Remote Testing Websites with Grunt and Casper.js

• Name : Keith Bingman
• Twitter : @kbingman
• Github : kbingman

Abstract

Testing javascript applications has become more important than ever as the complexity and requirements of web applications grow. But not all application development environments lend themselves to easy testing. In particular, websites, as opposed to web applications, have been long ignored in the testing world.

Mobify's unique client-side rendering requires a novel approach to properly test and maintain. We rely on the customer's original website for data and completely rebuild the DOM on the client-side. Testing against idealized mock data is impractical and unwieldily. Instead, we have live data, which paints a far more accurate picture of the chaotic nature of the real world.

Recently, we have begun to rigorously test not only our web applications, but also our client sites using a combination of Casper.js and Grunt. These tools provide an easy and effective way of testing; not only javascript, but the HTML elements themselves and even CSS.

Bio

Originally from Seattle and freshly moved to Vancouver via a 15 stint in Southern Germany, I am a photographer turned Ruby on Rails developer turned Front End Javascript Developer. I am currently working at Mobify, building both customer websites and single-page applications for our Product Team.