Path

public interface Path

The heart of DollarX is the definition of Paths that represent W3C elements, whether in the browser or in a document. Path describes an element, or elements, using API that emulates regular description in English, and can represent almost any element that can be expressed as the XPATH. Path is immutable - any additional constraint creates a new Path instance and does not change the original one. It is important to remember that defining new Paths is very cheap, since it does not interact with the browser. For example, in selenium, if we want to define a WebElement inside another WebElement, it must involve interaction with the browser (which involves potential race conditions):

WebElement wrapper = driver.findElement(By.cssSelector("div.foo"));
  WebElement field = wrapper.findElement(By.cssSelector(".bar"));

In DollarX it will look like:

final Path wrapper = element.withClass("foo");
  final Path field = element.withClass("bad").inside(wrapper);

Several points to note:

1. Once defined, Path values are final and can be reused without cost, as opposed to functions.
2. Creating arbitrarily complex Path is easy this way. It is far more maintainable than using explicit xpath.
3. Creating Paths has nothing to do with the browser.
4. The API offers many alternative ways to define equivalent Paths. The guideline is: If it means the same in English, it is mapped to an equivalent Path. For example, the following are equivalent:

element.that(hasClass("condition").and(isInside(dialog)));
    element.that(hasClass("condition")).and(isInside(dialog));
    element.inside(dialog).that(hasClass("condition"));
    element.withClass("condition").and(isInside(dialog));
    element.withClass("condition").and(isContainedIn(dialog));
    element.that(hasAncesctor(dialog)).and(hasClass("condition"));

    // if you prefer to break the definition to two steps:
    Path condition = element.withClass("condition");
    condition.inside(dialog);

5. Path::toString returns a string that reads like english and expresses exactly the definition of the path. This is very useful when troubleshooting.
6. To check what is the xpath a Path is mapped to, call path.getXpath().get()
7. Since it can be used as a wrapper of Selenium WebElement, you are not tied to using only DollarX - but can use it interchangeably with straight Selenium WebDriver.

The pattern in DollarX is to define exactly what you want to interact with or assert, as a Path, and then interact with the browser. This maximizes atomicity and performance, and avoid many of the pitfalls involved with interactions with a dynamic SPA. The standard implementation for Path is BasicPath.

Methods

after

Path after(Path path)

The element appears after the given path

Parameters:

• path –
  • the element that appear before

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

afterSibling

Path afterSibling(Path path)

The element is a sibling of the given path, and appears after it

Parameters:

• path –
  • the sibling element that appears before

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

ancestorOf

Path ancestorOf(Path path)

The element contains the given path, i.e. the given path parameter is inside the element

Parameters:

• path –
  • the element that is inside our element

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

and

Path and(ElementProperty... prop)

Alias equivalent to that. Added for readability. Example:

div.that(hasClass("a")).and(hasText("foo"));

Parameters:

• prop – a list of element properties (constraints)

Returns:

a new Path

before

Path before(Path path)

The element appears before the given path

Parameters:

• path –
  • the element that appear after

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

beforeSibling

Path beforeSibling(Path path)

The element is a sibling of the given path, and appears before it

Parameters:

• path –
  • the sibling element that appears after

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

childOf

Path childOf(Path path)

The element is a direct child of the given path

Parameters:

• path –
  • the parent element

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

containing

Path containing(Path path)

The element contains the given path, i.e. the given path parameter is inside the element

Parameters:

• path –
  • the element that is inside our element

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

contains

Path contains(Path path)

The element contains the given path, i.e. the given path parameter is inside the element

Parameters:

• path –
  • the element that is inside our element

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

descendantOf

Path descendantOf(Path path)

The element is contained in the given path element, i.e. the given path parameter is wrapping it

Parameters:

• path –
  • the element that is wrapping our element

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

describedBy

Path describedBy(String description)

A useful method to give a readable description to the path, for example: Suppose that instead of describing it’s DOM positions and attributes, you prefer to describe it as “search result”. Then you’d call: searchResult = myElement.describedBy(“search result”); Now, calling System.out.println(firstOccurrenceOf(searchResult)), will print: “first occurrence of search result” This will replace its toString() result.

Parameters:

• description – a readable description to that expresses the functionality of the path

Returns:

a new Path similar to the old one but that is described by the given description

getAlternateXPath

Optional<String> getAlternateXPath()

Returns:Should not be used unless you are developing for DollarX.

getDescribedBy

Optional<String> getDescribedBy()

Returns:optional readable functional description of the Path

getElementProperties

List<ElementProperty> getElementProperties()

Returns:Should not be typically used, unless you are developing for DollarX

getUnderlyingSource

Optional<WebElement> getUnderlyingSource()

Returns:The WebElement that is used as the underlying reference for the Path. In most cases, this Optional is empty.

getXPath

Optional<String> getXPath()

The Optional xpath is maps to. Note that the prefix that marks it is inside the document (for example; “//” as the prefix of the xpath) can be omitted. This is not a concern - it will be added automatically by DollarX when interacting with the browser.

Returns:an optional containing the xpath this Path is mapped to. The optional is empty only in case it is used as a wrapper of a WebElement (not the typical case).

getXpathExplanation

Optional<String> getXpathExplanation()

immediatelyAfterSibling

Path immediatelyAfterSibling(Path path)

The sibling right before the element matches the given path parameter

Parameters:

• path –
  • the sibling element that appears after

Returns:

a new path with the added constraint

immediatelyBeforeSibling

Path immediatelyBeforeSibling(Path path)

The sibling right after the element matches the given path parameter

Parameters:

• path –
  • the sibling element that appears after

Returns:

a new path with the added constraint

inside

Path inside(Path path)

Element that is inside another element

Parameters:

• path –
  • the containing element

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

insideTopLevel

Path insideTopLevel()

Returns an element that is explicitly inside the document. This is usually not needed - it will be added implicitly when needed.

Returns:a new Path

or

Path or(Path path)

match more than a single path. Example: div.or(span) - matches both div and span

Parameters:

• path – the alternative path to match

Returns:

returns a new path that matches both the original one and the given parameter

parentOf

Path parentOf(Path path)

The element is a parent of the given path

Parameters:

• path –
  • the child element

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

that

Path that(ElementProperty... prop)

returns a path with the provided properties. For example: div.that(hasText(“abc”), hasClass(“foo”));

Parameters:

• prop –
  • one or more properties. See ElementProperties documentation for details

Returns:

a new path with the added constraints

withClass

Path withClass(String cssClass)

The element has the given class name

Parameters:

• cssClass – the class name

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

withClasses

Path withClasses(String... cssClasses)

The element has the given class names

Parameters:

• cssClasses – the class names

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

withGlobalIndex

Path withGlobalIndex(Integer index)

Return the nth occurrence of the element in the entire document. Count starts at 1. The following expressions are equivalent: occurrenceNumber(4).of(myElement)); myElement.withGlobalIndex(4); Return the nth occurrence of the element in the entire document. Count starts at 1. For example: occurrenceNumber(3).of(listItem)

Parameters:

• index – the number of occurrence

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

withText

Path withText(String txt)

Element with text equals (ignoring case) to txt. Equivalent to path.that(hasText(txt))

Parameters:

• txt –
  • the text to equal to, ignoring case

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint

withTextContaining

Path withTextContaining(String txt)

The element has text, containing the given txt parameter. The match is case insensitive.

Parameters:

• txt – the text to match to

Returns:

a new Path with the added constraint