Unit testing
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Unit testing,a.k.a.componentormoduletesting, is a form ofsoftware testingby which isolatedsource codeis tested to validate expected behavior.[1]
Unit testing describes tests that are run at the unit-level to contrast testing at theintegrationorsystemlevel.
History
[edit]Unit testing, as a principle for testing separately smaller parts of large software systems dates back to the early days of software engineering. In June 1956, H.D. Benington presented at US Navy's Symposium on Advanced Programming Methods for Digital Computers theSAGEproject and its specification based approach where the coding phase was followed by "parameter testing" to validate component subprograms against their specification, followed then by an "assembly testing" for parts put together.[2][3]
In 1964, a similar approach is described for the software of theMercury project,where individual units developed by different programmes underwent "unit tests" before being integrated together.[4]In 1969, testing methodologies appear more structured, with unit tests, component tests and integration tests with the purpose of validating individual parts written separately and their progressive assembly into larger blocks.[5]Some public standards adopted end of the 60's, such as MIL-STD-483[6]and MIL-STD-490 contributed further to a wide acceptance of unit testing in large projects.
Unit testing was in those times interactive[3]or automated,[7]using either coded tests orcapture and replay testingtools. In 1989,Kent Beckdescribed a testing framework forSmalltalk(later calledSUnit) in "Simple Smalltalk Testing: With Patterns".In 1997,Kent BeckandErich Gammadeveloped and releasedJUnit,a unit test framework that became popular withJavadevelopers.[8]Googleembraced automated testing around 2005–2006.[9]
Unit
[edit]Unit is defined as a single behaviour exhibited by the system under test (SUT), usually corresponding to a requirement. While it may imply it's a function or a module (inprocedural programming) or a method or a class (inobject-oriented programming) it doesn't mean functions/methods, modules or classes always correspond to units. From the system-requirements perspective only the perimeter of the system is relevant, thus only entry points to externally-visible system behaviours define units.[10]
Execution
[edit]Unit tests can be performed manually or viaautomated testexecution. Automated tests include benefits such as: running tests often, running tests without staffing cost, and consistent and repeatable testing.
Testing is often performed by the programmer who writes and modifies the code under test. Unit testing may be viewed as part of the process of writing code.
Testing criteria
[edit] | This sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2019) |
During development, a programmer may code criteria, or results that are known to be good, into the test to verify the unit's correctness.
During test execution, frameworkslogtests that fail any criterion and report them in a summary.
For this, the most commonly used approach is test - function - expected value.
Test case
[edit]Test double
[edit]Parameterized test
[edit]Aparameterized testis a test that accepts a set of values that can be used to enable the test to run with multiple, different input values. A testing framework that supports parametrized tests supports a way to encode parameter sets and to run the test with each set.
Use of parametrized tests can reduce test code duplication.
Parameterized tests are supported byTestNG,JUnit,[13]XUnitandNUnit,as well as in various JavaScript test frameworks.[citation needed]
Parameters for the unit tests may be coded manually or in some cases are automatically generated by the test framework. In recent years support was added for writing more powerful (unit) tests, leveraging the concept of theories, test cases that execute the same steps, but using test data generated at runtime, unlike regular parameterized tests that use the same execution steps with input sets that are pre-defined.[citation needed]
Agile
[edit]Sometimes, in the agile software development, unit testing is done peruser storyand comes in the later half of the sprint after requirements gathering and development are complete. Typically, the developers or other members from the development team, such asconsultants,will write step-by-step 'test scripts' for the developers to execute in the tool. Test scripts are generally written to prove the effective and technical operation of specific developed features in the tool, as opposed to full fledged business processes that would be interfaced by theend user,which is typically done duringuser acceptance testing.If the test-script can be fully executed from start to finish without incident, the unit test is considered to have "passed", otherwise errors are noted and the user story is moved back to development in an 'in-progress' state. User stories that successfully pass unit tests are moved on to the final steps of the sprint - Code review, peer review, and then lastly a 'show-back' session demonstrating the developed tool to stakeholders.
Test-driven development
[edit]In test-driven development (TDD), unit tests are written while the production code is written. Starting with working code, the developer adds test code for a required behavior, then addsjust enoughcode to make the test pass, then refactors the code (including test code) as makes sense and then repeats by adding another test.
Value
[edit]Unit testing is intended to ensure that the units meet theirdesignand behave as intended.[14]
By writing tests first for the smallest testable units, then the compound behaviors between those, one can build up comprehensive tests for complex applications.[14]
One goal of unit testing is to isolate each part of the program and show that the individual parts are correct.[1]A unit test provides a strict, writtencontractthat the piece of code must satisfy.
