How to pass data from the feature file to step definition file using regular expressions?

Question

This project is using NodeJS, Cucumber, Gherkin, Selenium.

I am trying to pass either a stored value or for now, a value in this example it would be a URL from the feature file into the step definitions file through the usage of regular expressions.

An example of a feature i would like to use (< url > is my guess-work which i've seen in other examples, which doesnt seem to work)

Scenario: 0 | A User Logging In
Given I open the page with the <url> 

And then also my step definitions file

Given("/^I open the page with the url? (.*)$/"), function(next){

    driver.get("http://localhost:3000/login");
    pageElement = driver.findElement(By.id("email"));
    pageElement.sendKeys("example@email.co.uk");
    next(); 
};

I believe my step definitions file is correct however i'm not positive.

If you need any more information about my project please let me know i am active throughout the day on stack-overflow and aim to have this working quickly.

Thank you in advance for any support, Jack

Answer 1

I would try changing the regular expression in your JavaScript to a string that expects the variables you're passing into the Given statement:

Given('I open the page with the url {string}'), function(next) {
  //your code
}

You can define variables in the Gherkin Given statements by stating them as they would be presented typically. For example, if you wanted to pass in a string:

Scenario: 0 | A User Logging In
Given I open the page with the url "http://localhost"

Would pass in the variable url to your javascript file and contain the string http://localhost

Same goes for integers:

Scenario: 0 | A User Logging In
Given I open the page with the url "http://localhost" and port 3000

Your javascript function will now receive 2 variables, url and port. Logging them to the console, you will see

http://localhost
3000

So I would re-arrange your code to look like the following:

Gherkin:

Scenario: 0 | A User Logging In
Given I open the page with the url "http://localhost:3000/login"

JavaScript:

Given('I open the page with the url {string}', (url, next) => {
     console.log(url) // log to check the variable is being passed into the function

     driver.get(url);

     pageElement = driver.findElement(By.id("email"));
     pageElement.sendKeys("example@email.co.uk");

     next(); 
});

EDIT: You can find all the documentation on this particular issue here.