Steps and Step Definitions
Let’s start by clarifying the distinction between a step and a step definition.
Each Gherkin scenario is made up of a series of steps, written in plain language. On its own, a step is just documentation; it needs a step definition to bring it to life. A step definition is a piece of code that says to Cucumber, “If you see a step that looks like this…, then here’s what I want you to do….”
When Cucumber tries to execute each step, it looks for a matching step definition to execute. So, how does Cucumber match a step definition to a step?
Matching a Step
Gherkin steps are expressed in plain text. Cucumber scans the text of each step for patterns that it recognizes, which you define using a regular expression. If ...
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