Dexter

Onboarding Guide

Welcome to Dexter — a Python SDET automation learning module built around the Order Board app. This guide gets you set up and productive as quickly as possible.

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Project Overview

Dexter is a self-contained practice project that simulates a real-world automation engineering workflow. You will:

• Run a small Flask web application (Order Board)
• Write and extend REST API tests with pytest
• Write and extend UI tests with Selenium (headless Chrome)
• Work with GitHub Actions CI/CD
• Follow automation best practices used in professional environments

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Prerequisites

Requirement	Version
Python	3.9 or later
pip	Latest (bundled with Python)
Git	Any recent version
Google Chrome	Latest stable
ChromeDriver	Must match your Chrome version

Windows users: Use Git Bash or WSL2 for the best experience with the commands below.

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Environment Setup

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/prasadg-veeam/Dexter.git
cd Dexter

2. Create and Activate a Virtual Environment

python -m venv .venv
# macOS / Linux
source .venv/bin/activate
# Windows (Git Bash)
source .venv/Scripts/activate
# Windows (cmd)
.venv\Scripts\activate.bat

3. Install Dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

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Running the Application

Start the Flask development server:

python -m src.app

The app is now available at http://localhost:5000.

• UI: Open http://localhost:5000 in your browser to see the Order Board.
• API: Use curl or Postman to call the REST endpoints.

Key API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/health	Health check
GET	/api/orders	List all orders
POST	/api/orders	Create a new order
PUT	/api/orders/<id>	Update an order
DELETE	/api/orders/<id>	Delete an order

Example:

# Health check
curl http://localhost:5000/api/health

# Create an order
curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/orders \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"item": "Widget", "price": 9.99, "qty": 2}'

# List all orders
curl http://localhost:5000/api/orders

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Running Tests

Make sure the virtual environment is activated, then:

# Run all tests
pytest

# Run only API tests
pytest -m api

# Run only UI tests
pytest -m ui

# Run with verbose output
pytest -v

UI tests require Chrome and ChromeDriver. See CI/CD Guide for headless setup details.

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Navigating the Repository

Dexter/
├── .github/workflows/ci.yml   ← GitHub Actions workflow
├── docs/                       ← All documentation
│   ├── index.md                ← GitHub Pages landing page
│   ├── onboarding.md           ← This file
│   ├── development_guide.md    ← Dev workflow for automation engineers
│   ├── best_practices.md       ← Python automation best practices
│   ├── training_plan.md        ← Structured trainee plan
│   ├── learning_path.md        ← Phase-by-phase learning path
│   ├── tasks.md                ← Hands-on tasks
│   └── ci_cd.md                ← CI/CD guide
├── src/
│   ├── app.py                  ← Flask app entry point and routes
│   ├── data_store.py           ← In-memory data layer
│   ├── static/app.js           ← Front-end JavaScript
│   └── templates/index.html   ← HTML template
├── tests/
│   ├── api/                    ← API test files
│   ├── ui/                     ← UI (Selenium) test files
│   └── conftest.py             ← pytest fixtures
├── pytest.ini                  ← pytest configuration
├── requirements.txt            ← Python dependencies
├── CONTRIBUTING.md             ← Contribution guidelines
└── README.md                  ← Project overview

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Next Steps

1. Read Learning Path for a phase-by-phase progression plan.
2. Read Development Guide for branching and test workflow.
3. Work through Hands-on Tasks to build skills incrementally.
4. Follow the Training Plan for a structured daily schedule.