This really is a cool info graphic from strangeloopnetworks.com …
Read More
If you’re a mac user and frequently use the terminal, then you should probably have a look at iTerm2.
“Its focus is on performance, internationalization, and supporting innovative features that make your life better.”
Amongst its many features, I love the ability to slit a pane horizontally or vertically. (Command-Shift-D or d) It’s great being able to be logged in to multiple backend servers at once.
Another cool feature is the ability to send commands to all panes in a tab (Alt-Command-I), useful when editing multiple files on multiple servers or starting and stopping services etc.
But the coolest hack I reckon is using applescript to start up iTerm windows and sessions within them. I use something like the following to launch my workspace.
launch "iTerm" tell application "iTerm" activate -- my project workspace set myterm to (make new terminal) tell myterm launch session "varnish" set number of columns to 100 set number of rows to 30 tell the last session to write text "cd Code/myproject && git pull origin master" end tell -- ssh in split panes to my varnish stack set myterm to (make new terminal) tell myterm launch session "varnish" set number of columns to 100 set number of rows to 60 tell the last session to write text "ssh vara.cbr" tell the last session to write text "varnishlog" tell i term application "System Events" to keystroke "D" using command down tell the last session to write text "ssh varb.cbr" tell i term application "System Events" to keystroke "D" using command down tell the last session to write text "ssh varc.cbr" end tell -- ssh in split panes to my apache stack set myterm to (make new terminal) tell myterm launch session "appserver" set number of columns to 100 set number of rows to 60 tell the last session to write text "ssh appa.cbr" tell i term application "System Events" to keystroke "D" using command down tell the last session to write text "ssh appb.cbr" tell i term application "System Events" to keystroke "D" using command down tell the last session to write text "ssh appc.cbr" end tell end tell
I did try other session management tools such as tmux, but whilst on OSX, am finding iTerm2 + Applescript perfect for my needs. YMMV.
Read MoreWatirGrid just passed 3,400 downloads. Help it get to 4,000 downloads in June 2011 and Altentee will donate a flock of 10 sheep to a respectable cause.
1.1.3 has been released which includes the following changes:
- Improved command line –help and more simple instructions in the Readme. There’s also a mention at watir.com/frameworks
- Deprecated support for -b flag on provider where you used to specify a browser.
Now just specify -d DRIVER flag to specify which driver you want to provide (watir, firewatir, safariwatir, webdriver or selenium) - Updated basic cucumber examples
- .control and .iterate methods to yield browser objects so you don’t need to mess around with threads. Your test cases can start looking more like normal Watir code rather than a jungle of threads and remote DRb objects.
- Put the code base on a diet with 400+ lines deleted, and cut out a lot of extraneous ‘features’
On that last point, I’ve decided to keep WatirGrid as slim as possible. This means you won’t see development of extraneous features like grid management tasks such as starting/stopping VMs, killing browser processes and the like. For full fledged ‘grid management’ you should of course check out Gridinit or Selenium Grid.
Gridinit is also getting some complimentary changes. Things to look out for in June include:
- BYOG – bring your own grid, will let you use your own EC2 account, radically reducing costs and making Gridinit one of the most cost effective solutions out there.
- Zombies – currently working on a remote WebDriver server implementation using Node.js and Zombie.js for insanely fast headless browsers. This means you’ll get much more bang for your buck from a single core, and overcome many of the JavaScript woes that affect other headless solutions like HtmlUnit. Zombies will also be available for WatirGrid.
The Gridinit beta has been officially released this weekend. ”Gridinit makes it incredibly simple to control hundreds of browsers from a single test case, with easy configuration and control of your own cloud based grid network.”
You can see a quick overview and video here.
Gridinit supports execution of Watir or Selenium test cases using Ruby in parallel on real browsers across a grid network, allowing you to easily distribute your tests.
Spend Less Time Scripting
Watir and Selenium scripts let you interact with the browser, not at the protocol level. You can use the same scripts from acceptance testing right through to performance testing.
Simply Powerful
Gridinit gives you options to control the grid as you prefer:
- A command line interface available as a gem
- A RESTful web service
- A simple web based interace
Our powerful yet simple API lets you incorporate the grid into your existing test frameworks including RSpec, Capybara, Cucumber and others. Have a look at our examples or write your own!
Up Next
Gridinit is the new kid on the block for cloud based distributed testing, with an eye for the Ruby community. We’ll be adding plenty more examples and integrating with more Ruby test frameworks as we listen to and explore user feedback through the beta. We’re also looking at BYO EC2 accounts, packaged installations for your own private networks, support for htmlunit, webrat and much more …
Learn more or sign up for an account now.
Email us at support@gridinit.com or follow us on twitter @gridinit
Read MoreAs the title implies, I get to spend 15 minutes talking about Watirgrid and Gridinit on the Watir podcast.
This family of tools lets you easily distribute watir test cases onto a grid network, the latter being a commercial implementation on EC2 of the former. I’ll be posting more about Gridinit soon as we enter into our beta!
http://watirpodcast.com/44-tim-koopmans-on-watirgrid-and-gridinit/
Read More