Check-Driving HTML Templates

Let’s examine the best way to do it in phases: we begin with the next take a look at that
tries to compile the template. In Go we use the usual html/template package deal.

Go

  func Test_wellFormedHtml(t *testing.T) {
    templ := template.Should(template.ParseFiles("index.tmpl"))
    _ = templ
  }

In Java, we use jmustache
as a result of it is quite simple to make use of; Freemarker or
Velocity are different frequent selections.

Java

  @Check
  void indexIsSoundHtml() {
      var template = Mustache.compiler().compile(
              new InputStreamReader(
                      getClass().getResourceAsStream("/index.tmpl")));
  }

If we run this take a look at, it’ll fail, as a result of the index.tmpl file does
not exist. So we create it, with the above damaged HTML. Now the take a look at ought to go.

Then we create a mannequin for the template to make use of. The appliance manages a todo-list, and
we will create a minimal mannequin for demonstration functions.

Go

  func Test_wellFormedHtml(t *testing.T) {
    templ := template.Should(template.ParseFiles("index.tmpl"))
    mannequin := todo.NewList()
    _ = templ
    _ = mannequin
  }

Java

  @Check
  void indexIsSoundHtml() {
      var template = Mustache.compiler().compile(
              new InputStreamReader(
                      getClass().getResourceAsStream("/index.tmpl")));
      var mannequin = new TodoList();
  }

Now we render the template, saving the ends in a bytes buffer (Go) or as a String (Java).

Go

  func Test_wellFormedHtml(t *testing.T) {
    templ := template.Should(template.ParseFiles("index.tmpl"))
    mannequin := todo.NewList()
    var buf bytes.Buffer
    err := templ.Execute(&buf, mannequin)
    if err != nil {
      panic(err)
    }
  }

Java

  @Check
  void indexIsSoundHtml() {
      var template = Mustache.compiler().compile(
              new InputStreamReader(
                      getClass().getResourceAsStream("/index.tmpl")));
      var mannequin = new TodoList();
  
      var html = template.execute(mannequin);
  }

At this level, we need to parse the HTML and we anticipate to see an
error, as a result of in our damaged HTML there’s a div factor that
is closed by a p factor. There’s an HTML parser within the Go
normal library, however it’s too lenient: if we run it on our damaged HTML, we do not get an
error. Fortunately, the Go normal library additionally has an XML parser that may be
configured to parse HTML (due to this Stack Overflow reply)

Go

  func Test_wellFormedHtml(t *testing.T) {
    templ := template.Should(template.ParseFiles("index.tmpl"))
    mannequin := todo.NewList()
    
    // render the template right into a buffer
    var buf bytes.Buffer
    err := templ.Execute(&buf, mannequin)
    if err != nil {
      panic(err)
    }
  
    // examine that the template might be parsed as (lenient) XML
    decoder := xml.NewDecoder(bytes.NewReader(buf.Bytes()))
    decoder.Strict = false
    decoder.AutoClose = xml.HTMLAutoClose
    decoder.Entity = xml.HTMLEntity
    for {
      _, err := decoder.Token()
      swap err {
      case io.EOF:
        return // We're performed, it is legitimate!
      case nil:
        // do nothing
      default:
        t.Fatalf("Error parsing html: %s", err)
      }
    }
  }

supply

This code configures the HTML parser to have the correct stage of leniency
for HTML, after which parses the HTML token by token. Certainly, we see the error
message we wished:

--- FAIL: Test_wellFormedHtml (0.00s)
    index_template_test.go:61: Error parsing html: XML syntax error on line 4: surprising finish factor 

In Java, a flexible library to make use of is jsoup:

Java

  @Check
  void indexIsSoundHtml() {
      var template = Mustache.compiler().compile(
              new InputStreamReader(
                      getClass().getResourceAsStream("/index.tmpl")));
      var mannequin = new TodoList();
  
      var html = template.execute(mannequin);
  
      var parser = Parser.htmlParser().setTrackErrors(10);
      Jsoup.parse(html, "", parser);
      assertThat(parser.getErrors()).isEmpty();
  }

supply

And we see it fail:

java.lang.AssertionError: 
Anticipating empty however was:<[<1:13>: Unexpected EndTag token [] when in state [InBody],

Success! Now if we copy over the contents of the TodoMVC
template to our index.tmpl file, the take a look at passes.

The take a look at, nevertheless, is simply too verbose: we extract two helper capabilities, in
order to make the intention of the take a look at clearer, and we get

Go

  func Test_wellFormedHtml(t *testing.T) {
    mannequin := todo.NewList()
  
    buf := renderTemplate("index.tmpl", mannequin)
  
    assertWellFormedHtml(t, buf)
  }

supply

Java

  @Check
  void indexIsSoundHtml() {
      var mannequin = new TodoList();
  
      var html = renderTemplate("/index.tmpl", mannequin);
  
      assertSoundHtml(html);
  }

supply

Stage 2: testing HTML construction

What else ought to we take a look at?

We all know that the seems to be of a web page can solely be examined, finally, by a
human how it’s rendered in a browser. Nonetheless, there may be usually
logic in templates, and we would like to have the ability to take a look at that logic.

One is perhaps tempted to check the rendered HTML with string equality,
however this method fails in apply, as a result of templates comprise a number of
particulars that make string equality assertions impractical. The assertions
grow to be very verbose, and when studying the assertion, it turns into tough
to grasp what it’s that we’re attempting to show.

What we’d like
is a way to say that some components of the rendered HTML
correspond to what we anticipate, and to ignore all the small print we do not
care about. A method to do that is by operating queries with the CSS selector language:
it’s a highly effective language that enables us to pick out the
components that we care about from the entire HTML doc. As soon as we now have
chosen these components, we (1) depend that the variety of factor returned
is what we anticipate, and (2) that they comprise the textual content or different content material
that we anticipate.

The UI that we’re speculated to generate seems to be like this:

There are a number of particulars which can be rendered dynamically:

1. The variety of gadgets and their textual content content material change, clearly
2. The model of the todo-item adjustments when it is accomplished (e.g., the
   second)
3. The “2 gadgets left” textual content will change with the variety of non-completed
   gadgets
4. One of many three buttons “All”, “Energetic”, “Accomplished” shall be
   highlighted, relying on the present url; for example if we determine that the
   url that reveals solely the “Energetic” gadgets is /energetic, then when the present url
   is /energetic, the “Energetic” button ought to be surrounded by a skinny pink
   rectangle
5. The “Clear accomplished” button ought to solely be seen if any merchandise is
   accomplished

Every of this considerations might be examined with the assistance of CSS selectors.

It is a snippet from the TodoMVC template (barely simplified). I
haven’t but added the dynamic bits, so what we see right here is static
content material, offered for instance:

index.tmpl

supply