriver’s redraw function to handle most waiting scenarios automatically.
  1. Use Explicit Waiting for Dynamic Elements:
  1. Avoid Hardcoded Delays:
  • Replace hardcoded sleep or wait commands with dynamic waiting commands to improve test reliability.
  1. Set Appropriate Timeouts:
  • Use reasonable timeouts for explicit waiting commands to balance reliability and test execution time.
  1. Test Incrementally:
  • Add waiting commands step-by-step to ensure each part of the workflow is stable.