PHPUnit-Webdriver: 10 - PageObjectModel Framework

When testing web applications ( or any complex product ) modeling the application is critical for reducing maintenance overhead.
Tests should be abstracted away from interacting with the DOM & its elements such that they only reflect interactions
By modeling the application, creating tests is intuitive & element selectors are assigned one time in one place
- Using enumerations and/or constants allow for indirect references to elements so if their selectors change, the only update needed is one constant assignment
When the framework is updated to reflect architectural changes in the product, updates will be contained and encapsulated
- failing tests will show technical debt & expose possible impact to the product that may have not been anticipated.

Page Object Model

Advanced Page Object

Create a base Page Class
then Create Fragment ( or Block for Drupal lingo ) Classes
Then Create Page Objects with a collection of applicatble fragments/blocks that a user would interact with
Further encapsulation can be done with PageAction Objects that abstract the PageObjects (elements) from what the test will be doing with them.
This can reduce maintenance for when - for example - a login routine changes.... the PageAction.login() method would only need changing one time to update all calling tests.
If the login steps are placed directly in each test, EACH test will need updating... makes for a bad week/month/quarter