Adding an 'ignoreSynchronization' property to turn off Protractor's attempt to

wait for Angular to be ready on a page. This can be used to test pages that
poll with $timeout or $http.

Author: juliemr

lib/protractor.js

@@ -320,9 +320,42 @@ var Protractor = function(webdriver, opt_baseUrl, opt_rootElement) {
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * The wrapped webdriver instance. Use this to interact with pages that do
+   * not contain Angular (such as a log-in screen).
+   *
+   * @type {webdriver.WebDriver}
+   */
   this.driver = webdriver;
+
+  /**
+   * All get methods will be resolved against this base URL. Relative URLs are =
+   * resolved the way anchor tags resolve.
+   *
+   * @type {string}
+   */
   this.baseUrl = opt_baseUrl || '';
+
+  /**
+   * The css selector for anmelement on which to find Angular. This is usually
+   * 'body' but if your ng-app is on a subsection of the page it may be
+   * a subelement.
+   *
+   * @type {string}
+   */
   this.rootEl = opt_rootElement || 'body';
+
+  /**
+   * If true, Protractor will not attempt to synchronize with the page before
+   * performing actions. This can be harmful because Protractor will not wait
+   * until $timeouts and $http calls have been processed, which can cause
+   * tests to become flaky. This should be used only when necessary, such as
+   * when a page continuously polls an API using $timeout.
+   *
+   * @type {boolean}
+   */
+  this.ignoreSynchronization = false;
+
   this.moduleNames_ = [];
 
   this.moduleScripts_ = [];
@@ -336,7 +369,11 @@ var Protractor = function(webdriver, opt_baseUrl, opt_rootElement) {
  *    scripts return value.
  */
 Protractor.prototype.waitForAngular = function() {
-  return this.driver.executeAsyncScript(clientSideScripts.waitForAngular, this.rootEl);
+  if (this.ignoreSynchronization) {
+    return webdriver.promise.fulfilled();
+  }
+  return this.driver.executeAsyncScript(
+      clientSideScripts.waitForAngular, this.rootEl);
 };
 
 // TODO: activeelement also returns a WebElement.

spec/polling_spec.js

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ describe('synchronizing with pages that poll', function() {
     ptor.get('app/index.html#/polling');
   });
 
-  it('times out :(', function() {
+  it('avoids timeouts using ignoreSynchronization', function() {
     var startButton =
       ptor.findElement(protractor.By.id('pollstarter'));
 
@@ -16,8 +16,22 @@ describe('synchronizing with pages that poll', function() {
 
     startButton.click();
 
+    // Turn this on to see timeouts.
+    ptor.ignoreSynchronization = true;
+
     count.getText().then(function(text) {
-      expect(text).toBeGreaterThan(2);
+      expect(text).toBeGreaterThan(-1);
     });
+
+    ptor.sleep(2000);
+
+    count.getText().then(function(text) {
+      expect(text).toBeGreaterThan(1);
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(function() {
+    // Remember to turn it off when you're done!
+    ptor.ignoreSynchronization = false;
   });
 });