Cucumber Optional Non-Capturing Groups

Example: Using Optional Non-Capturing Group

Consider a case when multiple sentences have the same meaning. 

Then She follows the "TOP SELLERS" link
Then He follows the "TOP SELLERS" link
Then User follows the "TOP SELLERS" link
Then I follow the "TOP SELLERS" link

In the above case, there is no need to create four-step definitions. All steps can be handled using a single-step definition. Also, we only want to capture the value of TOP SELLERS.

She, He, User, and I are values we do not want to capture and do not want to store in variable received as a method parameter. In that case, we can use ?: in our capture group. Adding ?: to the beginning of Optional Capture groups creates optional non-Capturing groups. Having ?: will treat the group as optional.

@Then("^(?:She|He|User|I) follow(?:|s) the \"([\\w\\s]+)\" link$")
public void she_follows_the_link(String string) {
}

Here using follows with I is grammatically incorrect, so we can also make s optional by using a non-capturing group. Notice ?: and | symbol just after follow.

You can use an optional non-capturing group to retain the grouping benefits but without the overhead of capturing. So, you do not need to pass an argument described earlier with optional captured groups.

Example: Capture Digit From String

Consider another case where you want to match a sequence of digits followed by one of the prefixes -st-nd-rd-th (e.g., 1st4th). Here you only want to capture 1, 2, 3, or 4 values to store them in variable, not -st, -nd, -rd, or -th value.

Then I select 1st value
Then I select 2nd value
Then I select 3rd value
Then I select 4th value
@Then("^I select ([0-9]+)(?:st|nd|rd|th) value$")
public void i_select_1st_value(int a) {
}
Sun, 08/30/2020 - 04:46
Tarun Goswami is a highly experienced professional, currently serving as Technical Lead at a well-established IT services company. With over 12 years of experience across multiple domains, he demonstrates his expertise and passion for the industry through his engaging and informative blog writing in his spare time.

Video Tutorial: Cucumber Optional Non-Capturing Groups

Comments