History

Cucumber is a widely-used Behavior-Driven Development (BDD) framework for Java and other programming languages. It was originally created by Aslak Hellesøy in 2008 as a Ruby tool called “RSpec plain text story runner.” Later, in 2010, Cucumber was rewritten in several programming languages, including Java, making it more accessible to a broader range of developers. The Java version of Cucumber is known for its ease of use and seamless integration with Java applications.

Pros:

1. Collaboration: Cucumber encourages collaboration between technical and non-technical team members by using plain language specifications.
2. Reusability: Step definitions and scenarios can be reused across different test cases, reducing duplication of effort.
3. Readable Reports: Cucumber’s reports are human-readable and provide detailed information about test results.
4. Wide Adoption: Cucumber has a large user community and extensive documentation, making it easier to find solutions to common problems.
5. Cross-Platform: Cucumber supports multiple programming languages, allowing teams to use it across different tech stacks.

Cons:

1. Learning Curve: Writing effective Gherkin language specifications and mapping them to Java code can be challenging for beginners.
2. Maintenance: As the number of scenarios grows, maintaining step definitions and keeping them up-to-date can become complex.
3. Performance: Cucumber tests can be slower compared to unit tests due to their higher-level nature.
4. Overhead: Implementing BDD may introduce some overhead in terms of development time and resources.