To achieve the desired outcome, it is essential to comprehend the underlying processes and mechanisms by which browser actions are executed and logged.
Here is a concise overview:
The communication between a webdriver, selenium server, and a browser occurs via the JSON Wire Protocol
- utilizing JSON over HTTP:
Refer also to: Protractor: How It Works.
In simpler terms, actions like element identification, key input, or clicking are transmitted as HTTP requests that can be monitored and recorded, as demonstrated in this example of Chrome service logs:
[2.389][INFO]: COMMAND FindElement {
"sessionId": "b6707ee92a3261e1dc33a53514490663",
"using": "css selector",
"value": "input"
}
[2.389][INFO]: Waiting for pending navigations...
[2.389][INFO]: Done waiting for pending navigations
[2.398][INFO]: Waiting for pending navigations...
[2.398][INFO]: Done waiting for pending navigations
[2.398][INFO]: RESPONSE FindElement {
"ELEMENT": "0.3367185448296368-1"
}
This process is akin to what services such as BrowserStack carry out, where they interpret raw logs to generate user-friendly action reports:
A feature similar to your request in Protractor is currently in development through a timeline
plugin:
Configure the plugins
section in your protractor configuration:
plugins: [{
path: 'node_modules/protractor/plugins/timeline/index.js',
outdir: 'timelines'
}],
Run your tests
- Access the
timelines/index.html
report to view the execution timeline.
Essentially, this plugin interprets the webdriver's client logs and constructs a chronological sequence highlighting the commands sent during a testing session. This serves as a foundational guide for exploring the plugin's source code.