Cucumber is used for Behavior-Driven Development (BDD), it is most commonly used in the automation of test scenarios in applications and systems. This article focuses on providing the Cucumber interview questions from the basic to the advanced level, including questions related to writing tests, steps, data tables, tags, and further.
Cucumber BDD Interview Questions
1. What is Cucumber?
Cucumber is a tool to help BDD (Behavior-Driven Development). It uses plain language scripts written in Gherkin to develop test cases, to enhance the possibility of integration of the program between technical and non-technical personnel.
2. What is Gherkin in Cucumber?
Cucumber uses gherkin as a language to write its test cases. It translates to using simple English in the script and is marked by using open keywords such as Given, When, and Then.
3. What is the structure of a Cucumber feature file?
A Cucumber feature file starts with a Feature keyword, followed by a description. It has an active Scenario or Scenario Outline with steps indicated by Given, When, Then, And, or But statements.
4. What are the main annotations used in Cucumber?
Cucumber uses annotations like @Given, @When, @Then to define steps, @Before and @After for hooks, and @DataTable for handling tabular data. Annotations map plain-text steps-to-step definition methods.
5. What do you mean by Scenario Outline?
A Scenario Outline in Cucumber is used for running the same scenario with multiple sets of data. It allows using different values in an Examples table, making tests more reusable and efficient.
6. What is a step definition file in Cucumber?
A step definition file in Cucumber contains methods that link the steps in the feature file to the actual code. It defines the behavior for each step using annotations like @Given, @When, and @Then.
7. How do you run Cucumber tests?
Cucumber tests are normally run using a Test Runner which can be JUnit or TestNG among others. The runner runs feature files and step definitions normally by providing the location of the feature file and the annotations in the test runner class.
8. What is a feature file in Cucumber?
A feature file in Cucumber is a simple text file containing a set of tests described in Gherkin language. With the help of Given, when, then structure it defines the expected behavior of the application, which makes tests easily comprehensible.
9. What is the purpose of the Background keyword in Cucumber?
In Cucumber, the Background keyword is used for steps that are common to run before each scenario in a feature file. It helps reduce repetition by setting up the same conditions for multiple scenarios.
10. What are tags in Cucumber?
Cucumber Tags can be used to mark and group tests. They enable the running of specific scenarios as well as features with reference to the tag names. they are defined with the @ symbol and can be used to filter tests during execution.
Cucumber Interview Questions for Experienced
11. What are the functions of Cucumber?
Cucumber help in several functions:
- Behavior-Driven Testing: Cucumber is a Business-Driven Development (BDD) tool to define and easy to understand test scenarios.
- Automation: SpecFlow enables it to automatically accept tests using Gherkin syntax for feature files.
- Collaboration: Enables developers, testers, and stakeholders to use plain language in the process of achieving collaboration.
- Integration: Interfaced can be easily implemented with testing frameworks like JUnit, TestNG, and Selenium for its execution.
12. What are hooks in Cucumber?
Hooks are functions in Cucumber where code can be written to be executed before and or after a scenario or feature. They are used for operations that precede and follow one or several tests, for example, for creating test data or for closing the connections. Such are @Before and @After.
13. How to test API in Cucumber?
Here are some points for testing API in cucumber:
- Use HTTP Client: In step definitions make API calls using libraries like RestAssured.
- Define API Steps: Given, When, and Then steps must be prepared on how to use and engage the API.
- Validate Responses: In Then steps, verify the response of API (status of response body and headers).
14. How do you comment on the code in Cucumber?
In cucumber, we are using # symbol to comment on our code. The character # on the line starts a comment and everything after the # on the line is not run during the test. This makes it easier to add pre-diagram notes or explanations.
15. How do you run specific scenarios in Cucumber using tags?
To execute particular scenarios in Cucumber via tags, put the necessary tag into the scenarios To run tests with a particular tag, enter it with the /-t or /–tags switches in the command line.
16. What is the use of the @DataTable annotation in step definitions?
In Cucumber, the @DataTable annotation is used to work with tabular data introduced in the feature file. This makes it possible for step definitions to recognize structures such as lists or tables and it enhances data-driven testing.
17. How do you handle multiple data sets in Cucumber?
In the Cucumber, Scenario Outline is used to handle the large data set, and the keyword Examples is used for defining the data set. This enables repeated runs of the particular scenario with different input data by providing multiple rows of data in the Examples table.
