16. Robot Framework

This chapter briefly introduces the Robot Framework, how to install it, how to configure it with PyCharm, and other helpful tidbits for running Robot Framework tests.

16.1. Overview

Robot Framework is an open source product developed by Google. It is a keyword-driven framework that automates the testing process. Robot has builtin test libraries, external test libraries, and you can develop your own test libraries in Python or Java. Additionally, Robot’s tests are written in natural language, and are thus easy to develop and read.

16.2. Installation

Prerequisites:

  • Python 2.7
  • python-setuptools
  • python-pip
  • python-wxgtk2.8

Then run:

pip install robotframework

16.3. Configuring with Pycharm

For features like syntax highlighting of Robot files and “jump to source” for Robot test library functions, you need to install a PyCharm plugin. The one for the Robot Framework is called intellibot.

To install the intellibot plugin:

  • Go to Preferences > Plugins > Browse repositories
  • Type “intellibot” in the search box
  • Click Download and install

This will allow you to hover over a function defined in some test library and click to jump to the source. It also enables syntax highlighting of *.robot files.

If there are any other file types you’d like to include in having Robot syntax highlighting, do the following:

  • Go to Preferences > File Types > Robot Feature Files
  • Click the “+” in a box
  • Add *.txt or any other file extension for which you’d like to have Robot syntax highlighting always enabled.

There are many video tutorials for installing and configuring Robot Framework and PyCharm, including this one.

16.4. Libraries

There are three main categories of test libraries: standard, external, and yours. Standard libraries are “builtin”, meaning you don’t need to “include” those files to have access to their functions. These standard libraries are comprised of commands that execute code to handle things like verifications, conversions, and other multi-purpose functions.

Most tutorials, etc. focus on testing web applications. In order to run these tests, you need Selenium2Library. This is one of the many “external” libraries you can use. To install and use, simply run

pip install robotframework-selenium2library

External library files from which you’d like to access code must be included in the test scripts.

In addition to the standard and external libraries, you can create your own test libraries. The Robot Framework website says “it’s a breeze”. As would be expected, test library files you create and wish to use must be included in the test scripts.

All test libraries are written in Java or Python. To learn more about how to develop your own test libraries, check out the framework’s User Guide section on test library APIs.

16.5. Other Helpful Hints

Examples of the following will be added in the near future.

  • Syntax

    • In keywords, use a <TAB> on lines defining commands (the list under the keyword heading
    • When using a variable in a keyword, put two (2) spaces between the keyword and the variable

  • Logic

    • It’s often helpful to have a validation check at the end of a keyword’s set of commands. For example, Once a web page is up, validate that a certain string you are expecting to be there does indeed exist.

16.6. Basic Project Structure

The following is the basic layout of a Robot Framework project:

..
└── project_root
    ├── run_tests.py
    ├── keywords
    │   ├── lib
    └── tests
        ├── test1.robot
        └── test2.robot

where project_root has the main controller for executing tasks. This might be a Python script called “run_tests.py” as in the Intro to Robot and Examples tutorial does. The subfolder keywords holds keyword files of the Robot Framework commands. The subfolder lib holds the python-based (or java-based) keyword extensions. And the subfolder tests holds all the test scripts for the project.

16.7. Running Tests

Much, much more will be added to this section as we learn more, but for now, here is the basic way to run a Robot test:

$ pybot tests/test.robot

This will place all the results from test.robot in the directory from which you ran the script. To change the directory where you wish the result output to reside, add the -d flag:

$ pybot -d $RESULTS_DIR tests/test.robot