alexcuesta

I recently had the problem of calling a step from another step definition in cucumber using groovy (cuke4duke). Example:

Given (~/I look for "(.*)" in "(.*)"/) { what, where ->
      // groovy code

}

to be called from another step:

When (~/I perform more than (.*) searches per minute/) { int number ->
        (1..number).each {
                Given('I look for "John Smith " in "London"')
        }

}

It’s possible to do this using Ruby (the cucumber native language), Java or Scala; but apparently it is not currently possible on groovy.

After posting my question on Cukes Groups I came up with this solution:

HomeSteps.groovy

Given (~/I look for "(.*)" in "(.*)"/) { what, where ->
	lookFor(what, where)
}

ErrorsSteps.groovy

When (~/I perform more than (.*) searches per minute/) { int number ->
	(1..number).each {
		lookFor("John Smith","London")
	}
}

env.groovy

import geb.Browser
import org.openqa.selenium.firefox.FirefoxDriver

this.metaClass.mixin(cuke4duke.GroovyDsl)

class Searcher {
	def lookFor(what, where) {
		go('/')
		$('form')[0].looking_for = what
		$('form')[0].location = where
		$('input', value: "Search")[0].click()
	}
}

World() {
  def world = new Browser("http://localhost:8080/myApp")  // mixing an instance of Browser
  world.metaClass.mixin Searcher
  return world
}

After() {
	clearCookies()
}

Notice that I am not mixing an Object as Richard Paul suggested. In my case, I need to get an specific instance of Browser to be used across steps.

Anyway, I am posting this solution for people who might need something like this. In my case, I found out that my problem is in the way the step definitions are organized. Most of the times this kind of problem is caused by wrong organization of concepts so I recommend you think twice or even three times if you are placing your step in the right place before using a solution like the one I suggested here.

Hope this helps!