Test-Driven Development with Python, 2nd Edition

Appendix A. PythonAnywhere

This book is based on the assumption that you’re running Python and coding on your own computer. Of course, that’s not the only way to code Python these days; you could use an online platform like PythonAnywhere (which is where I work, incidentally).

It is possible to follow along with the book on PythonAnywhere, but it does require several tweaks and changes—you’ll need to set up a web app instead of the test server, you’ll need to use Xvfb to run the Functional Tests, and, once you get to the deployment chapters, you’ll need to upgrade to a paying account. So, it is possible, but it might be easier to follow along on your own PC.

With that caveat, if you’re still keen to give it a try, here are some details on what you need to do.

If you haven’t already, you’ll need to sign up for a PythonAnywhere account. A free one should be fine.

Then, start a Bash Console from the consoles page. That’s where we’ll do most of our work.

Running Firefox Selenium Sessions with Xvfb

The first thing is that PythonAnywhere is a console-only environment, so it doesn’t have a display in which to pop up Firefox. But we can use a virtual display.

In Chapter 1, when we write our first ever test, you’ll find things don’t work as expected. The first test looks like this, and you can type it in using the PythonAnywhere editor just fine:

from selenium import webdriver
browser = webdriver.Firefox()
browser.get('http://localhost:8000')
assert 'Django' in browser.title

But when ...