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unexpected vs Cucumber-JVM comparison of testing frameworks
What are the differences between unexpected and Cucumber-JVM?

unexpected

http://unexpected.js.org/

Cucumber-JVM

https://github.com/cucumber/cucumber-jvm
Programming language

JavaScript

Java

Category

Unit Testing

Acceptance Testing

General info

An extensible BDD assertion toolkit

Unexpected is an extensible BDD assertion toolkit that is compatible with all test frameworks,is Node.js ready (require('unexpected')) and supports asynchronous assertions using promises among other features. It can be used with any test runner that catches exceptions, but the developer recommends Mocha, Jest or Jasmine as they are integrated tested with every release

Cucumber-JVM is a pure Java implementation of Cucumber

The specifications are written in plain texts, which allows them to be easily understandable by all stakeholders.
xUnit
Set of frameworks originating from SUnit (Smalltalk's testing framework). They share similar structure and functionality.

N/A

No

Client-side
Allows testing code execution on the client, such as a web browser

Yes

Unexpected can be used in a browser environment to test front-end components and functionality

Yes

You can test the front-end part like the GUI using cucumber with serenity, they integrate well to test your front-end.
Server-side
Allows testing the bahovior of a server-side code

Yes

Unexpected is used in a Node.JS environment to test server behaviour and functionality

Yes

You can test back-end components such as API's using rest&soap clients, and databases
Fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data (fixtures) that are test-local. This ensures specific environment for a single test

N/A

Yes

Using the cucumber extension aruba you can create fixures in two steps: 1.Create a fixtures-directory; 2.Create fixture files in this directory
Group fixtures
Allows defining a fixed, specific states of data for a group of tests (group-fixtures). This ensures specific environment for a given group of tests.

N/A

Yes

You can group your fixtures inside your fixtures directories
Generators
Supports data generators for tests. Data generators generate input data for test. The test is then run for each input data produced in this way.

N/A

N/A

Licence
Licence type governing the use and redistribution of the software

MIT License

MIT License

Mocks
Mocks are objects that simulate the behavior of real objects. Using mocks allows testing some part of the code in isolation (with other parts mocked when needed)

N/A

Yes

By using all of RSpec’s supported mocking frameworks (RSpec, Mocha, RR, Flexmock)
Grouping
Allows organizing tests in groups

N/A

Yes

Cucumber allows the use of tag Cucumber feature files or individual tests to group tests. Then, you can pass a Cucumber tagged expression at test execution that specifies the tag (grouped) tests to run. https://www.toolsqa.com/cucumber/cucumber-tags/
Other
Other useful information about the testing framework