developer tests - things to know (vilnius jug)
TRANSCRIPT
meMy hobbies● developer at Wix.com● main language - Scala● main professional interest - developer communities
If there is time left after my hobbies● mountain bicycle rider, snowboarder ● consumer of rock music, contemporary art, etc
me - how to contact meconnect with me on LinkedIn http://lt.linkedin.com/pub/vaidas-pilkauskas/8/77/863/
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follow on Twitter @liucijus
“We couldn’t understand why people without technical knowledge had to tell programmers “what” to do and, furthermore, they had to supervise “how” programmers did it.”
Cristian Rennellahttp://qz.com/260846/why-our-startup-has-no-bosses-no-office-and-a-four-day-work-week/
What this talk is about
● Things we argue about during code reviews● Things that took me time to understand and
prove that they are actually good way to go● Small things we have no time to discuss
during big talks
So what is test?
It is system’s exercise under predefined conditions and then verification of an expected outcome.
Test phases in code Server server = new NotesServer(); // setup
Note note = new Note("test note"); // setup
Status status = server.add(note); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
server.shutdown(); // teardown
Start everything in one method@Test
public void serverShouldAddNoteSuccessfully() {
Server server = new NotesServer(); // setup
Note note = new Note("test note"); // setup
Status status = server.add(note); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
server.shutdown(); // teardown
}
Refactor to lifecycle methods@Before public void before() {
server = new NotesServer(); // setup
note = new Note("test note"); // setup
}
@Test public void serverShouldAddNoteSuccessfully() {
Status status = server.add(note); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
}
@After public void after() {
server.shutdown(); // teardown
}
DON’Ts - #2
Do not mix setup code from different tests - shared code must be relevant to
the tests that use it
Typical setup inside @Before@Before public void before() {
server = new NotesServer(); // setup
note = new Note("test note"); // setup
}
@Test public void serverShouldAddNoteSuccessfully() {
Status status = server.add(note); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
}
@After public void after() { server.shutdown(); // teardown }
Setting up “job” inside test method@Before public void before() {
server = new NotesServer(); // setup
}
@Test public void serverShouldAddNoteSuccessfully() {
note = new Note("test note"); // setup
Status status = server.add(note); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
}
But then be more specific@Test
public void serverShouldAddSingleLineNoteSuccesfully() {
// * set up which is actual for the current method
// * use scope specific name
Note singleLineNote = new Note("test note"); // setup
Status status = server.add(singleLineNote); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
}
Give good names to setup methods
@Before public void createNotesServer() { server = new NotesServer(); }
Summary of test code organization
● DRY principle.● Readability. BDD vs. DRY● Consistency. Maintain the same style across
your codebase. ● Complexity. It may dictate the way you go.
Refactoring
Refactoring is about improving the design of existing code. It is the process of changing a software system in such a way that it does not alter the external behavior of the code, yet improves its internal structure.
Martin FowlerRefactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
Test behaviour not methods
● Think of a contract ● And responsibilities● Specify requirements as tests
Test behaviour not methods
● Think of a contract ● And responsibilities● Specify requirements as tests● Happens naturally when done in test-first
approach
Matchers
● Enhance readability● Asserts on the right level of abstraction● Encapsulate testing logic● Reusable● Detailed match error messages (do not
leave them out in your custom matchers!)
Matchers
● Enhance readability● Asserts on the right level of abstraction● Encapsulate testing logic● Reusable● Detailed match error messages (do not
leave them out in your custom matchers!)
Matcher libraries
● Hamcrest - standard matcher lib for JUnit● AssertJ - fluent assertions (IDE friendly)
● Provides common matchers● You can write your own custom matchers
HamcrestassertThat(frodo.getName(), equalTo("Frodo"));
assertThat(frodo.getName(), is(equalTo("Frodo")));
assertThat(frodo.getName(), is("Frodo"));
AssertJassertThat(frodo.getName()).isEqualTo("Frodo");
assertThat(frodo).isNotEqualTo(sauron).isIn(fellowshipOfTheRing);
assertThat(sauron).isNotIn(fellowshipOfTheRing);
Custom matchers
● Help communicate test intention● Abstract assertion logic in case standard
matchers are not enough● Are reusable and save time in large projects● You may have a custom message to be
more specific about test failure
Custom matchers
● Help communicate test intention● Abstract assertion logic in case standard
matchers are not enough● Are reusable and save time in large projects● You may have a custom message to be
more specific about test failure
Custom matchers@Test
public void shouldHaveIsbnGenerated() {
Book book = new Book(1l, "5555", "A book");
assertThat(book, hasIsbn("1234"));}
fail()
In some cases (e.g. testing exceptions) you may want to force test to fail if some expected situation does not happen
fail()
try { // do stuff... fail("Exception not thrown");} catch(Exception e){ assertTrue(e.hasSomeFlag());}
fail()
● Fundamentally not bad, but better use matchers for expected failure
● Matchers help to clarify test intention● Don’t forget - expected behaviour is an
opposite of a failing test
Anti-pattern: The Ugly Mirror@Test
public void personToStringShouldIncludeNameAndSurname() {
Person person = new Person("Vilkas", "Pilkas");
String expected =
"Person[" + person.getName() + " " + person.getSurname() + "]"
assertEquals(expected, person.toString());
}
Anti-pattern: The Ugly Mirror@Test
public void personToStringShouldIncludeNameAndSurname() {
Person person = new Person("Vilkas", "Pilkas");
String expected =
"Person[" + person.getName() + " " + person.getSurname() + "]"
assertEquals(expected, person.toString());
}
Anti-pattern: The Ugly Mirror@Test
public void personToStringShouldIncludeNameAndSurname() {
Person person = new Person("Vilkas", "Pilkas");
assertEquals("Person[Vilkas Pilkas]", person.toString());
}
Ignoring tests
● Always use ignore/pending API from your test library (JUnit @Ignore)
● Do not comment out or false assert your test
Ignoring tests
● Always use ignore/pending API from your test library (JUnit @Ignore)
● Do not comment out or false assert your test● If you do not need a test - delete it
JUnit expected exception@Test(expected=IndexOutOfBoundsException.class)public void shouldThrowIndexOutOfBoundsException() { ArrayList emptyList = new ArrayList(); Object o = emptyList.get(0);}
//matcher in Specs2 (Scala)
server.process(None) must throwA[NothingToProccess]
try and catch
public void shouldThrowIndexOutOfBoundsException() { ArrayList emptyList = new ArrayList();
try { Object o = emptyList.get(0);
fail("Should throw IndexOutOfBoundsException");
} catch(IndexOutOfBoundsException e)){
//consider asserting message!
