Cucumbers Have Layers: A Love Story
summary
Argues Cucumber can be fast and useful by splitting tests into layers: core/model/ui with a single set of tiny step adapters invoking a step driver per layer. Builds a commissions engine as POROs behind ActiveRecord and Rails views, exercises it with 64 core scenarios <1s, 118 model scenarios <8s, 11 UI scenarios 3s, ~40s total across six runs. Warns against 750 step defs and 90‑minute suites, browser‑only unit tests, and putting business logic in huge steps; promotes features describe domain not interface and step definitions are lava.
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chapters (29)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:20ACCESSIBILITY
- 4:43CUCUMBER 101: CUCUMBER
- 5:08GHERKIN IS: AWESOME
- 5:33GHERKIN IS NOT: CODE
- 6:10CUCUMBER IS NOT: TDD
- 6:34Cucumber Scenario
- 8:32A THINKING TOOL
- 9:16GHERKIN IS FOR
- 9:43DESCRIBING SOFTWARE
- 9:56USER INTENT
- 10:27AUTOMATING TESTS (maybe)
- 11:12CLASSIC BLUNDERS
- 12:38ACCEPTANCE ASTRONAUT
- 13:51CUKING REGRESSION TESTS
- 14:43Too MANY SCENARIOS* (to run on every commit)
- 15:20AUTOMATING EVERY FEATURE
- 15:55ABUSING STEP DEFINITIONS
- 17:38THE QUESTION
- 18:30THE PROJECT
- 20:13TARGETS
- 20:50PAY CURVE
- 26:06ARCHITECTURE
- 30:24THROWING A SWITCH
- 31:40OBSERVATIONS
- 31:50THE STEP DEFINITIONS ARE LAVA
- 33:50SUSTAINABILITY
- 35:03PERFORMANCE
- 36:16TAKEAWAYS