Early detection of problems in the development cycle
[edit]Unit testing finds problems early in thedevelopment cycle.This includes both bugs in the programmer's implementation and flaws or missing parts of the specification for the unit. The process of writing a thorough set of tests forces the author to think through inputs, outputs, and error conditions, and thus more crisply define the unit's desired behavior.[citation needed]
Reduced cost
[edit]The cost of finding a bug before coding begins or when the code is first written is considerably lower than the cost of detecting, identifying, and correcting the bug later. Bugs in released code may also cause costly problems for the end-users of the software.[15][16][17]Code can be impossible or difficult to unit test if poorly written, thus unit testing can force developers to structure functions and objects in better ways.
More frequent releases
[edit]Unit testing enables more frequent releases in software development. By testing individual components in isolation, developers can quickly identify and address issues, leading to faster iteration and release cycles.[18]
Allows for code refactoring
[edit]Unit testing allows the programmer torefactorcode or upgrade system libraries at a later date, and make sure the module still works correctly (e.g., inregression testing). The procedure is to write test cases for allfunctionsandmethodsso that whenever a change causes a fault, it can be identified quickly.
Detects changes which may break a design contract
[edit]Unit tests detect changes which may break adesign contract.
Reduce uncertainty
[edit]Unit testing may reduce uncertainty in the units themselves and can be used in abottom-uptesting style approach. By testing the parts of a program first and then testing the sum of its parts,integration testingbecomes much easier.[citation needed]
Documentation of system behavior
[edit]Some programmers contend that unit tests provide a form of documentation of the code. Developers wanting to learn what functionality is provided by a unit, and how to use it, can review the unit tests to gain an understanding of it.[citation needed]
Test cases can embody characteristics that are critical to the success of the unit. These characteristics can indicate appropriate/inappropriate use of a unit as well as negative behaviors that are to be trapped by the unit. A test case documents these critical characteristics, although many software development environments do not rely solely upon code to document the product in development.[citation needed]
In some processes, the act of writing tests and the code under test, plus associated refactoring, may take the place of formal design. Each unit test can be seen as a design element specifying classes, methods, and observable behavior.[citation needed]
Limitations and disadvantages
[edit]Testing will not catch every error in the program, because it cannot evaluate every execution path in any but the most trivial programs. Thisproblemis a superset of thehalting problem,which isundecidable.The same is true for unit testing. Additionally, unit testing by definition only tests the functionality of the units themselves. Therefore, it will not catch integration errors or broader system-level errors (such as functions performed across multiple units, or non-functional test areas such asperformance). Unit testing should be done in conjunction with othersoftware testingactivities, as they can only show the presence or absence of particular errors; they cannot prove a complete absence of errors. To guarantee correct behavior for every execution path and every possible input, and ensure the absence of errors, other techniques are required, namely the application offormal methodsto prove that a software component has no unexpected behavior.[citation needed]
An elaborate hierarchy of unit tests does not equal integration testing. Integration with peripheral units should be included in integration tests, but not in unit tests.[citation needed]Integration testing typically still relies heavily on humanstesting manually;high-level or global-scope testing can be difficult to automate, such that manual testing often appears faster and cheaper.[citation needed]
Software testing is a combinatorial problem. For example, every Boolean decision statement requires at least two tests: one with an outcome of "true" and one with an outcome of "false". As a result, for every line of code written, programmers often need 3 to 5 lines of test code.[citation needed]This obviously takes time and its investment may not be worth the effort. There are problems that cannot easily be tested at all – for example those that arenondeterministicor involve multiplethreads.In addition, code for a unit test is as likely to be buggy as the code it is testing.Fred BrooksinThe Mythical Man-Monthquotes: "Never go to sea with two chronometers; take one or three."[19]Meaning, if twochronometerscontradict, how do you know which one is correct?
Difficulty in setting up realistic and useful tests
[edit]Another challenge related to writing the unit tests is the difficulty of setting up realistic and useful tests. It is necessary to create relevant initial conditions so the part of the application being tested behaves like part of the complete system. If these initial conditions are not set correctly, the test will not be exercising the code in a realistic context, which diminishes the value and accuracy of unit test results.[citation needed]
Requires discipline throughout the development process
[edit]To obtain the intended benefits from unit testing, rigorous discipline is needed throughout the software development process.
Requires version control
[edit]It is essential to keep careful records not only of the tests that have been performed, but also of all changes that have been made to the source code of this or any other unit in the software. Use of aversion controlsystem is essential. If a later version of the unit fails a particular test that it had previously passed, the version-control software can provide a list of the source code changes (if any) that have been applied to the unit since that time.[citation needed]
Requires regular reviews
[edit]It is also essential to implement a sustainable process for ensuring that test case failures are reviewed regularly and addressed immediately.[20]If such a process is not implemented and ingrained into the team's workflow, the application will evolve out of sync with the unit test suite, increasing false positives and reducing the effectiveness of the test suite.
