Replace the generic Step function with Given/When/Then functions to match the majority of other languages?

[mirogta]

Problem

This is how we register a step definition currently in godog:

…
  Scenario: Eat 5 out of 12          # features/godogs.feature:6
    Given there are 12 godogs
…

…
ctx.Step(`^there are (\d+) godogs$`, thereAreGodogs)
…

Note that even though the step says Given, the actual implementation does not have Given there , but rather a generic Step.

Proposal

I am sure there were good reasons to keep a generic Step function, but do these reasons still hold true today?

Why don't we mark it as deprecated and introduce 3 new functions for Given, When and Then?

Disclaimer: I'm also working on adding go and godog support to cucumber/language-service and it is a bit tricky because of the generic Step function. Having three separate function would make it easier and more consistent with all the other languages.

Evidence:

Java:

    @Given("I have {int} cukes in my belly")
    public void i_have_n_cukes_in_my_belly(int cukes) {
        System.out.format("Cukes: %n\n", cukes);
    }

Javascript

Given('I have {int} cukes in my belly', function (cukes) {
  console.log(`Cukes: ${cukes}`)
});

Ruby

Given('I have {int} cukes in my belly') do |cukes|
  puts "Cukes: #{cukes}"
end

Kotlin

        Given("I have {int} cukes in my belly") { cukes: Int ->
                println("Cukes: $cukes")
        }

Scala

    Given("I have {int} cukes in my belly") { cukes: Int =>
        println(s"Cukes: $cukes")
    }

.NET

[When(@"I search for '(.*)'"]
public void WhenIPerformASimpleSearchOn(string searchTerm) {
var controller = new CatalogController();
actionResult = controller.search(searchTerm);
}

PowerShell

Given 'we have a destination folder' {
    mkdir testdrive:\target -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    'testdrive:\target' | Should -Exist
}

Rust

#[given(expr = "{word} is hungry")] // Cucumber Expression
async fn someone_is_hungry(w: &mut World, user: String) {
    sleep(Duration::from_secs(2)).await;
    
    w.user = Some(user);
}

[vearutop]

This makes sense to me.

I think this would bring more clarity to steps definitions, as it will be harder to misunderstand/misuse steps that are intended for result assertion with steps that are invoking action or set initial state.

If that also helps discovery of steps with automated tools (e.g. language service), that's even better.

[mirogta]

Only 3 votes so far, but all "Yes". Raised as #545