# :include: ../../../../README # # ---- # # = Usage # # The general idea behind unit testing is that you write a _test_ # _method_ that makes certain _assertions_ about your code, working # against a _test_ _fixture_. A bunch of these _test_ _methods_ are # bundled up into a _test_ _suite_ and can be run any time the # developer wants. The results of a run are gathered in a _test_ # _result_ and displayed to the user through some UI. So, lets break # this down and see how Test::Unit provides each of these necessary # pieces. # # # == Assertions # # These are the heart of the framework. Think of an assertion as a # statement of expected outcome, i.e. "I assert that x should be equal # to y". If, when the assertion is executed, it turns out to be # correct, nothing happens, and life is good. If, on the other hand, # your assertion turns out to be false, an error is propagated with # pertinent information so that you can go back and make your # assertion succeed, and, once again, life is good. For an explanation # of the current assertions, see Test::Unit::Assertions. # # # == Test Method & Test Fixture # # Obviously, these assertions have to be called within a context that # knows about them and can do something meaningful with their # pass/fail value. Also, it's handy to collect a bunch of related # tests, each test represented by a method, into a common test class # that knows how to run them. The tests will be in a separate class # from the code they're testing for a couple of reasons. First of all, # it allows your code to stay uncluttered with test code, making it # easier to maintain. Second, it allows the tests to be stripped out # for deployment, since they're really there for you, the developer, # and your users don't need them. Third, and most importantly, it # allows you to set up a common test fixture for your tests to run # against. # # What's a test fixture? Well, tests do not live in a vacuum; rather, # they're run against the code they are testing. Often, a collection # of tests will run against a common set of data, also called a # fixture. If they're all bundled into the same test class, they can # all share the setting up and tearing down of that data, eliminating # unnecessary duplication and making it much easier to add related # tests. # # Test::Unit::TestCase wraps up a collection of test methods together # and allows you to easily set up and tear down the same test fixture # for each test. This is done by overriding #setup and/or #teardown, # which will be called before and after each test method that is # run. The TestCase also knows how to collect the results of your # assertions into a Test::Unit::TestResult, which can then be reported # back to you... but I'm getting ahead of myself. To write a test, # follow these steps: # # * Make sure Test::Unit is in your library path. # * require 'test/unit' in your test script. # * Create a class that subclasses Test::Unit::TestCase. # * Add a method that begins with "test" to your class. # * Make assertions in your test method. # * Optionally define #setup and/or #teardown to set up and/or tear # down your common test fixture. # * You can now run your test as you would any other Ruby # script... try it and see! # # A really simple test might look like this (#setup and #teardown are # commented out to indicate that they are completely optional): # # require 'test/unit' # # class TC_MyTest < Test::Unit::TestCase # # def setup # # end # # # def teardown # # end # # def test_fail # assert(false, 'Assertion was false.') # end # end # # # == Test Runners # # So, now you have this great test class, but you still need a way to # run it and view any failures that occur during the run. This is # where Test::Unit::UI::Console::TestRunner (and others, such as # Test::Unit::UI::GTK::TestRunner) comes into play. The console test # runner is automatically invoked for you if you require 'test/unit' # and simply run the file. To use another runner, or to manually # invoke a runner, simply call its run class method and pass in an # object that responds to the suite message with a # Test::Unit::TestSuite. This can be as simple as passing in your # TestCase class (which has a class suite method). It might look # something like this: # # require 'test/unit/ui/console/testrunner' # Test::Unit::UI::Console::TestRunner.run(TC_MyTest) # # # == Test Suite # # As more and more unit tests accumulate for a given project, it # becomes a real drag running them one at a time, and it also # introduces the potential to overlook a failing test because you # forget to run it. Suddenly it becomes very handy that the # TestRunners can take any object that returns a Test::Unit::TestSuite # in response to a suite method. The TestSuite can, in turn, contain # other TestSuites or individual tests (typically created by a # TestCase). In other words, you can easily wrap up a group of # TestCases and TestSuites like this: # # require 'test/unit/testsuite' # require 'tc_myfirsttests' # require 'tc_moretestsbyme' # require 'ts_anothersetoftests' # # class TS_MyTests # def self.suite # suite = Test::Unit::TestSuite.new # suite << TC_MyFirstTests.suite # suite << TC_MoreTestsByMe.suite # suite << TS_AnotherSetOfTests.suite # return suite # end # end # Test::Unit::UI::Console::TestRunner.run(TS_MyTests) # # Now, this is a bit cumbersome, so Test::Unit does a little bit more # for you, by wrapping these up automatically when you require # 'test/unit'. What does this mean? It means you could write the above # test case like this instead: # # require 'test/unit' # require 'tc_myfirsttests' # require 'tc_moretestsbyme' # require 'ts_anothersetoftests' # # Test::Unit is smart enough to find all the test cases existing in # the ObjectSpace and wrap them up into a suite for you. It then runs # the dynamic suite using the console TestRunner. # # # == Questions? # # I'd really like to get feedback from all levels of Ruby # practitioners about typos, grammatical errors, unclear statements, # missing points, etc., in this document (or any other). require 'test/unit/testcase' require 'test/unit/ui/testrunnermediator' at_exit { # We can't debug tests run with at_exit unless we add the following: set_trace_func DEBUGGER__.context.method(:trace_func).to_proc if (defined? DEBUGGER__) if (!Test::Unit::UI::TestRunnerMediator.run?) suite_name = $0.sub(/\.rb$/, '') suite = Test::Unit::TestSuite.new(suite_name) test_classes = [] ObjectSpace.each_object(Class) { | klass | test_classes << klass if (Test::Unit::TestCase > klass) } runners = { '--console' => proc do |suite| require 'test/unit/ui/console/testrunner' Test::Unit::UI::Console::TestRunner.run(suite) end, '--gtk' => proc do |suite| require 'test/unit/ui/gtk/testrunner' Test::Unit::UI::GTK::TestRunner.run(suite) end, '--fox' => proc do |suite| require 'test/unit/ui/fox/testrunner' Test::Unit::UI::Fox::TestRunner.run(suite) end, } unless (ARGV.empty?) runner = runners[ARGV[0]] ARGV.shift unless (runner.nil?) end runner = runners['--console'] if (runner.nil?) if ARGV.empty? test_classes.each { |klass| suite << klass.suite } else tests = test_classes.map { |klass| klass.suite.tests }.flatten criteria = ARGV.map { |arg| (arg =~ %r{^/(.*)/$}) ? Regexp.new($1) : arg } criteria.each { | criterion | if (criterion.instance_of?(Regexp)) tests.each { |test| suite << test if (criterion =~ test.name) } elsif (/^A-Z/ =~ criterion) tests.each { |test| suite << test if (criterion == test.class.name) } else tests.each { |test| suite << test if (criterion == test.method_name) } end } end runner.call(suite) end }