The Console class can do more than just WriteLine().

Here’s 3 fun/weird/useful/annoying things.

1. Setting The Console Window Size

The Console.SetWindowSize(numberColumns, numberRows) method sets the console window size.

To annoy your users (or create a “nice” console opening animation) as this animated GIF shows you could write something like:

for (int i = 1; i < 40; i++)
{
    Console.SetWindowSize(i,i);
    System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(50);
}

2. Beeping Consoles

The Console.Beep() method emits a beep from the speaker(s).

We can also specify a frequency and duration.

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SpecFlow is a tool that allows the writing of business-readable tests that can then be automated in code. If you’re new to SpecFlow check out my Pluralsight course or the resources page.

The cheat sheet below shows the basics of different step binding styles, the hooks that can be used to execute additional code, and scoped bindings.

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SpecFlow is a tool that allows the writing of business-readable tests that can then be automated in code. If you’re new to SpecFlow check out my Pluralsight course or the resources page to get up to speed before looking at these more advanced topics.

SpecFlow will attempt to perform some conversions of step arguments as specified in the documentation.

We can also tell SpecFlow to use our own custom conversions. Take the feature below:

Feature: SomeFeature

Scenario: Update User Password
    Given The original user was created over 10 days ago
    When I update the users password to "some password"
    Then I should see the following errors
        | ErrorCode         | ErrorDescription          |
        | 442               | Out of date user          |
        | 28                | Changes were not saved    |

From this we generate some basic step definitions:

[Given]
public void Given_The_original_user_was_created_over_DAYS_days_ago(int days)
{
}

[When]
public void When_I_update_the_users_password_to_NEWPASSWORD(string newPassword)
{
}
       
[Then]
public void Then_I_should_see_the_following_errors(Table table)
{            
}

Automatically Parsing 10 Days Ago into a DateTime

In the Given step we get an int specifying how many days ago the user was created. As it’s the Given step we need to put the system into a state where the user creation date, for example held as a DateTime in the user database, is 10 days old. If this is just a single step then we can simply write the code to subtract a number of days from todays date in the step itself. Note: this kind of date based testing where we rely on “now” may prove brittle, imagine the a Given ran just before midnight, but the Then gets executed after midnight, i.e. the next day.

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Gherkin is a Business Readable Domain Specific Language. It allows the documentation of what a system should do in natural language (multiple languages are supported) and allows test automation code to be written for the system’s features.

This cheat sheet outlines the language basics.

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SpecFlow is a tool that allows the writing of business-readable tests that can then be automated in code. If you’re new to SpecFlow check out my Pluralsight course or the resources page to get up to speed before looking at these more advanced topics.

Step definitions and hooks by default have global scope within the test project.

For example, take the following feature:

Feature: SomeFeature

Scenario: Scenario 1
    Given A
    When B
    Then C

Scenario: Scenario 2
    Given A
    When X
    Then Z

Here the “Given A” step shares a step definition, note in the following code there is only one step that matches “Given A”:

[Binding]
public class SomeFeatureSteps
{
    [Given]
    public void Given_A()
    {
        // etc.
    }       

    [When]
    public void When_B()
    {
        // etc.
    }
    
    [When]
    public void When_X()
    {
        // etc.
    }
    
    [Then]
    public void Then_C()
    {
        // etc.
    }
    
    [Then]
    public void Then_Z()
    {
        // etc.
    }
}

If for some reason we want different automation code to run for each of the “Given A” steps, we could simply reword one of the steps, then we would have two different step definitions.

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SpecFlow is a tool that allows the writing of business-readable tests that can then be automated in code. If you’re new to SpecFlow check out my Pluralsight course to get up to speed before looking at these more advanced topics.

In addition to executing test automation code in step definitions, SpecFlow provides a number of additional “hooks” to allow additional code execution at various points during the test execution lifecycle.

For this example, consider the following feature:

Feature: SomeFeature

Scenario: Add New Contact Name
    Given I have entered Sarah
    When I choose add
    Then the contact list should show the new contact

With the following step definitions:

using TechTalk.SpecFlow;

namespace SpecFlowHooks
{
    [Binding]
    public class SomeFeatureSteps
    {
        [Given]
        public void Given_I_have_entered_NEWNAME(string newName)
        {
            // etc.
        }
        
        [When]
        public void When_I_choose_add()
        {
            // etc.   
        }
        
        [Then]
        public void Then_the_contact_list_should_show_the_new_contact()
        {
            // etc.
        }
    }
}

When the scenario is executed we get the following test output:

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SpecFlow is a tool that allows the writing of business-readable tests that can then be automated in code. If you’re new to SpecFlow check out my Pluralsight course to get up to speed before looking at these more advanced topics.

Individual step definitions that represent the natural language scenarios are separate methods that get executed. Often we need to pass data between these steps. The simplest approaches to get started with are to use simple fields in the class containing the steps or to use the Scenario Context. An alternative to these approaches is to use Context Injection.

For example, imagine the following scenario:

Feature: SomeFeature

Scenario: Add New Contact Name
    Given I have entered Sarah
    When I choose add
    Then the contact list should show the new contact

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This article is part of the 50 Apps by Christmas series.

As part of the (Australian) Appreneur challenge, I created 6 apps – the same 3 apps, but for both the Windows Phone Store and the Windows 8.1 Store.

The 3 apps are:

• Lorem Ipsum Pro
• Say Stuff
• Sleepyhead Power Nap

These are each available in the Windows Phone store and Windows Store.

Say Stuff and Sleepyhead Power Nap both use text-to-speech capabilities which I’ve already written about. Both these apps were low in complexity so a simple code-behind model was used rather than any MVVM style.

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These are updated paper prototyping templates for Windows 8.1 Store apps.

The changes from the previous 8.0 versions are mostly to do with the removal of snapped and filled modes in Windows 8.1 Store apps; there are new versions for the new default minimum width of 500px and also for the optional minimum width of 320px.

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Ascenders are the parts of a lowercase letter that reach upwards, the parts that extend above the typeface’s x-height.

You can see ascenders in letters such as: b d f h k.

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