Add a Task convenience function.

[perrygoy]

Sometimes you make Tasks that just do a few Actions and don't need to be modified in any way, they just need a more descriptive beat to log. It's kind of a waste to have to have to make a whole file and class for what is essentially just a beat wrapper around a handful of otherwise too-generic Actions.

But if we had a Task function to entaskinate those Actions, that would be swell! Something we could use like this:

LogInAsBasicUser = Task(
    perform=(
        Eventually(Enter.the_text(BasicUser.USERNAME).into_the(USERNAME_FIELD)),
        Enter.the_password(BasicUser.PASSWORD).into_the(PASSWORD_FIELD),
        Click.on_the(LOGIN_BUTTON),
    ),
    beat=f"{{}} logs in as {BasicUser.username}",
)

Maybe you could even set blurt instead of beat, or neither if you want this Task to be performed without a summary!

[bandophahita]

From a usability standpoint it it would be nice if the beat was autogenerated with the option to override/customize it.
Something along the lines of :

LogInAsBasicUser = Task(
        Eventually(Enter.the_text(BasicUser.USERNAME).into_the(USERNAME_FIELD)),
        Enter.the_password(BasicUser.PASSWORD).into_the(PASSWORD_FIELD),
        Click.on_the(LOGIN_BUTTON),
).called("LogInAsBasicUser")

Then when it's logged :

User tries to LogInAsBasicUser.

or if the get_additive_description kicks in...

User tries to login as basic user.

Custom beat might look something like:

Task(Action()).called("MyTask").using_beat("This is my custom beat msg")

[bandophahita]

I think it'll be important to get Task to generate a specific classname the caller provides.

[perrygoy]

get_additive_description wouldn't be called for just performing it, though, unless we wanted to have the user provide a description argument that wrote the Describe? Then we could autogenerate the beat/blurt from the description:

LogInAsBasicUser = Task(
    perform=(
        Eventually(Enter.the_text(BasicUser.USERNAME).into_the(USERNAME_FIELD)),
        Enter.the_password(BasicUser.PASSWORD).into_the(PASSWORD_FIELD),
        Click.on_the(LOGIN_BUTTON),
    ),
    description="Log in as a Basic User.",
    blurt=True
)

[perrygoy]

I think it'll be important to get Task to generate a specific classname the caller provides.

Is there another way to do it than this?

>>> class Foo:
...   pass
... 
>>> f = Foo()
>>> Foo.__name__ = "Bar"
>>> f
<__main__.Foo object at 0x10060cb50>
>>> f.__class__.__name__
'Bar'

I think we use __class__.__name__ in get_additive_description, so maybe it will Just Work...?

[bandophahita]

When I envision Task I picture it building an action while automatically handling creation of things like describe, etc.
In the simplest case, I'd love to be able to write the following and it "just works".

DoCommonTask = Task(
    Step1(),
    Step2(),
    Step3()
    )
actor.will(DoCommonTask())

User tries to DoCommonTask

[perrygoy]

I don't think there's a way for the class built in the function/class/whatever we end up using for Task to know what it's called in the higher scope. But who knows, maybe! That would be a very slick smallest use-case.

[bandophahita]

Is there another way to do it than this?

I'm also thinking about viewing these actions in the stack. It would be nice if the name of the objects were identifiable while debugging.

[bandophahita]

I don't think there's a way for the class built in the function/class/whatever we end up using for Task to know what it's called in the higher scope. But who knows, maybe! That would be a very slick smallest use-case.

As far as I know there isn't. I think it's going to be needed as a variable at the time of Task creation.

It would be cool if Task had the ability to read the internal actions and formulate a summary, but I imagine we'll end up with some really terrible (and wordy) class names.

[perrygoy]

... maybe we can ask ChatGPT to summarize it. Haha.

I think just calling the generated Task class GroupedActions or something like that and require a description for GroupedActions.describe, we'll be able to make a nice log and a clear stacktrace. I hope.

[bandophahita]

Maybe the end result is Task whereas the creation function is MakeTask?

[perrygoy]

Yes, i like that. Maybe then we just have make_task.

Where should this live? Should we create a shortcuts module?

from screenpy.shortcuts import make_task

LogInAsABasicUser = make_task(
    ...
)