Test unit generation and execution for Nit.

In Nit, unit testing can be achieved in two ways:

• using DocUnits in code comments
• using TestSuites with test unit files

DocUnits are executable pieces of code found in the documentation of modules, classes and properties. They are used for documentation purpose, they should be kept simple and illustrative. More advanced unit testing can be done using TestSuites.

TestSuites are test files coupled to a tested module. They contain a list of test methods called TestCase.

Working with DocUnits

With DocUnits, executable code can be placed in comments of modules, classes and properties. The execution can be verified using assert

Example with a class:

module foo

#    var foo = new Foo
#    assert foo.bar == 10
class Foo
	var bar = 10
end

Everything used in the test must be declared. To test a method you have to instanciate its class:

module foo

#    var foo = new Foo
#    assert foo.bar == 10
class Foo
	#    var foo = new Foo
	#    assert foo.baz(1, 2) == 3
	fun baz(a, b: Int): Int do return a + b
end

nitunit is used to test Nit files:

	$ nitunit foo.nit

Working with TestSuites

TestSuites are Nit files that define a set of TestCase for a particular module.

The test suite module must be declared using the test annotation. The structure of a test suite is the following:

# test suite for module `foo`
module test_foo is test

import foo # can be intrude to test private things

class TestFoo
	test

	# test case for `foo::Foo::baz`
	fun baz is test do
		var subject = new Foo
		assert subject.baz(1, 2) == 3
	end
end

Test suite can be executed using the same nitunit command:

	$ nitunit foo.nit

To be started automatically with nitunit, the module must be called test_ followed by the name of the module to test. So for the module foo.nit the test suite will be called test_foo.nit. Otherwise, you can use the -t option to specify the test suite module name:

	$ nitunit foo.nit -t my_test_suite.nit

nitunit will execute a test for each method annotated with test in a class also annotated with test so multiple tests can be executed for a single method:

class TestFoo
	test

	fun baz_1 is test do
		var subject = new Foo
		assert subject.baz(1, 2) == 3
	end

	fun baz_2 is test do
		var subject = new Foo
		assert subject.baz(1, -2) == -1
	end
end

TestSuites also provide methods to configure the test run:

before and after annotations can be added to methods that must be called before/after each test case. They can be used to factorize repetitive tasks:

class TestFoo
	test

	var subject: Foo is noinit

	# Method executed before each test
	fun set_up is before do
		subject = new Foo
	end

	fun baz_1 is test do
		assert subject.baz(1, 2) == 3
	end

	fun baz_2 is test do
		assert subject.baz(1, -2) == -1
	end
end

When using custom test attributes, a empty init must be declared to allow automatic test running.

At class level, before_all and after_all annotations can be set on methods that must be called before/after all the test cases in the class:

class TestFoo
	test

	var subject: Foo is noinit

	# Method executed before all tests in the class
	fun set_up is before_all do
		subject = new Foo
	end

	fun baz_1 is test do
		assert subject.baz(1, 2) == 3
	end

	fun baz_2 is test do
		assert subject.baz(1, -2) == -1
	end
end

before_all and after_all annotations can also be set on methods that must be called before/after each test suite when declared at top level:

module test_bdd_connector

import bdd_connector

# Testing the bdd_connector
class TestConnector
	test
	# test cases using a server
end

# Method executed before testing the module
fun setup_db is before_all do
	# start server before all test cases
end

# Method executed after testing the module
fun teardown_db is after_all do
	# stop server after all test cases
end

When dealing with multiple test suites, niunit allows you to import other test suites to factorize your tests:

module test_bdd_users

import test_bdd_connector

# Testing the user table
class TestUsersTable
	test
	# test cases using the db server from `test_bdd_connector`
end

fun setup_table is before_all do
	# create user table
end

fun teardown_table is after_all do
	# drop user table
end

Methods with before* and after* annotations are linearized and called in different ways.

• before* methods are called from the least specific to the most specific
• after* methods are called from the most specific to the least specific

In the previous example, the execution order would be:

1. test_bdd_connector::setup_db
2. test_bdd_users::setup_table
3. all test cases from test_bdd_users
4. test_bdd_users::teardown_table
5. test_bdd_connector::teardown_db

Generating test suites

Write test suites for big modules can be a pepetitive and boring task... To make it easier, nitunit can generate test skeletons for Nit modules:

	$ nitunit --gen-suite foo.nit

This will generate the test suite test_foo containing test case stubs for all public methods found in foo.nit.

Useful options with --gen-suite:

• --private: also generate tests for protected and private methods
• --force: force generation of the skeleton (existing test suite will be overwritten)