Download - Developer Test - Things to Know
“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 I’m going to talk 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
“Legacy Code is code without Tests”
Michael FeathersWorking Effectively with Legacy Code
So what is test?
It is system’s exercise under predefined conditions and then verification of an expected outcome.
Thing #1Test phases
Test phases
1. Set up2. Exercise 3. Verify4. Tear down
Test phases@Test public void serverShouldExecuteJobSuccessfully() {
Server server = new Server(); // set up
Job job = new Job(); // set up
Status status = server.execute(job); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
server.shutdown(); // tear down
}
@Before public void before() {
server = new Server();
}
@Test public void serverShouldExecuteJobSuccessfully() {
Job job = new Job(); // set up
Status status = server.execute(job); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
server.shutdown(); // tear down
}
@Before public void before() {
server = new Server();
Job job = new Job();
}
@Test public void serverShouldExecuteJobSuccessfully() {
Status status = server.execute(job); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
server.shutdown(); // tear down
}
@Test public void serverShouldQueueJobWithFutureDate() {
// * set up which is actual for the current method
// * use scope specific name
Job futureJob = new Job(futureDate()); // set up
Status status = server.execute(futureJob); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
server.shutdown(); // tear down
}
@Before public void before() {
server = new Server();
Job job = new Job();
}
@Test public void serverShouldExecuteJobSuccessfully() {
Status status = server.execute(job); // exercise
assertEquals(SUCCESS, status); // verify
}
@After public void after() {
server.shutdown(); // tear down
}
@Before ..
@Test public void serverShouldExecuteJobSuccessfully() {
// * no need to name intermediate var, but
// * may hide return meaning of server.execute()
// execute & verify
assertEquals(SUCCESS, server.execute(job));
}
@After ..
Set up
● DRY principle
Set up
● DRY principle● Readability
Set up
● DRY principle● Readability● Consistency
Set up
● DRY principle● Readability● Consistency● Complexity
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
Thing #2What do we test?
Test behaviour not methods
● Think of a contract
Test behaviour not methods
● Think of a contract ● And responsibilities
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
Thing #3Matchers
Matchers
● Enhanced readability● Assertions 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)
● Bring common matchers for you to use● Write your own custom matchers
HamcrestassertThat(theBiscuit, equalTo(myBiscuit));
assertThat(theBiscuit, is(equalTo(myBiscuit)));
assertThat(theBiscuit, is(myBiscuit));
AssertJassertThat(frodo.getName()).isEqualTo("Frodo");
assertThat(frodo).isNotEqualTo(sauron) .isIn(fellowshipOfTheRing);
assertThat(sauron).isNotIn(fellowshipOfTheRing);
Thing #4Custom matchers
Custom matchers
Are matchers we develop specifically for our projects
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 custom message to be more
specific about test failure
Custom matchers@Test
public void testBookIsbn() {
Book book = new Book(1l, "5555", "A book");
assertThat(book, hasIsbn("1234"));}
Thing #5Failing test
fail()
In some cases like 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
Thing #6Anti-pattern: The Ugly Mirror
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());
}
Thing #7How to turn off the test?
Why would you want to turn off the test?
● Well, because it fails… :)
Ignoring tests
● Always use ignore/pending API from your test library (JUnit @Ignore)
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
Thing #8What to do with exceptions?
Exceptions
● If you can, use matchers instead of○ @Test(expected=?)
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]
Exceptions
● If you can, use matchers instead of○ @Test(expected=?)○ try-catch approach
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!
}}
Exceptions
● If you can, use matchers instead of○ @Test(expected=?)○ try-catch approach
● catch-exception lib
catch-exception libList myList = new ArrayList();
catchException(myList).get(1);
assertThat(caughtException(),
allOf(
is(IndexOutOfBoundsException.class),
hasMessage("Index: 1, Size: 0"),
hasNoCause()
)
);
Exceptions
● If you can, use matchers instead of○ @Test(expected=?)○ try-catch approach
● catch-exception lib● 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);
// ...
}
Thing #9How to test asynchronous code?
Asynchronous code
● Do not Thread.sleep - makes test slow
Asynchronous code
● Do not Thread.sleep - makes test slow● Use Awaitility, or similar DSL for
synchronizing asynchronous operations
Awaitility (Java 8 example)@Testpublic void shouldPersistNewUser() { publish(new CreateUserCommand("Vilkas Pilkas"));
await().until(userRepo::size, is(1));
//how long to await? (Default is 10 seconds) await().until(userRepo::isNotEmpty);}
Asynchronous code
● Do not Thread.sleep - makes test slow● Use Awaitility, or similar DSL for
synchronizing asynchronous operations● Use reasonable await time to avoid flaky
tests
Thing #10Testing with time
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)) { ... } }
}
Thing #11Collections
Collections - multiple properties to assert
● Is null?● Size● Order● Content
Collections● Most of the time you want to assert on collection content
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!
Thing #12Access modifiers
Access modifiers
● Rule is simple - never access anything that is not public in your tests
Access modifiers
● Rule is simple - never access anything that is not public in your tests
● Private things are implementation details which are not part of the public contract
Access modifiers
● Rule is simple - never access anything that is not public in your tests
● Private things are implementation details which are not part of the public contract
● Same applies for protected/package modifiers. They must be there for production code, but not available to your tests
Thing #13Random values
Random values in tests
● Most of the time you do not want it
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
What if we still need random cases?
Generate Multiple Test Cases
● Quality over quantity
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
Thing #14How many assertions per test?
How many assertions per test?
● Unit test - one assertion per test. Must be clear and readable
● Proper unit tests should fail for exactly one reason
● End to end - best case one assertions per test, but more allowed
● Consider custom matchers
Thing #15Test Doubles
Test Doubles
The name comes from the notion of a Stunt Double in movies
Why do we need test doubles?
● To test in an isolated environment by replacing real collaborators with doubles
● To have fast tests● To test interactions● To change collaborators behaviour in test
Types of Test Doubles
● Dummy● Fake● Stub● Spy● Mock
Dummy
Dummy objects are passed around but never actually used. Usually they are just used to fill parameter lists
Fake
Fake objects actually have working implementations, but usually take some shortcut which makes them not suitable for production (an in memory database is a good example)
Stub
Stubs provide canned answers to calls made during the test, usually not responding at all to anything outside what's programmed in for the test. Stubs may also record information about calls, such as an email gateway stub that remembers the messages it 'sent', or maybe only how many messages it 'sent'
Spy
Stubs that verify behavior
Mock
Mocks are what we are talking about here: objects pre-programmed with expectations which form a specification of the calls they are expected to receive
So what’s the difference between Spy and Mock?
Thing #16Naming
Where to keep your tests
● Recommendation: keep them in separate package from production code
Class Naming
● End test classes with Test suffix (or one required by your test framework)
● For long test classes:○ split by feature○ by input type
Method Naming
● Everybody should follow the same pattern● testGeneratePassword vs
shouldGenerateValidPassword
Naming Test Doubles
● Intention revealing stubEngine, spyServer, dummyUser, mockService
Thing #17Comments
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 set up method (not the first thing to be seen in test method)
Thanks!Q & A