feat(options): make axe.ping configurable with pingWaitTime

axe.d.ts

@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ declare namespace axe {
     frameWaitTime?: number;
     preload?: boolean;
     performanceTimer?: boolean;
+    pingWaitTime?: number;
   }
   interface AxeResults extends EnvironmentData {
     toolOptions: RunOptions;

doc/API.md

@@ -422,7 +422,7 @@ axe.run(
 );
 ```
 
-##### Options Parameter
+``##### Options Parameter
 
 The options parameter is flexible way to configure how `axe.run` operates. The different modes of operation are:
 
@@ -447,6 +447,7 @@ Additionally, there are a number or properties that allow configuration of diffe
 | `frameWaitTime`    | `60000` | How long (in milliseconds) axe waits for a response from embedded frames before timing out                                              |
 | `preload`          | `true`  | Any additional assets (eg: cssom) to preload before running rules. [See here for configuration details](#preload-configuration-details) |
 | `performanceTimer` | `false` | Log rule performance metrics to the console                                                                                             |
+| `pingWaitTime`     | `500`   | Time before axe-core considers a frame unresponsive. [See frame messenger for details](frame-messenger.md)                              |
 
 ###### Options Parameter Examples
 

doc/frame-messenger.md

@@ -105,3 +105,15 @@ If for some reason the frameMessenger fails to open, post, or close you should n
 Axe-core has a timeout mechanism built in, which pings frames to see if they respond before instructing them to run. There is no retry behavior in axe-core, which assumes that whatever channel is used is stable. If this isn't the case, this will need to be built into frameMessenger.
 
 The `message` passed to responder may be an `Error`. If axe-core passes an `Error`, this should be propagated "as is". If this is not possible because the message needs to be serialized, a new `Error` object must be constructed as part of deserialization.
+
+### pingWaitTime
+
+When axe-core tests frames, it first sends a ping to that frame, to check that the frame has a compatible version of axe-core in it that can respond to the message. If it gets no response, that frame will be skipped in the test. Axe-core does this to avoid a situation where it waits the full frame timeout, just to find out the frame didn't have axe-core in it in the first place.
+
+In situations where communication between frames can be slow, it may be necessary to increase the ping timeout. This can be done with the `pingWaitTime` option. By default, this is 500ms. This can be configured in the following way: 
+
+```js
+const results = await axe.run(context, { pingWaitTime: 1000 }));
+```
+
+It is possible to skip this ping altogether by setting `pingWaitTime` to `0`. This can slightly speed up performance, but should only be used when long wait times for unresponsive frames can be avoided. Axe-core handles timeout errors the same way it handles any other frame communication errors. Therefore if a custom frame messenger has a timeout, it can inform axe by calling `replyHandler` with an `Error` object.

lib/core/utils/send-command-to-frame.js

@@ -2,31 +2,30 @@ import getSelector from './get-selector';
 import respondable from './respondable';
 import log from '../log';
 
-function err(message, node) {
-  var selector;
-  // TODO: es-modules_tree
-  if (axe._tree) {
-    selector = getSelector(node);
-  }
-  return new Error(message + ': ' + (selector || node));
-}
 
 /**
  * Sends a command to an instance of axe in the specified frame
  * @param  {Element}  node       The frame element to send the message to
  * @param  {Object}   parameters Parameters to pass to the frame
  * @param  {Function} callback   Function to call when results from the frame has returned
  */
-function sendCommandToFrame(node, parameters, resolve, reject) {
-  var win = node.contentWindow;
+ export default function sendCommandToFrame(node, parameters, resolve, reject) {
+  const win = node.contentWindow;
+  const pingWaitTime = parameters.options?.pingWaitTime ?? 500
   if (!win) {
     log('Frame does not have a content window', node);
     resolve(null);
     return;
   }
 
+  // Skip ping
+  if (pingWaitTime === 0) {
+    callAxeStart(node, parameters, resolve, reject);
+    return;
+  }
+
   // give the frame .5s to respond to 'axe.ping', else log failed response
-  var timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+  let timeout = setTimeout(() => {
     // This double timeout is important for allowing iframes to respond
     // DO NOT REMOVE
     timeout = setTimeout(() => {
@@ -36,30 +35,39 @@ function sendCommandToFrame(node, parameters, resolve, reject) {
         reject(err('No response from frame', node));
       }
     }, 0);
-  }, parameters.options?.pingWaitTime ?? 500);
+  }, pingWaitTime);
 
   // send 'axe.ping' to the frame
   respondable(win, 'axe.ping', null, undefined, () => {
     clearTimeout(timeout);
+    callAxeStart(node, parameters, resolve, reject);
+  });
+}
 
-    // Give axe 60s (or user-supplied value) to respond to 'axe.start'
-    var frameWaitTime =
-      (parameters.options && parameters.options.frameWaitTime) || 60000;
-
-    timeout = setTimeout(function collectResultFramesTimeout() {
-      reject(err('Axe in frame timed out', node));
-    }, frameWaitTime);
+function callAxeStart(node, parameters, resolve, reject) {
+  // Give axe 60s (or user-supplied value) to respond to 'axe.start'
+  const frameWaitTime = parameters.options?.frameWaitTime ?? 60000;
+  const win = node.contentWindow;
+  const timeout = setTimeout(function collectResultFramesTimeout() {
+    reject(err('Axe in frame timed out', node));
+  }, frameWaitTime);
 
-    // send 'axe.start' and send the callback if it responded
-    respondable(win, 'axe.start', parameters, undefined, data => {
-      clearTimeout(timeout);
-      if (data instanceof Error === false) {
-        resolve(data);
-      } else {
-        reject(data);
-      }
-    });
+  // send 'axe.start' and send the callback if it responded
+  respondable(win, 'axe.start', parameters, undefined, data => {
+    clearTimeout(timeout);
+    if (data instanceof Error === false) {
+      resolve(data);
+    } else {
+      reject(data);
+    }
   });
 }
 
-export default sendCommandToFrame;
+function err(message, node) {
+  var selector;
+  // TODO: es-modules_tree
+  if (axe._tree) {
+    selector = getSelector(node);
+  }
+  return new Error(message + ': ' + (selector || node));
+}

test/core/utils/send-command-to-frame.js

@@ -37,6 +37,42 @@ describe('axe.utils.sendCommandToFrame', function() {
     fixture.appendChild(frame);
   });
 
+  it('adjusts skips ping with options.pingWaitTime=0', function (done) {
+    var frame = document.createElement('iframe');
+    var params = {
+      command: 'rules', 
+      options: { pingWaitTime: 0 }
+    };
+
+    frame.addEventListener('load', function() {
+      var topics = [];
+      frame.contentWindow.addEventListener('message', function (event) {
+        try {
+          topics.push(JSON.parse(event.data).topic)
+        } catch (_) { /* ignore */ }
+      });
+      axe.utils.sendCommandToFrame(
+        frame,
+        params,
+        captureError(function() {
+          try {
+            assert.deepEqual(topics, ['axe.start'])
+            done();
+          } catch (e) {
+            done(e);
+          }
+        }, done),
+        function() {
+          done(new Error('sendCommandToFrame should not error'));
+        }
+      );
+    });
+
+    frame.id = 'level0';
+    frame.src = '../mock/frames/test.html';
+    fixture.appendChild(frame);
+  })
+
   it('should timeout if there is no response from frame', function(done) {
     var orig = window.setTimeout;
     window.setTimeout = function(fn, to) {