Opening a page URL optionally with query string parameters

[walterdolce]

Currently, the only way I can see to open a page with query string parameters it seems to be the following:

class Homepage extends Page {
   protected $path = '/?{QS}';
}

class MyContext ... {
   public function aStep() 
   {
      $this->homepage->open(array('QS' => 'utm_source=1&utm_campaign=foo'));
   }
}

This produces the expected result:

<schema>://<hostname>/?utm_source=1&utm_campaign=foo

But this way one is always forced to pass something. By leaving the array parameter passed to the open method, this is the resulting absolute URL:

<schema>://<hostname>/?{QS}

There might be cases where the behaviour of a page (or element) might vary depending on whether something's included in the URL as a query string parameter. And both cases to be verified. Creating the same page object twice (i.e. Homepage and ParameterisedHomepage) feels wrong (even if it just extend the non-parameterised page object class).

How should one deal with optional query string parameters?

[jakzal]

We could make it real simple, and append all parameters that were not part of the $path as query parameters.

[walterdolce]

Sounds like a good start. What about URL fragments?
Semantically speaking, those would be two different things.

I.e.

<schema>://<hostname>/?utm_source=1&utm_campaign=foo#the-anchor

[DonCallisto]

I came across this today in one of my projects. @jakzal are you still interested in this feature? Maybe I can try an implementation in the next weeks.

[DonCallisto]

We can add two more (optional) parameters to open: array $query = [], string $fragment in order to not introduct BC.
Another solution could be to use one array (as it is atm) but prepend to the param keys someting like ?<key> and #<key>.
Personally I feel that first solution is better than latter one (no validation for multiple fragment, just to mention the first issue I see).
Any thoughts?

[jakzal]

Thinking about it again what's wrong with the following?

class Homepage extends Page {
   protected $path = '/?utm_source={utm_source}&utm_campaign={utm_campaign}';
}

class MyContext ... {
   public function aStep() 
   {
      $this->homepage->open(['utm_source' => 1, 'utm_campaign' => 'foo']);
   }
}

[DonCallisto]

I have some cases where I would like to open the page without some parameters (maybe not mandatory?) and in those cases I would land in the page with placeholders instead of real parameters or without parameters at all.