Gherkin (language)

Cucumber is a software tool used by computer programmers for testing other software. It runs automated acceptance tests written in a behavior-driven development (BDD) style. Central to the Cucumber BDD approach is its plain language parser called Gherkin. It allows expected software behaviors to be specified in a logical language that customers can understand. As such, Cucumber allows the execution of feature documentation written in business-facing text.Capybara, which is a part of the Cucumber testing framework, is an example of a web based test automation software.

Cucumber is written in the Ruby programming language. and was originally used exclusively for Ruby testing as a complement to the RSpec BDD framework. Cucumber now supports a variety of different programming languages through various implementations. For example, Cuke4php and Cuke4Lua are software bridges that enable testing of PHP and Lua projects, respectively. Other implementations may simply leverage the Gherkin parser while implementing the rest of the testing framework in the target language.

Gherkin is the language that Cucumber uses to define test cases. It is designed to be non-technical and human readable, and collectively describes use cases relating to a software system. The purpose behind Gherkin's syntax is to promote Behavior Driven Development practices across an entire development team, including business analysts and managers. It seeks to enforce firm, unambiguous requirements starting in the initial phases of requirements definition by business management and in other stages of the development lifecycle.

In addition to providing a script for automated testing, Gherkin's natural language syntax is designed to provide simple documentation of the code under test. Gherkin currently supports keywords in dozens of languages.