Nested it in Protractor/Jasmine - jasmine

Question

Can I create a nested it in Protractor/Jasmine.
it("outer it", function () {
it("inner it", function () {
expect(1).toBe(1);
});
});
I am trying to execute it test cases inside a loop, and in every iteration I want to run a test, for example:
it("outer it", function () {
for(var i=0;i<10;i++){
it("inner it", function () {
expect(1).toBe(1);
});
}
});
The reason I want to do it is that I want to initialize an array and then in a dynamically way to loop trough all the element and run a number of "it", for example:
describe ("[Components]", function() {
var grid = new Grid();
it("Initialize the grid for the history window", function () {
grid.init();
});
for(var i=0;i<grid.length;i++){
it("test 1", function () {
expect(1).toBe(1);
});
}
});
The grid.length is equal to 0 when the for loop execute, I want the for loop execute after the initialize "it".

Answer 1

Answering to your question, no you cannot nest it's one inside other. Though Jasmine framework doesn't throw any error, the code inside a nested it doesn't execute. Also, I don't see any use of nesting it's as they are specs or functions that run on their own to complete a particular test step. It also gives an overview of the function that is being executed currently. If you are trying to run something in a loop, you can create another function and then call it inside the for loop, something like this -
it("outer it", function () {
var newFunction = function(){
expect(1).toBe(1);
};
for(var i=0;i<10;i++){
newFunction();
};
});
Hope this helps. More on it's can be found here - Jasmine Framework - it's

Answer 2

As mentioned earlier - no, you can not place it inside of another it block, BUT you could place a whole describe block inside another one
You also have an ability to run it blocks inside of for loops, OR for example make it block conditional.
You can find a real example of a code below (I've added for loop just for demonstration purposes)
describe("E2E: Environment configuration test", function () {
beforeAll(function () {
logIn();
});
afterAll(function () {
logOut();
});
describe("Members page configuration test", function() {
for (let i=0; i<3; i++) {
it("Members page - columns", function () {
//code that verifies that all columns of the page are presented
});
}
it( "Members page - filters", function() {
//code that verifies that all filters of the UI are presented as expected
});
it( "Members page - eligibility feature", function() {
//code that verifies that if the feature is set to true then additional column must be displayed
});
});
describe("Providers page configuration test", function() {
// use of conditional it blocks
// if feature is turned on run one set it blocks
// otherwise execute another set of it blocks
if (envConfig.providerFeature) {
it( "Organizations tab configuration test", function() {
//code that verifies that all elements of the current tab are displayed according to configurations of all features of the application
});
it( "Practitioners tab configuration test", function() {});
//code that verifies that all elements of the current tab are displayed according to configurations of all features of the application
} else {
it( "Providers page - verification of the page being disabled", function() {
//code that verifies that both tabs are not present in the UI
console.log('Providers feature is set to FALSE for the environment by default configuration, the test case will be skipped');
});
}
});
it( "Users page configuration test", function() {
//code that verifies that all elements of the current page are displayed according to configurations of all features of the application
});
it( "Reports page configuration test", function() {
if (!envConfig.disabledReportsFeature) {
//code that verifies that all elements of the current page are displayed according to configurations of all features of the application
} else {
console.log('Reports DISABLED_REPORTS_FEATURE is set to TRUE for the environment by default configuration, the test case will be skipped');
}
});
});
The console output in this case will look well organized
P.S. Additionally I will attach an image of clean console