18. What is the use of the examples keyword in Scenario Outlines?
In Scenario Outlines, the use of the Examples keyword helps to work with many data for the given scenario. It helps to return the same function but with different arguments.
19. What is the difference between Given, When, Then, and And in Gherkin?
| Keyword |
Purpose |
Usage |
| Given |
Describes the initial context or setup for the scenario. |
Used to set the preconditions for the test (e.g., “Given the user is logged in”). |
| When |
Describes the action or event that triggers the scenario. |
Used to specify the action taken by the user or system (e.g., “When the user clicks the button”). |
| Then |
Describes the expected outcome or result after the action. |
Used to specify the expected behavior or result (e.g., “Then the user sees a welcome message”). |
| And |
Used to combine multiple conditions or actions. |
Used to chain additional conditions or steps in Given, When, or Then (e.g., “And the user enters the password”). |
20. Can you explain the purpose of the DryRun option in the Cucumber runner?
Cucumber provides an option for using DryRun to know whether all steps are linked correctly with step definition or not. There are no stops in the tests, but there’s no code execution either – it is useful for finding out missing or incorrect step definitions.
21. How do you integrate Cucumber with Selenium?
In order to use Cucumber with Selenium, you write step definition methods using Selenium webdriver calls for browser actions. You then relate these methods to the steps in Cucumber feature files as a means of achieving automated browser testing using Cucumber’s behavior stimuli.
22. How do you implement dependency injection in Cucumber?
dependency injection in Cucumber can be done by using PicoContainer, Guice, or Spring libraries. Shared objects or dependencies pass through constructors into step definition classes and are reused with minimum repeat the necessary control of shared states between scenarios is efficient.
23. What is the role of custom hooks, and how do you create them?
Custom hooks in Cucumber allow you to execute specific actions before or after scenarios or steps, such as setting up test data or cleaning resources. Create them using @Before and @After annotations in a hooks class.
Code example:
@Before
public void setup() {
// Code to initialize resources
}
@After
public void teardown() {
// Code to clean up resources
}
24. How do you share data between different step definitions in Cucumber?
In Cucumber, the data can be shared between step definitions by using shared classes, or dependency injection, by using a custom ScenarioContext to store key-value pairs, or by using ThreadLocal if the scenarios are defined to run parallel or by passing the data in the form of a structured data through Cucumber’s DataTable.
25. What is the purpose of the transform method in step definitions?
In Cucumber step definitions the transform method is used to transform the input data from the feature file into a required format or data type. It makes it easy to work with complex data types like predefined objects, string,s, and formatted strings within the step definitions. In Cucumber Gherkin, transformation is a keyword that may be used for dealing with input data so that it would be right for interaction with the higher featured data structures in the context of tests.
26. What is the purpose of the Background keyword in Cucumber?
In cucumber the Background keyword is used to describe the setup or precondition that will apply to all Scenarios for a given Feature file. It also guarantees that all initial procedures are performed before each given situation which makes the tests less repetitive and tidier.
27. What is the difference between JUnit and Cucumber?
| Aspect |
JUnit |
Cucumber |
| Purpose |
A unit testing framework for Java to test individual units of code. |
A behavior-driven development (BDD) tool for testing features using plain English scenarios. |
| Test Style |
Focuses on testing code logic and individual methods. |
Focuses on validating user behaviors and application features. |
| Test Definition |
Tests are defined in Java methods annotated with JUnit annotations. |
Tests are written in Gherkin syntax in feature files, linked to step definitions in code. |
| User Readability |
Test cases are technical and code-centric. |
Test cases are written in plain English, making them accessible to non-technical stakeholders. |
| Integration |
Primarily used for unit testing. |
Used for behavior-driven testing and can integrate with tools like Selenium for automation. |
28. How do you debug Cucumber tests effectively?
To debug Cucumber tests use breakpoints in IDE, turn on logging in the @Before and @After hooks, and look through the Cucumber execution summary to figure out what step is failed. Also, the use of System.out.println to print information during computation is also crucial.
29. What is the purpose of the transform method in step definitions?
Transform functions in the Cucumber step definitions are used to convert data from the feature file into a specific format or object. It simplifies handling complex or custom data types, making them easier to use in step definitions.
30. How do you handle large feature files and ensure test maintainability?
For handling large feature files and test maintainability, divide the feature files by functionality, replace tags, avoid code duplicates, use the background section for setups, and utilize the tags for tests for filtering.