Need details about ATF challenges and things to watch for

[Ravish Shetty]

hi all,

We are setting up some ATF test cases and we are looking for answers to some challenges we got and also for best practices with using the module

• Any best practices when it comes to ATF other than to create parameterized tests?
• Can we create modular test cases?
• Any gotchas when it comes to implementing ATF?
• Challenge: the Microsoft Edge browser I use crashes when we have long-running test cases. we did not try to in Chrome. Has anybody able to fix this issue?
• Do developers run the ATF cases in a Virtual machine?
• has anybody got an instruction video to do a headless browser setup in Windows or Linux?

Ravish

[Ravish Shetty]

bump

[Geoff Dench · Accepted solution]

• Any best practices when it comes to ATF other than to create parameterized tests?
• Capture EVERYTHING in Update Sets!
• Use "Execution Order" in your  Test Suites as it will make trawling through the suite results easier
• Create suites of Negative tests and Positive tests and keep them separate. Use the convention in the naming of the tests. Number tests using "i" for tests using impersonations also helps.
• Don't use the SN recommended method of Impersonation by creating userids on-the-fly, instead create test personas based upon real people. They  can be used in Production but you will be able to make them Inactive so they won't be visible.
• Leverage the Quick Start tests and suites.
• Execute "incognito" in multiple sessions if desired. You can then fix tests whilst the suites are executing
• Can we create modular test cases?
• Absolutely
• Any gotchas when it comes to implementing ATF?
• Refer to previous responses. Attachments still don't work and issue around the slush bucket/list collector which requires a workaround.
• Beware of using the additional set-up data from the plugins as it can produce undesirable results
• Challenge: the Microsoft Edge browser I use crashes when we have long-running test cases. we did not try to in Chrome. Has anybody able to fix this issue?
• I'm getting this all the time in all browsers. Went away for 2 weeks but has come back with a vengeance this week. Very frustrating when the Regression test pack is executed daily and contains well in excess of 200 test cases.
• Do developers run the ATF cases in a Virtual machine?
• Not currently but it is on our roadmap to set up a Linux vm. 
• has anybody got an instruction video to do a headless browser setup in Windows or Linux?
• As above

[Jochen Geist]

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@Geoff Dench wrote:

• Don't use the SN recommended method of Impersonation by creating userids on-the-fly, instead create test personas based upon real people. They  can be used in Production but you will be able to make them Inactive so they won't be visible.

There are pros and cons to both approaches. Something to be aware of is that parallel test execution is not possible if you "hardcode" users into tests and the user is referred to in more than one test.

[Geoff Dench]

Hi Jochen

Agreed, but I have in excess of 20 test personas in over 200 tests. They do tend to queue but typically for other reasons such as attempting to access or update the same area of functionality being tested.