How to get Protractor deferred Promise to work?

Question

Scenario 1) Stale Element Reference error

it("should have all elements", function (done) {
    var def = protractor.promise.defer();
    var prm = browser.findElements(by.css("jive")).then((elements) => {           
        elements.forEach((ele) => {
            var id = ele.getId();
            var loc = ele.getLocation();
            var inner = ele.getInnerHtml();
            var text = ele.getText();
            var tag = ele.getTagName();
        }); 
        def.then((wtf) => {
            debugger;
        });      
    });      
    done();
});

I thought that the code above would have a ton of promises on the queue after running through the iteration on all elements. But when the def.then statement runs Selenium is telling me I have Stale Elements. The iteration is running through the elements for that css.

I was hoping to get an array of resolved promises for everything the iteration requested...

Scenario 2) Gives Stale Element Reference

var promises = Array<webdriver.promise.Promise<any>>();
var allElements: webdriver.IWebElement[] = [];
it("should have all elements", function (done) {
    var alllinks: webdriver.WebElement[];
    browser.controlFlow().execute(() => {
        browser.findElements(by.tagName("a")).then((works) => {
            alllinks = works;
            alllinks.forEach((ele) => {
                promises.push(ele.getAttribute("href"));
                promises.push(ele.getId());
                promises.push(ele.getInnerHtml());
                promises.push(ele.getLocation());
            });
            //getting stale reference here...
            protractor.promise.all(promises).then((wtf) => {
                debugger;
            });

            debugger;
        });
    });

Please advise.

do I have to store all of the promises in an array? each get xx is a promise in code above. — JWP, Jul 17 '15 at 10:07
I wonder why that callback runs at all, you don't seem to be resolving that deferred anywhere. — Bergi, Jul 17 '15 at 10:32

score 0 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 17 '15 at 13:32

I think you need the map():

var links = element.all(by.tagName("a")).map(function (link) {
    return {
        href: link.getAttribute("href"),
        id: link.getId(),
        innerHTML: link.getInnerHtml(),
        location: link.getLocation()
    }
});

Now the links would contain a promise resolving into an array of objects.

score -1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 17 '15 at 12:11

My tiny example might be helpful for you:

viewBookingDetailsPage.roomtypeAttributeForParticularDay = function (day, roomTypeNumber, selector) {
    var deferred = protractor.promise.defer();
    element.all(by.repeater(viewBookingDetailsPage.guestroomInfo.allDays)).then(function (days) {
        days[day].all(by.repeater(viewBookingDetailsPage.guestroomInfo.roomTypesInDay)).then(function (roomTypes) {
            deferred.fulfill(roomTypes[roomTypeNumber].$(selector));
        });
    });
    return deferred.promise;
};

You need to use fulFill to return result after promise will be successfully resolved.

How to get Protractor deferred Promise to work?

Scenario 1) Stale Element Reference error

Scenario 2) Gives Stale Element Reference

2 Answers2