How to collect and return aggregated data as an Array from a table in Protractor?

Question

I am trying to aggregate a list of dates from a data table, written in Angular, in a Protractor test. I'm doing the aggregation from a PageObject class that is called in the Protractor test. I know that my code is successfully grabbing the text I want, but when I try to console.log the returned array, I get an empty array. I'm still new to Javascript/Typescript, Angular, and Protractor and this may be a result of my newness to the asynchronous nature of this development environment.

Code is as follows,

The PageObject SpecMapper class with method:

import { browser, element, by } from 'protractor';

export class SpecMapperPage {
    getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues() {
        let stringDatesArray: Array<string> = [];
        // currently this css selector gets rows in both import and export tables
        // TODO: get better identifiers on the import and export tables and columns
        element.all(by.css('md-card-content tbody tr.ng-tns-c3-0')).each(function(row, index){
            // check outerHTML for presence of "unclickable", the rows in the export table
            row.getAttribute('outerHTML').then(function(outerHTML:string) {
                // specifically look for rows without unclickable
                if(outerHTML.indexOf("unclickable") < 0){
                    // grab the columns and get the third column, where the date submitted field is
                    // TODO: get better identifiers on the import and export columns
                    row.all(by.css("td.ng-tns-c3-0")).get(2).getText().then(function(text:string) {
                       stringDatesArray.push(text);
                    });
                }
            });
        });
        return stringDatesArray;
    }
}

I know it's not the prettiest code, but it's temporary place holder while my devs make me better attributes/classes/ids to grab my variables. Key things to note is that I create a string Array to hold the values I consider relevant to be returned when the method is finished.

I used WebStorm and put a breakpoint at the stringDatesArray.push(text) and return stringDatesArray lines. The first line shows that the text variable has a string variable that I'm looking for and is successfully getting pushed. I see the success in debug mode as I can see the stringDatesArray and see the values in it. The second line though, the array return, shows that the local variable stringDatesArray is empty. This is echoed in the following code when I try to console.log the array:

The Protractor run Spec class with my test in it:

import { SpecMapperPage } from "./app.po";
import {browser, ExpectedConditions} from "protractor";

describe('spec mapper app', () => {
    let page: SpecMapperPage;
    let PROJECT_ID: string = '57';
    let PROJECT_NAME: string = 'DO NOT DELETE - AUTOMATED TESTING PROJECT';

    beforeEach(() => {
        page = new SpecMapperPage();
    });

    describe('import/export page', () => {
        it('verify sort order is desc', () => {
            browser.waitForAngularEnabled(false);
            // Step 1: Launch Map Data from Dashboard
            page.navigateTo(PROJECT_ID);
            browser.driver.sleep(5000).then(() => {
                // Verify: Mapping Screen displays
                // Verify on the specmapper page by checking the breadcrumbs
                expect(page.getProjectNameBreadCrumbText()).toContain(PROJECT_NAME);
                expect(page.getProjectMapperBreadCrumbText()).toEqual("MAPPER");

                // Verify: Verify Latest Submitted Date is displayed at the top
                // Verify: Verify the Submitted Date column is in descending order
                console.log(page.getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues());
            });
        });
    });
});

I acknowledge that this code is not actively using the niceties of Protractor, there's a known issue with our app that will not be addressed for a couple of months, so I am accessing the driver directly 99% of the time.

You'll note that I call the method I posted above as the very last line in the browser.driver.sleep().then() clause, page.getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues().

I thought maybe I was running into asynchronous issues with the call being done before the page was loaded, thus I put it in the .then() clause; but learned with debugging that was not the case. This code should work once I have the array returning properly though.

The console.log is printing an empty [] array. That is synonymous with the results I saw when debugging the above method directly in the PageObject SpecMapper class. I wish to do some verification that the strings are returned properly formatted, and then I'm going to do some date order comparisons. I feel like returning an array of data retrieved from a page is not an unusual request, but I can't seem to find a good way to Google what I'm trying to do.

My apologies if I am hitting some very obvious roadblock, I'm still learning the nuances of Typescript/Angular/Protractor. Thank you for your consideration!

