February 2019 Summaries

The blog post by Gleb Bahmutov discusses strategies to minimize untestable code within web applications by pushing such code to the edges of applications using App Actions and Effects. The article highlights the limitations of the Cypress.io test runner, particularly its inability to spy on or stub fetch requests, suggesting instead that applications should structure themselves to place fetch calls at the boundary with minimal logic. The post introduces Overmind.js, a state management library that clearly separates state manipulation from external effects, allowing for more effective testing by stubbing or spying on thin wrapper methods that handle external interactions. By setting up tests to directly interact with the application's inner code, rather than solely through the DOM, developers can achieve more robust testing scenarios. The blog provides examples of how to utilize these techniques to effectively test applications by synchronously injecting spies and stubs, ensuring that untestable code is minimized.

Cypress recently celebrated reaching 10,000 stars on GitHub less than two years after launching their open-source repository, showcasing the community's enthusiasm for their automated testing tool. The Cypress team expressed gratitude to their users and contributors and outlined their focus on reaching 20,000 stars by enhancing documentation, improving code completion, refining APIs, and adding features like native events and cross-browser support. They are working on making Cypress more compatible with continuous integration systems and enhancing component testing capabilities. Cypress is also inviting interested individuals to join their engineering and customer success teams, emphasizing a collaborative and fun work environment.

Cypress has introduced the option to log into its Dashboard using Google, expanding access beyond developers who primarily use GitHub. This move is aimed at accommodating a wider range of users, including those outside the coding community, by leveraging Google's extensive reach through Gmail and G Suite. Users who have previously logged in via GitHub can seamlessly switch to Google login if their account emails match. Cypress encourages feedback on additional social login providers and offers the possibility of corporate SSO solutions for teams with specific needs, inviting users to share their preferences in the comments.

The blog post by guest author Michael Herman, a software engineer and founder of TestDriven.io, explores the integration of Cypress, a modern web automation test framework, into a test-driven development (TDD) workflow for building web applications with Flask and React. The post details a practical example where a basic todo application is developed, focusing on client-side functionality that interacts with a Flask back-end via AJAX calls. The workflow encourages simultaneous development and testing, converting user stories into test specifications, using Cypress Test Runner for live testing, and iterating on tests until they pass. The post emphasizes the importance of integration and end-to-end testing by illustrating each step, from setting up the testing environment with fixtures and network stubs to updating the React component to reflect changes in the application state. It concludes with suggestions for converting integration tests to end-to-end tests and highlights Cypress's capability to enhance development efficiency through effective testing strategies.