During this post, I’ll talk about how I needed a utility and how I cloned and modified a repository to achieve what I needed. Introduction One of the things I’m working on at is test automation using calabash to ensure the quality of the apps before publishing to the app store. We are working towards a complete Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery and to do so, we need end-to-end functional tests (Apart from Unit and Integration tests) In this specific case, I needed to fake GPS locations on a Android device. waveapplication Requirements Given I’ll be needing this utility to setup the app to a specific state in order to check a specific feature/functionality of the app, I have specific requirements such as the ones below. Terminal-based utility Lightweight Ability to reproduce a route passed to it as a file. .gpx Research Before starting to code frenetically, I stopped to do some research on the available methods and technologies available to accomplish given task. I found out that android’s provides developers with a specific command to change the devices location. ADB geo fix Given two arguments ( and ) in decimal degrees and optional parameters and it mocks the android device's location to the parameters given. Once I knew the whole project could be done with I looked for open source repositories that had already implemented this functionality as I was sure of their existence. The first project I found was created by this repository that had met all of my requirements except one, It required a app installed on the android device to mock the device's location. This wasn't an option for me but nevertheless I decided to clone the repository and give it a try. Longitude Latitude satelites altitude geo fix mockgeofix luv telnet This will be used to send the commands to the android device given a port and an IP. geo-fix Adapting mockgeofix to my specific needs This utility had everything I needed to mock the device’s GPS location. It could even adapt the route to a given speed in km/h. The only thing incompatible with my requirements was the need of an external app for it to work but luckily, there is an alternative for that. These are the steps I followed to adapt the utility to my needs. Clone the repository and remove the code I don’t need. Once I had gone through the code, I removed all of the java code (Used for the android application) and only kept the file I was interested in and all the files it depends upon. I also created a file to simplify the process needed to get the code up and running. run_sim.py requirements.txt Add includes needed for telnet and arguments for telnet security verification To use Telnet, the program requires you to introduce a security password located in . This grants permission to the client to execute methods such as . This means I had to include the argument option in the code. ~/.emulator_console_auth_token geo fix Adapt the main thread This thread connected to the android app and then sent the commands to it. Now, it simply connects to the phone via telnet and sends the commands directly to it. geo fix def start_geofix(args):    # Start the telnet connection    tn = telnetlib.Telnet(args.ip, args.port)    # Wait until keyword "OK" appears    tn.read_until("OK")    # Perform security verification    # The code is located in ~/.emulator_console_auth_token    tn.write("auth " + args.auth + "\n")    tn.read_until("OK")    while True:        # Send "geo fix" commands forever        tn.write("geo fix %f %f\r\n" % (curr_lon, curr_lat))        time.sleep(UPDATE_INTERVAL) How to run the code: Requirements python 2.7 virtualenv Usage Note: To work, this needs a connected device or a emulated virtual device running git clone git@github.com:SergioRosello/mockgeofix.git In project root directory: source ENV/bin/activate In project root directory: pip install -r requirements.txt In project root directory: python run_sim.py -i targetIP -g path/to/gpx/file.gpx -t emulatorConsoleAuthToken 's parameters run_sym.py Below is a list of parameters used by script. run\_sym.py Required parameters or : The ip address where it will find the device -i --ip or : The file used to trace the route -g --gpx-file .gpx or : Auth token for telnet authentication -t --auth Not required parameters or : The port used to connect. Default value: 5554 -p -port or : Sleep between track points. Default value: 0.5 -S --sleep or : Speed in km/h (Takes precedence over -S) -s --speed or : Run a HTTP server visualizing mocked locations on this ip -I --listen-ip or : HTTP server's port. Default value: 80 -P --listen-port Final result The final state of the project can be seen . It leverages the power of telnet to communicate with the phone in order to remove the previously necessary application to send the command. Finally, this code accomplishes every requirement listed previously and I can use it to mock a route during the end-to-end functional tests. here geo fix Conclusion This project has been one of the first real open-source experiences I have had. This is what open source is about. Collaborating with developers worldwide to make things easier to one another. It’s really a beautiful thing to see and be a part of.

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Leverage the power of open source and don’t reinvent the wheel

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Sergio Roselló

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Leverage the power of open source and don’t reinvent the wheel

Too Long; Didn't Read

Company Mentioned

Sergio Roselló

About Author

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN...

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