What is it?

It is a GWT addon that lets you run GWT JUnit tests automatically within the PhantomJS engine.

When should I use it?

GWT provides support for running automated JUnit tests on an integrated Java HTML/JS engine called HtmlUnit, but also on external browsers which are accessible via Selenium RC or rmi.

In cases where external browsers aren't practical, usually HtmlUnit is used. Sometimes though, HtmlUnit will fail as it doesn't completely support all HTML5 features yet and in general isn't suited for layout tests.

As an alternative to HtmlUnit, PhantomJS can be used, which is a complete and headless WebKit engine. The purpose of this project is to provide a JUnit run style to let developers easily integrate PhantomJS within the test phase of their GWT projects.

How does it work?

Just before running tests, the new run style gets active and launches a local PhantomJS process. PhantomJS is launched with the filename of a temporarily created Javascript file which consists of require('webpage').create().open('%url%', function (){}); where %url% is the usual test URL given by GWT. Once tests are finished and the Maven process exits, the PhantomJS process is killed and the temporary Javascript file is deleted.

How can I use it?

1. Install PhantomJS on your machine and put its folder into PATH.

2. Add Maven dependency to your pom.xml:

    <dependency>
    	<groupId>com.github.neothemachine</groupId>
    	<artifactId>gwt-phantomjs-junit-runstyle</artifactId>
    	<version>1.0.1</version>
    	<scope>test</scope>
    </dependency>
   

3. Adjust the runstyle used by gwt-maven-plugin:

    <build>
    	<plugins>
    		...
    		<plugin>
    			<groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
    			<artifactId>gwt-maven-plugin</artifactId>
    			<version>2.5.1</version>
    			<executions>
    				<execution>
    					<goals>
    						<goal>test</goal>
    					</goals>
    				</execution>
    			</executions>
    			<configuration>
    				<productionMode>true</productionMode>
    				<mode>com.github.neothemachine.gwt.junit.RunStylePhantomJS</mode>
    			</configuration>
    		</plugin>
    	</plugins>
    </build>
   

gwt-maven-plugin < 2.5.1

If you use gwt-maven-plugin < 2.5.1 then the runstyle cannot be defined as above. Instead, use the following work-around:

	<build>
		<plugins>
			...
			<plugin>
				<artifactId>maven-surefire-plugin</artifactId>
				<version>2.13</version>
				<configuration>
					<additionalClasspathElements>
						<additionalClasspathElement>${project.build.sourceDirectory}</additionalClasspathElement>
						<additionalClasspathElement>${project.build.testSourceDirectory}</additionalClasspathElement>
					</additionalClasspathElements>
					<useManifestOnlyJar>false</useManifestOnlyJar>
					<forkMode>always</forkMode>
					<systemProperties>
						<property>
						<name>gwt.args</name>
						<value>-prod -runStyle com.github.neothemachine.gwt.junit.RunStylePhantomJS -out ${project.build.directory}/${project.build.finalName}</value>
						</property>
					</systemProperties>
				</configuration>
			</plugin>
		</plugins>
	</build>

Known issues

• Only production mode testing is supported, as PhantomJS doesn't support plugins.