Overview
Using a ‘headless’ browser such as PhantomJS allows for lots of different opportunities in interacting with the web. Users can programmatically query and scrape data, monitor network activity, capture screenshots and perform front-end testing of websites. This talk will introduce CasperJS, a navigation scripting and testing utility for PhantomJS. It makes using PhantomJS much easier and less error prone. We will learn about the kind of tools that can be created with this technology and walk through creation of basic navigation script to give you a solid idea about how to utilize it in your own workflow.
Objective
Sharing with the audience the vast capabilities of this easy to learn toolset.
Assumed Audience Knowledge
Javascript, Command Line
Five Things Audience Members Will Learn
- Use cases for headless browsers
- Core ideas involved in them
- How a headless browser can help their front-end development workflow
- Basic workings of CasperJS
- To write a simple navigation script
