Top 20 Cucumber Interview Questions & Answers

Introduction to Cucumber Interview Questions

Cucumber is a widely-used open-source testing tool that supports Behavior Driven Development (BDD) methodology. It is particularly useful for collaboration between developers, testers, and business stakeholders to create and execute test cases. This blog post provides a comprehensive overview of the top 20 Cucumber interview questions and answers to help you prepare for your next interview.

Table of Contents
1. What is Cucumber?
2. What are the advantages of Cucumber?
3. What is the language used by Cucumber?
4. What are the two files required to run a Cucumber test?
5. What is a Scenario Outline in Feature File?
6. Explain different parameters of the Feature File in Cucumber
7. What are the advantages of the Cucumber framework?
8. What is the Background keyword in Cucumber?
9. What is the limit for the maximum number of scenarios that can be included in the Feature file?
10. What is the use of the Examples keyword in Cucumber?
11. Give an example of a Feature File using Cucumber framework
12. Give an example of Step Definition
13. What symbol is used for parametrization in Cucumber?
14. Cucumber is supported in which programming languages?
15. What is the dryRun option in Cucumber?
16. What is the monochrome option in Cucumber?
17. How do you pass parameters to a Step Definition method?
18. How can you group and organize scenarios in Cucumber?
19. How do you skip a specific scenario in Cucumber?
20. What is a tagged hook in Cucumber?

1. What is Cucumber?

Cucumber is a tool used to run functional tests based on Behavior Driven Development (BDD) methodology. The test cases are written in plain English text. Cucumber is written in Ruby programming language.

2. What are the advantages of Cucumber?

The various advantages of Cucumber include:

– Collaboration between stakeholders : Cucumber enables collaboration between developers, testers, and business stakeholders by using a common language to describe the desired behavior of the software.
– Simple and understandable : Test cases are written in plain English, making them easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand.
– Support for multiple programming languages : Cucumber supports programming languages like Java, .NET, and Ruby.

3. What is the language used by Cucumber?

Gherkin language is used in Cucumber. It is a human-readable representation of the application behavior in simple English language.

4. What are the two files required to run a Cucumber test?

The two files required to run a Cucumber test are:

– Feature File : It contains a high-level description of acceptance tests. It is the entry point of Cucumber execution and contains either a scenario or multiple scenarios. The tests in the feature file are written in Given-When-Then statements.
– Step Definition File : It contains the implementation of the steps defined in the feature file. Each step of the feature file is mapped to a corresponding method in the step definition file.

5. What is a Scenario Outline in Feature File?

A scenario outline is used when the same test scenario is executed for multiple sets of data. It is always followed by the keyword “Examples” and specifies the set of values for each parameter.

6. Explain different parameters of the Feature File in Cucumber

– Feature : It describes the current test scripts that must be executed.
– Scenario : It describes the steps and expected outcomes for a particular functionality.
– Scenario Outline : It is used to execute the same test scenario for multiple sets of data.
– Given : It specifies some context of the test to be executed.
– When : It specifies some test action that needs to be carried out.
– Then : It specifies the expected result of the test.
– And : It is used for additional conditions, if any.

7. What are the advantages of the Cucumber framework?

The advantages of the Cucumber framework include:

– Collaboration : It facilitates collaboration between different stakeholders in the development process.
– Easy to understand : The use of plain English text makes it easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand the test cases.
– Support for multiple languages : It supports multiple programming languages, allowing for flexibility in implementation.

8. What is the Background keyword in Cucumber?

The background keyword is used to define a test case or series of steps that are common to all the tests in a feature file. It helps eliminate redundancy in scenarios by allowing you to define common steps that need to be executed before each scenario.

9. What is the limit for the maximum number of scenarios that can be included in the Feature file?

A feature file can have a maximum of 10 scenarios, but this number can vary for different projects and different organizations.

10. What is the use of the Examples keyword in Cucumber?

The examples keyword is always used with scenario outlines. It is used to provide the value of the parameters used in the scenario.

11. Give an example of a Feature File using Cucumber framework

Here is an example of a feature file for the scenario: “Login to the web application”

“`
Feature: Login into the web application with username and password
Scenario: Login the web application
Given: Open Chrome browser and enter the URL
When: UserName and Password is provided
Then: Validate if login is successful.
“`

12. Give an example of Step Definition

Here is an example of step definition for the given statement:

“`java
@given(“Open Chrome browser and enter the URL”)
public void OpenChromeBrowser() {
Driver = new ChromeDriver();
}
“`

13. What symbol is used for parametrization in Cucumber?

The pipe (|) symbol is used for parametrization in Cucumber. It allows you to specify one or more parameter values in a feature file.

14. Cucumber is supported in which programming languages?

Cucumber provides support for various programming languages like Java, .NET, Ruby, etc.

15. What is the dryRun option in Cucumber?

The dryRun option is used to verify that every step in the feature file has a corresponding code in the step definition or not. If any function gets missed in the step definition for any step of the feature file, then dryRun will give a message. Its value can be set to either true or false.

16. What is the monochrome option in Cucumber?

The monochrome option makes the console output for Cucumber tests much more readable. Its value can be set to either true or false. If it is set to false, then the console output is not as readable as it should be.

17. How do you pass parameters to a Step Definition method?

You can pass parameters using placeholders in step expressions, like “I have {int} cucumbers,” and retrieve them as arguments in the corresponding step definition method.

18. How can you group and organize scenarios in Cucumber?

You can group and organize scenarios using tags. Tags are specified using the @ symbol in the feature file.

19. How do you skip a specific scenario in Cucumber?

You can skip a specific scenario by tagging it with the @ignore tag.

20. What is a tagged hook in Cucumber?

A tagged hook runs only for scenarios or features with specific tags, allowing you to define hooks for specific scenarios.

Conclusion

These top 20 Cucumber interview questions and answers cover the fundamental concepts of Cucumber, its advantages, and its applications in Behavior Driven Development. They provide a comprehensive overview for both beginners and experienced professionals to prepare for their interviews.

Resources

– InterviewBit : Provides in-depth explanations of Cucumber, its keywords, and its applications.
– Interview Kickstart : Offers guidance on preparing for Cucumber interviews and provides sample questions and answers.
– Magnitia : Provides detailed explanations of Cucumber interview questions and answers, including the different types of hooks and scenario outlines.
– DevLabs Alliance : Offers additional resources and guidance on preparing for Selenium Cucumber automation interviews.

By mastering these concepts and practicing with these resources, you can confidently approach your next Cucumber interview.

FAQs

Q1: What is the primary focus of Cucumber in software development?
A1: Cucumber primarily focuses on Behavior Driven Development (BDD) and facilitates collaboration between developers, testers, and business stakeholders through its plain English language test scripts.

Q2: Can non-technical stakeholders understand the test cases written in Cucumber?
A2: Yes, one of the key advantages of Cucumber is that its test cases are written in plain English, allowing non-technical stakeholders to easily understand them.

Q3: What programming languages are supported by Cucumber?
A3: Cucumber supports multiple programming languages including Java, .NET, and Ruby.

Q4: How can scenarios in a feature file be executed with various sets of data?
A4: Scenarios can be executed with different sets of data using the `Scenario Outline` and `Examples` keyword in a feature file.

Q5: What is a tagged hook in Cucumber?
A5: A tagged hook is a function that runs only for scenarios or features with specific tags, allowing for customized execution of setup or teardown tasks.