My attempted to used collated promises seemed promising, but fell through on execution.

My Updated PageObject SpecMapper Class

import {browser, element, by, protractor} from 'protractor';

export class SpecMapperPage {
    getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues() {
        let promisesArray = [];
        let stringDatesArray: Array<string> = [];
        // This CSS selector grabs the import table and any cells with the label .created-date
        element.all(by.css('.import-component .created-date')).each(function(cell, index) {
            // cell.getText().then(function(text:string) {
            //    console.log(text);
            // });
            promisesArray.push(cell.getText());
        });
        return protractor.promise.all(promisesArray).then(function(results) {
           for(let result of results) {
               stringDatesArray.push(result);
           }
           return stringDatesArray;
        });
    }
}

My Updated Spec test Using The Updated SpecMapper PO Class

import { SpecMapperPage } from "./specMapper.po";
import {browser, ExpectedConditions} from "protractor";

describe('spec mapper app', () => {
    let page: SpecMapperPage;
    let PROJECT_ID: string = '57';
    let PROJECT_NAME: string = 'DO NOT DELETE - AUTOMATED TESTING PROJECT';

    beforeEach(() => {
        page = new SpecMapperPage();
    });

    describe('import/export page', () => {
        it('TC2963: ImportComponentGrid_ShouldDefaultSortBySubmittedDateInDescendingOrder_WhenPageIsLoaded', () => {
            browser.waitForAngularEnabled(false);
            // Step 1: Launch Map Data from Dashboard
            page.navigateTo(PROJECT_ID);
            browser.driver.sleep(5000).then(() => {
                // Verify: Mapping Screen displays
                // Verify on the specmapper page by checking the breadcrumbs
                expect(page.getProjectNameBreadCrumbText()).toContain(PROJECT_NAME);
                expect(page.getProjectMapperBreadCrumbText()).toEqual("MAPPER");

                // Verify: Verify Latest Submitted Date is displayed at the top
                // Verify: Verify the Submitted Date column is in descending order
                page.getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues().then(function(results) {
                    for(let value of results) {
                        console.log("a value is: " + value);
                    }
                });
            });
        });
    });
});

When I breakpoint in the PO class at the return stringDatesArray; line, I have the following variables in my differing scopes. Note that the promisesArray has 3 objects, but the results array going into the protractor.promise.all( block has 0 objects. I'm not sure what my disconnect is. :/

I think I'm running into a scopes problem that I am having issues understanding. You'll note the commented out promise resolution on the getText(), and this was my POC proving that I am getting the string values I'm expecting, so I'm not sure why it's not working in the Promise Array structure presented as a solution below.

Only other related question that I could find has to do with grabbing a particular row of a table, not specifically aggregating the data to be returned for test verification in Protractor. You can find it here if you're interested.

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 12 '17 at 09:14

As you've alluded to your issue is caused by the console.log returning the value of the variable before its actually been populated.

I've taken a snippet from this answer which should allow you to solve it: Is there a way to resolve multiple promises with Protractor?

var x = element(by.id('x')).sendKeys('xxx');
var y = element(by.id('y')).sendKeys('yyy');
var z = element(by.id('z')).sendKeys('zzz');

myFun(x,y,z);
//isEnabled() is contained in the expect() function, so it'll wait for
// myFun() promise to be fulfilled
expect(element(by.id('myButton')).isEnabled()).toBe(true);


// in a common function library
function myFun(Xel,Yel,Zel) {
  return protractor.promise.all([Xel,Yel,Zel]).then(function(results){
     var xText = results[0];
     var yText = results[1];
     var zText = results[2];