}}
catch-exception libList myList = new ArrayList();
catchException(myList).get(1);
assertThat(caughtException(),
allOf(
is(IndexOutOfBoundsException.class),
hasMessage("Index: 1, Size: 0"),
hasNoCause()
)
);
Exceptions
● What about ExpectedException Rule?○ My personal opinion - not that intuitive○ breaks arrange/act/assert flow
ExpectedException rule@Rule public ExpectedException exception = ExpectedException.none();
@Testpublic void testExpectedException() { exception.expect(IllegalArgumentException.class); exception.expectMessage(containsString('Invalid age')); new Person('Vilkas', -1);}
//Person constructor
public Person(String name, int age) { if (age <= 0) throw new IllegalArgumentException('Invalid age:' + age);
// ...
}
Problempublic class MyService {
...
public void process(LocalDate date) { if (date.isBefore(LocalDate.now()) { ... } }
}
Testing with Time
● Design your system where time is a collaborator
● Inject test specific time provider in your test○ constant time○ slow time○ boundary cases time
Control time with Clockpublic class MyService { private Clock clock; // dependency inject
...
public void process(LocalDate date) { if (date.isBefore(LocalDate.now(clock)) { ... } }
}
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content● Prefer exact content matching
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content● Prefer exact content matching● Avoid incomplete assertions
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content● Prefer exact content matching● Avoid incomplete assertions● Do not sort just because it is easier to assert!
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content● Prefer exact content matching● Avoid incomplete assertions● Do not sort just because it is easier to assert!● Multiple assertions are worse than single content
assertion
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content● Prefer exact content matching● Avoid incomplete assertions● Do not sort just because it is easier to assert!● Multiple assertions are worse than single content
assertion● Unless you want to say something important in your test!
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content● Prefer exact content matching● Avoid incomplete assertions● Do not sort just because it is easier to assert!● Multiple assertions are worse than single content
assertion● Unless you want to say something important in your test!● Use matchers!
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content● Prefer exact content matching● Avoid incomplete assertions● Do not sort just because it is easier to assert!● Multiple assertions are worse than single content
assertion● Unless you want to say something important in your test!● Use matchers!
Random values in tests
● Most of the time you do not want it● Unless you depend on randomness a lot (eg.
password generation*)
*Thanks to Aleksandar Tomovski for a good example
Random values in tests
● Most of the time you do not want it● Unless you depend on randomness a lot● Use property based testing (which is also
hard)
Random values in tests
● Most of the time you do not want it● Unless you depend on randomness a lot● Use property based testing (which is also
hard)● Do not make dummy values random
Generate Multiple Test Cases
● Quality over quantity● Think of boundary cases, that you may want
to detect with random test
Generate Multiple Test Cases
● Quality over quantity● Think of boundary cases, that you may want
to detect with random test● Use parameterized tests
Generate Multiple Test Cases
● Quality over quantity● Think of boundary cases, that you may want
to detect with random test● Use parameterized tests● Random is hard to repeat
Generate Multiple Test Cases
● Quality over quantity● Think of boundary cases, that you may want
to detect with random test● Use parameterized tests● Random is hard to repeat● Flickering tests
How many assertions per test?
● Unit test - one assertion per test. Must be clear and readable
● Proper test should fail for exactly one reason● End to end - best case one assertion per
test, but more are allowed● Consider custom matchers
How many assertions per test?
● Unit test - one assertion per test. Must be clear and readable
● Proper test should fail for exactly one reason
● End to end - best case one assertion per test, but more are allowed
● Consider custom matchers
What can be better in this test [pseudocode]
@Test shouldRetrieveUserByLogin() {
String userJson = "{\"username\": \"vaidas\"}";
HttpRequest post = new Post("https://localhost:8080/users", userJson);
HttpResponse postResp = HttpClient().execute(post);
assertThat(postResp.status, is(200));
HttpRequest get = new Get("https://localhost:8080/users/vaidas");
HttpResponse getResp = HttpClient().execute(get);
User user = mapper.readValue(getResp, User.class);
assertThat(username, is("vaidas"));
}
Decoupling from low level details [pseudocode]
@Test shouldRetrieveUserByUsername() {
CreateUserResponse createResp = aCreateUserRequest().withUsername("vaidas").execute();
assertThat(createResp, hasStatus(OK));
GetUserResponse getResp = aGetUserRequest().withUsername("vaidas").execute();
assertThat(getResp, allOf(hasStatus(OK), hasUsername("vaidas")));
}
Thoughts on end-to-end testing
● What is real e2e? REST vs. UI● Testing by using system itself ● Vs. using low level DB driver to verify data
persistence
Comments in Test code
● Fundamentally good option to explain complicated parts, but:
● better use good method naming● custom matcher● do less, so that intention is clear● comments are not so bad in isolated well
named methods