What purpose does the by.js locator serve in Protractor/WebDriverJS?

Recently, I've come across a new feature in the Protractor documentation - the by.js():

This feature allows you to locate elements by evaluating a JavaScript expression, which can be either a function or a string.

While I understand how this locator works, I am curious about its practical applications. In what scenarios would it be beneficial to use by.js over other standard locators such as by.css?

Answer №1

In situations where traditional CSS and element locators are not sufficient, core JavaScript functions can be used to access elements. This is especially helpful in scenarios such as:

  1. When retrieving an element with core JavaScript functions for use with browser.executeScript, by.js can serve as a replacement.

For example:

If you need to access an element positioned between two others, you can achieve this using the following method:

var ele = element(by.js(function(){
    var ele1 = document.getElementById('#ele1');
    var ele2 = document.getElementById('#ele2');
    var val = ele1.compareDocumentPosition(ele2);
    if(val === 4) return ele1;
    else return ele2;
}));
  1. When obtaining an element based on its CSS properties like color or font, by.js can also be employed alongside the filter method.
  2. In cases where elements cannot be accessed through conventional means such as css or xpath, for instance, pseudo-elements with animations or transitions.

For instance:

If there's an element with :before and :after transitions applied:

.element:before {
    color: rgb(255, 0, 0);
}

To verify the color of the element, by.js can be utilized by passing a JavaScript statement to retrieve the element -

var ele = element(by.js(function(){
    return window.getComputedStyle(document.querySelector('.element'), ':before');
}));
expect(ele.getCssValue('color')).toEqual('rgb(255, 0, 0)');

This approach can be quite useful in certain testing scenarios.

Answer №2

In my opinion, the opportunities for utilizing this feature may be limited, but it could prove beneficial in situations where client data is not easily accessible or unreliable through selenium.

An interesting example mentioned in the documentation involves using offsetWidth:

spans[i].offsetWidth > 100

Here's how it can be used in a practical scenario:

var wideElement = element(by.js(function() {
  var spans = document.querySelectorAll('span');
  for (var i = 0; i < spans.length; ++i) {
    if (spans[i].offsetWidth > 100) {
     return spans[i];
    }
  }
}));
expect(wideElement.getText()).toEqual('Three');

Alternatively, there might be a situation where accessing a third-party API on the window or another service could assist in locating an element.

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