The definitive method for resolving synchronization problems between Protractor and Angular

Question

The definitive method for resolving synchronization problems between Protractor and Angular

The Issue at Hand:

We recently encountered a common error while attempting to open a specific page in our application during a Protractor end-to-end test:

Error: We timed out waiting for asynchronous Angular tasks to complete after 50 seconds. This could be due to the current page not being recognized as an Angular application.

This error arises when we make a browser.get("/some/page/"); call in one of our test cases:

describe("Test", function () {
    beforeEach(function () {
        browser.get("/some/page/");
    });

    it("should test something", function () {
        // ...
    });
)};

What baffles us is that this error only occurs on this particular page within our Angular web application - Protractor seamlessly syncs with Angular on all other pages. The placement of ng-app is consistent throughout our site - it is defined on the root html tag:

<html class="ng-scope" lang="en-us" ng-app="myApp" ng-strict-di="">

This behavior remains consistent - each time we navigate to this problematic page using browser.get(), the error surfaces. When navigating to any other page, synchronization works flawlessly.

While we can disable sync for this page and treat it as non-angular, this is merely a temporary fix.

The Queries:

What other factors could lead to Protractor failing to synchronize with Angular? What steps should we take to troubleshoot?

Furthermore, what strategies are recommended for debugging sync issues in Protractor?

_{We are currently utilizing the latest versions of Protractor 5.5.1 and Angular 1.5.6.}

javascript angularjs selenium protractor

Answer 1

Answer №1

After being intrigued by that question, I delved into finding a programmatic solution to determine what Protractor is waiting for:

var _injector = angular.element(document).injector();
var _$browser = _injector.get('$browser');
var _$http = _injector.get('$http');
var pendingTimeout = true;

//this method resembles what Protractor uses while waiting to sync
//if the callback is called immediately, it indicates no $timeout or $http calls are pending
_$browser.notifyWhenNoOutstandingRequests(function callback () {
  pendingTimeout = false
});

setTimeout(function () {
  //this helps differentiate between $http and timeouts from the "notifyWhenNoOutstandingRequests" method
  if (_$http.pendingRequests.length) {
    console.log('Outstanding $http requests', _$http.pendingRequests.length)
  } else if (pendingTimeout) {
    console.log('Outstanding timeout')
  } else {
    console.log('All good in Angular, must be something else causing delay')
  }
}, 100)

Feel free to experiment with the timeout and $http call in this Plunker link. My delayed endpoint will wait for 10 seconds before resolving the call. Hopefully, this information proves helpful to you.

Answer 2

After being intrigued by that question, I delved into finding a programmatic solution to determine what Protractor is waiting for:

var _injector = angular.element(document).injector();
var _$browser = _injector.get('$browser');
var _$http = _injector.get('$http');
var pendingTimeout = true;

//this method resembles what Protractor uses while waiting to sync
//if the callback is called immediately, it indicates no $timeout or $http calls are pending
_$browser.notifyWhenNoOutstandingRequests(function callback () {
  pendingTimeout = false
});

setTimeout(function () {
  //this helps differentiate between $http and timeouts from the "notifyWhenNoOutstandingRequests" method
  if (_$http.pendingRequests.length) {
    console.log('Outstanding $http requests', _$http.pendingRequests.length)
  } else if (pendingTimeout) {
    console.log('Outstanding timeout')
  } else {
    console.log('All good in Angular, must be something else causing delay')
  }
}, 100)

Feel free to experiment with the timeout and $http call in this Plunker link. My delayed endpoint will wait for 10 seconds before resolving the call. Hopefully, this information proves helpful to you.

Answer 3

Answer №2

My thoughts align with @maurycy's perspective that the issue stems from $http/$timeout interactions. One common solution is to substitute $timeout with $interval, which is well-documented here: https://github.com/angular/protractor/blob/master/docs/timeouts.md

Suggestions:


merge these reasonable defaults: 
  allScriptsTimeout: 60000, // 1 minute
  jasmineNodeOpts: {
    defaultTimeoutInterval: 300000 
    // 5 minutes. Allows for 5 commands spanning the full synchronization timeout.
  }

If pinpointing the root cause of the $http/$timeout problem is your goal, consider utilizing angular decorators to implement custom logic around these services. This can also be beneficial for mocking angular services that interact with third-party services. https://docs.angularjs.org/guide/decorators

//DISCLOSURE: Unlinted & Untested.
beforeAll(() => {
  browser.addMockModule('culpritMock', () => {
    angular.module('culpritMock', [])
      .config(['$httpProvider',
        $httpProvider => $httpProvider.interceptors.push('httpCounterInterceptor')
      ])
      .factory('httpCounterInterceptor', ['$q', '$window', ($q, $window) => {
        if ($window.httpCounterInterceptor == null) {
          $window.httpCounterInterceptor = {};
        }
        return {
          request: config => {
            $window.httpCounterInterceptor[config.url] = 'started';
            return config;
          },
          response: response => {
            $window.httpCounterInterceptor[response.config.url] = 'completed';
            return response;
          },
          responseError: rejection => {
            $window.httpCounterInterceptor[rejection.config.url] = 'error';
            return $q.reject(rejection);
          }
        };
      }])
      .decorator('$timeout', ['$delegate', $delegate => {
        const originalTimeout = $delegate;
        function modifiedTimeout() {
          console.log(arguments);
         return originalTimeout.apply(null, arguments);
        }
        modifiedTimeout.cancel = function(promise) {
          return $delegate.cancel(promise);
        }
        return modifiedTimeout;
      }]);
  });
});

Answer 4

My thoughts align with @maurycy's perspective that the issue stems from $http/$timeout interactions. One common solution is to substitute $timeout with $interval, which is well-documented here: https://github.com/angular/protractor/blob/master/docs/timeouts.md

Suggestions:


merge these reasonable defaults: 
  allScriptsTimeout: 60000, // 1 minute
  jasmineNodeOpts: {
    defaultTimeoutInterval: 300000 
    // 5 minutes. Allows for 5 commands spanning the full synchronization timeout.
  }

If pinpointing the root cause of the $http/$timeout problem is your goal, consider utilizing angular decorators to implement custom logic around these services. This can also be beneficial for mocking angular services that interact with third-party services. https://docs.angularjs.org/guide/decorators

//DISCLOSURE: Unlinted & Untested.
beforeAll(() => {
  browser.addMockModule('culpritMock', () => {
    angular.module('culpritMock', [])
      .config(['$httpProvider',
        $httpProvider => $httpProvider.interceptors.push('httpCounterInterceptor')
      ])
      .factory('httpCounterInterceptor', ['$q', '$window', ($q, $window) => {
        if ($window.httpCounterInterceptor == null) {
          $window.httpCounterInterceptor = {};
        }
        return {
          request: config => {
            $window.httpCounterInterceptor[config.url] = 'started';
            return config;
          },
          response: response => {
            $window.httpCounterInterceptor[response.config.url] = 'completed';
            return response;
          },
          responseError: rejection => {
            $window.httpCounterInterceptor[rejection.config.url] = 'error';
            return $q.reject(rejection);
          }
        };
      }])
      .decorator('$timeout', ['$delegate', $delegate => {
        const originalTimeout = $delegate;
        function modifiedTimeout() {
          console.log(arguments);
         return originalTimeout.apply(null, arguments);
        }
        modifiedTimeout.cancel = function(promise) {
          return $delegate.cancel(promise);
        }
        return modifiedTimeout;
      }]);
  });
});

The definitive method for resolving synchronization problems between Protractor and Angular

Answer №1

Answer №2

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