Do not use IF statements in test methods

Let’s start with this test method:

@Test
public void filteringResultsShowsLessResultsTest() {	

   //open site
   driver.get(HOME_PAGE_URL);
   
   //check that home page is displayed
   Assert.assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().equalsIgnoreCase(HOME_PAGE_URL));

   //search for keyword
   driver.findElement(searchBoxBy).sendKeys(KEYWORD);
   driver.findElement(searchButtonBy).click();

   //check that results page is displayed
   Assert.assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains(RESULTS_PAGE_URL));

   //get initial results count
   int initialCountValue = driver.findElement(pageInfoBy).getText();
   int initialCount = Integer.parseInt(initialCountValue);

   //check that initial results count is positive
   Assert.assertTrue(initialCount > 0);

   /*
     select filter;
     if ebook filter is displayed
        click ebook filter
     else 
        click book filter
   */
   if (driver.findElement(eBookFilterBy).isDisplayed())
      driver.findElement(eBookFilterBy).click();
   else
      driver.findElement(bookFilterBy).click();

   //get filtered results count
   int filteredCountValue = driver.findElement(pageInfoBy).getText();
   int filteredCount = Integer.parseInt(filteredCountValue);

   //check that filtered results count is less than initial results count
   Assert.assertTrue(filteredCount < initialCount);
}

This is a simple test that

• opens the site

• searches for a keyword

• checks that the results page is displayed after the search

• checks that the number of results is positive

• selects a filter

• checks that the filtered number of results is less that before

What is the issue with it?

The issue is the if statement.

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A test method should not include an if statement.

Let’s see why.

First, let’s consider the reason for using the if statement. Some searches return results that are ebooks, other do not. The if statement deals with this situation so that we can use both keywords that search for ebooks but also keywords that search only for books.

Assume that the test fails because the number of results is not reduced after selecting the filter. Does this mean that the filtering for books does not work? Or the filtering for ebooks? There is no way of telling this.

There are 2 user flows involved in this test method:

• one for the if clause where the filtering is done by clicking the ebooks filter

• the second for the else clause where the filtering is done by clicking the books filter

This means that the test method does not automate one test case but two since it includes 2 completely different user flows.

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So, we should remove the if statement.

How do we do this?

We split the test method in 2:

• one that uses a keyword that returns ebooks

• another that uses a keyword that returns only books

This is the first test method.

@Test
public void filteringByEbookShowsLessResultsTest() {	

   //open site
   driver.get(HOME_PAGE_URL);
   
   //check that home page is displayed
   Assert.assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().equalsIgnoreCase(HOME_PAGE_URL));

   //search for keyword
   driver.findElement(searchBoxBy).sendKeys(EBOOKS_KEYWORD);
   driver.findElement(searchButtonBy).click();

   //check that results page is displayed
   Assert.assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains(RESULTS_PAGE_URL));

   //get initial results count
   int initialCountValue = driver.findElement(pageInfoBy).getText();
   int initialCount = Integer.parseInt(initialCountValue);

   //check that initial results count is positive
   Assert.assertTrue(initialCount > 0);

   //select ebook filter
   driver.findElement(eBookFilterBy).click();
   
   //get filtered results count
   int filteredCountValue = driver.findElement(pageInfoBy).getText();
   int filteredCount = Integer.parseInt(filteredCountValue);

   //check that filtered results count is less than initial results count
   Assert.assertTrue(filteredCount < initialCount);
}

And the second one:

@Test
public void filteringByBooksShowsLessResultsTest() {	

   //open site
   driver.get(HOME_PAGE_URL);
   
   //check that home page is displayed
   Assert.assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().equalsIgnoreCase(HOME_PAGE_URL));

   //search for keyword
   driver.findElement(searchBoxBy).sendKeys(BOOKS_ONLY_KEYWORD);
   driver.findElement(searchButtonBy).click();

   //check that results page is displayed
   Assert.assertTrue(driver.getCurrentUrl().contains(RESULTS_PAGE_URL));

   //get initial results count
   int initialCountValue = driver.findElement(pageInfoBy).getText();
   int initialCount = Integer.parseInt(initialCountValue);

   //check that initial results count is positive
   Assert.assertTrue(initialCount > 0);

   // select filter
   driver.findElement(bookFilterBy).click();

   //get filtered results count
   int filteredCountValue = driver.findElement(pageInfoBy).getText();
   int filteredCount = Integer.parseInt(filteredCountValue);

   //check that filtered results count is less than initial results count
   Assert.assertTrue(filteredCount < initialCount);
}

In this case, if a test fails, we know exactly where to look into the problem, without looking at the code first.

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Please avoid if statements in your test methods.

Also, please avoid implementing more than 1 test case in your automated tests.