Why given when then

It's usual with this approach to see "ands" used to combine multiple expressions within each clause. I've characterized the given as a description of the pre-condition state because that's the way I prefer to think of it. A testing framework, however, interprets the givens as a set of commands to bring the system-under-test into the correct state before executing the when command.

Which is why other naming conventions often call this "setup". Testing frameworks provide various query methods for the then commands - these should be free of side-effects. If you add a colon after a keyword that should not be followed by one, your test s will be ignored. The only exceptions are the feature and scenario descriptions. Gherkin is localised for many spoken languages ; each has their own localised equivalent of these keywords.

The purpose of the Feature keyword is to provide a high-level description of a software feature, and to group related scenarios. The first primary keyword in a Gherkin document must always be Feature , followed by a : and a short text that describes the feature. These description lines are ignored by Cucumber at runtime, but are available for reporting they are included by reporting tools like the official HTML formatter.

The name and the optional description have no special meaning to Cucumber. Their purpose is to provide a place for you to document important aspects of the feature, such as a brief explanation and a list of business rules general acceptance criteria. The free format description for Feature ends when you start a line with the keyword Background , Rule , Example or Scenario Outline or their alias keywords.

You can place tags above Feature to group related features, independent of your file and directory structure. Descriptions can be in the form of Markdown - formatters including the official HTML formatter support this.

The Rule keyword is still pretty new. It has been ported in a lot of Cucumber implementation already. Yet if you encounter issues, check the documentation of your Cucumber implementation to make sure it supports it. The purpose of the Rule keyword is to represent one business rule that should be implemented. It provides additional information for a feature. A Rule is used to group together several scenarios that belong to this business rule.

A Rule should contain one or more scenarios that illustrate the particular rule. This is a concrete example that illustrates a business rule. It consists of a list of steps. You can have as many steps as you like, but we recommend steps per example. Having too many steps will cause the example to lose its expressive power as a specification and documentation. This cookie is used to identify an user by an alphanumeric ID.

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This cookie is used by the online calculators on the website. Without the Calculated Fields cookie the instant quotation may not work. Welcome Username. Remember Me. Forgot Password. Not a Member? Given — When — Then. Agile Alliance Resources. Help Us Keep Definitions Updated. Let us know if we need to revise this Glossary Term. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits.

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You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. I'm a frequent keynote speaker at software delivery conferences. Watch some recorded sessions. Organising a company workshop or a public conference? Ping me at gojko neuri. How to get the most out of Given-When-Then. Feb 25, Permanent link Published in: Specification by Example articles ,. A more polished version of this article is in my book Fifty Quick Ideas To Improve Your Tests Behaviour-driven development is becoming increasingly popular over the last few years, and with it the Given-When-Then format for examples.

Here is a typical example: Scenario: Payroll salary calculations Given the admin page is open When the user types John into the 'employee name' and the user types into the 'salary' and the user clicks 'Add' Then the page reloads And the user types Mike into the 'employee name' and the user types into the 'salary' and the user clicks 'Add' When the user selects 'Payslips' And the user selects employee number 1 Then the user clicks on 'View' When the user selects 'Info' Then the 'salary' shows Then the user clicks 'Edit' and the user types into the 'salary' When the user clicks on 'View' And the 'salary' shows Share: Feb 25, Permanent link.

Learn more Get practical knowledge and speed up your software delivery by participating in hands-on, interactive workshops:. Impact mapping Deliver the right thing. Specification by Example Collaborative specifications and tests.