  });
}

So in your code it would be something like

getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues() {
    let promisesArray = [];
    let stringDatesArray: Array<string> = [];
    // currently this css selector gets rows in both import and export tables
    // TODO: get better identifiers on the import and export tables and columns
    element.all(by.css('md-card-content tbody tr.ng-tns-c3-0')).each(function(row, index){
        // check outerHTML for presence of "unclickable", the rows in the export table
        row.getAttribute('outerHTML').then(function(outerHTML:string) {
            // specifically look for rows without unclickable
            if(outerHTML.indexOf("unclickable") < 0){
                // grab the columns and get the third column, where the date submitted field is
                // TODO: get better identifiers on the import and export columns
                promisesArray.push(row.all(by.css("td.ng-tns-c3-0")).get(2).getText());
            }
        });
    });
    return protractor.promise.all(promisesArray).then(function(results){
        // In here you'll have access to the results 

    });
}

Theres quite a few different ways you could do it. You could process the data in that method at the end or I think you could return the array within that "then", and access it like so:

page.getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues().then((res) =>{
    //And then here you will have access to the array
})

Thank you so much for the reference and then the custom example to apply the solution to my code. I've updated my question with the work I've attempted. Your explanation makes sense theoretically, but I'm still having issues with stuff not pushing through. See if my update makes sense to you. Thanks! — S.Huston, Oct 12 '17 at 18:48

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 12 '17 at 21:55

I don't do the Typescript but if you're just looking to get an array of locator texts back from your method, something resembling this should work...

getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues() {
    let stringDatesArray: Array<string> = [];

    $$('.import-component .created-date').each((cell, index) => {
        cell.getText().then(text => {
            stringDatesArray.push(text);
        });
    }).then(() => {
        return stringDatesArray;
    });
}

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 16 '17 at 15:39

The answer ended up related to the answer posted on How do I return the response from an asynchronous call?

The final PageObject class function:

import {browser, element, by, protractor} from 'protractor';

export class SpecMapperPage {
    getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues() {
        let stringDatesArray: Array<string> = [];
        let promisesArray = [];
        // return a promise promising that stringDatesArray will have an array of dates
        return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
            // This CSS selector grabs the import table and any cells with the label .created-date
            element.all(by.css('.import-component .created-date')).map((cell) => {
                // Gather all the getText's we want the text from
                promisesArray.push(cell.getText());
            }).then(() => {
                protractor.promise.all(promisesArray).then((results) => {
                    // Resolve the getText's values and shove into array we want to return
                    for(let result of results) {
                        stringDatesArray.push(result);
                    }
                }).then(() => {
                    // Set the filled array as the resolution to the returned promise
                    resolve(stringDatesArray);
                });
            });
        });
    }
}

The final test class:

import { SpecMapperPage } from "./specMapper.po";
import {browser, ExpectedConditions} from "protractor";

describe('spec mapper app', () => {
    let page: SpecMapperPage;
    let PROJECT_ID: string = '57';
    let PROJECT_NAME: string = 'DO NOT DELETE - AUTOMATED TESTING PROJECT';

    beforeEach(() => {
        page = new SpecMapperPage();
    });

    describe('import/export page', () => {
        it('TC2963: ImportComponentGrid_ShouldDefaultSortBySubmittedDateInDescendingOrder_WhenPageIsLoaded', () => {
            browser.waitForAngularEnabled(false);
            // Step 1: Launch Map Data from Dashboard
            page.navigateTo(PROJECT_ID);
            browser.driver.sleep(5000).then(() => {
                // Verify: Mapping Screen displays
                // Verify on the specmapper page by checking the breadcrumbs
                expect(page.getProjectNameBreadCrumbText()).toContain(PROJECT_NAME);
                expect(page.getProjectMapperBreadCrumbText()).toEqual("MAPPER");

                // Verify: Verify Latest Submitted Date is displayed at the top
                // Verify: Verify the Submitted Date column is in descending order
                page.getImportDateSubmittedColumnValues().then((results) => {
                    console.log(results);
                });
            });
        });
    });
});

The biggest thing was waiting for the different calls to get done running and then waiting for the stringDataArray to be filled. That required the promise(resolve,reject) structure I found in the SO post noted above. I ended up using the lambda (()=>{}) function calls instead of declared (function(){}) for a cleaner look, the method works the same either way. None of the other proposed solutions successfully propagated the array of strings back to my test. I'm working in Typescript, with Protractor.

How to collect and return aggregated data as an Array from a table in Protractor?

3 Answers3