Webrat, a Ruby DSL for interaction with web applications, changes the acceptance testing ROI equation. By implementing an invisible, fast browser simulator you can use from within your test framework of choice (Test::Unit, RSpec, Shoulda or Cucumber), it sidesteps most of Selenium’s drawbacks while retaining the coverage value.

This talk, delivered by the maintainer of Webrat, will describe the value of acceptance testing for Rails apps, common pitfalls, and Webrat’s solutions. We’ll look at techniques for writing maintainable acceptance tests, and maximizing their value over the lifespan of an application. Finally, we’ll explore advanced techniques like applying Webrat to ease some of the pain of in-browser testing when it can’t be avoided (JavaScript/AJAX, primarily).