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Does Robot Frarework try to be natural-language-like?

The code consists of a series of invocations of functions ("keywords" in RF terms) with parameters. The syntax is tabular.

When I read the intro, it reminds me of Forth.

Although I only gave it brief reading a couple of times. (RF was used by QA at my past job.)

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It's based on "traditional" test plans written in excel, so it's a mix of pseudo NLP and a spreadsheet.

Worst of both worlds, IMO.

How is it based on anything in Excel? There's nothing about test plans in RF. Test plans are about schedules, strategy, deliverables, roles etc. And those are typically garbage. Absolutely nothing related to RF.

Test plans that I've seen go one step farther: written instructions on how to setup the test, and verify results.

I've never seen a manual tester follow the steps that are written down, but I've seen a lot of effort put into writing down the exact steps anyway.

Might be difference in local terminology, but by "test plans" I mean spreadsheets, typically in Excel (sometimes printed and bound), that described step by step every test for manual tester to follow.

And that's how a lot of testing is done in various companies, especially where manual testing is still common, at least in Poland.

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