Limitations for embedded system software
[edit]Unit testing embedded system software presents a unique challenge: Because the software is being developed on a different platform than the one it will eventually run on, you cannot readily run a test program in the actual deployment environment, as is possible with desktop programs.[21]
Limitations for testing integration with external systems
[edit]Unit tests tend to be easiest when a method has input parameters and some output. It is not as easy to create unit tests when a major function of the method is to interact with something external to the application. For example, a method that will work with a database might require a mock up of database interactions to be created, which probably won't be as comprehensive as the real database interactions.[22][better source needed]
Examples
[edit]JUnit
[edit]Below is an example of a JUnit test suite. It focuses on theAdderclass.
classAdder{
publicintadd(inta,intb){
returna+b;
}
}
The test suite usesassertstatements to verify the expected result of various input values to thesummethod.
import staticorg.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
importorg.junit.Test;
publicclassAdderUnitTest{
@Test
publicvoidsumReturnsZeroForZeroInput(){
Adderadder=newAdder();
assertEquals(0,adder.add(0,0));
}
@Test
publicvoidsumReturnsSumOfTwoPositiveNumbers(){
Adderadder=newAdder();
assertEquals(3,adder.add(1,2));
}
@Test
publicvoidsumReturnsSumOfTwoNegativeNumbers(){
Adderadder=newAdder();
assertEquals(-3,adder.add(-1,-2));
}
@Test
publicvoidsumReturnsSumOfLargeNumbers(){
Adderadder=newAdder();
assertEquals(2222,adder.add(1234,988));
}
}
As executable specifications
[edit] |
Using unit-tests as a design specification has one significant advantage over other design methods: The design document (the unit-tests themselves) can itself be used to verify the implementation. The tests will never pass unless the developer implements a solution according to the design.
Unit testing lacks some of the accessibility of a diagrammatic specification such as aUMLdiagram, but they may be generated from the unit test using automated tools. Most modern languages have free tools (usually available as extensions toIDEs). Free tools, like those based on thexUnitframework, outsource to another system the graphical rendering of a view for human consumption.
Applications
[edit]Extreme programming
[edit]Unit testing is the cornerstone ofextreme programming,which relies on an automatedunit testing framework.This automated unit testing framework can be either third party, e.g.,xUnit,or created within the development group.
Extreme programming uses the creation of unit tests fortest-driven development.The developer writes a unit test that exposes either a software requirement or a defect. This test will fail because either the requirement isn't implemented yet, or because it intentionally exposes a defect in the existing code. Then, the developer writes the simplest code to make the test, along with other tests, pass.
Most code in a system is unit tested, but not necessarily all paths through the code. Extreme programming mandates a "test everything that can possibly break" strategy, over the traditional "test every execution path" method. This leads developers to develop fewer tests than classical methods, but this isn't really a problem, more a restatement of fact, as classical methods have rarely ever been followed methodically enough for all execution paths to have been thoroughly tested.[citation needed]Extreme programming simply recognizes that testing is rarely exhaustive (because it is often too expensive and time-consuming to be economically viable) and provides guidance on how to effectively focus limited resources.
Crucially, the test code is considered a first class project artifact in that it is maintained at the same quality as the implementation code, with all duplication removed. Developers release unit testing code to the code repository in conjunction with the code it tests. Extreme programming's thorough unit testing allows the benefits mentioned above, such as simpler and more confident code development andrefactoring,simplified code integration, accurate documentation, and more modular designs. These unit tests are also constantly run as a form ofregression test.
Unit testing is also critical to the concept ofEmergent Design.As emergent design is heavily dependent upon refactoring, unit tests are an integral component.[citation needed]
Automated testing frameworks
[edit]An automated testing framework provides features for automating test execution and can accelerate writing and running tests. Frameworks have been developed fora wide variety of programming languages.
Generally, frameworks arethird-party;not distributed with a compiler orintegrated development environment(IDE).
Tests can be written without using a framework to exercise the code under test usingassertions,exception handling,and othercontrol flowmechanisms to verify behavior and report failure. Some note that testing without a framework is valuable since there is abarrier to entryfor the adoption of a framework; that having some tests is better than none, but once a framework is in place, adding tests can be easier.[23]
In some frameworks advanced test features are missing and must be hand-coded.
Language-level unit testing support
[edit]Some programming languages directly support unit testing. Their grammar allows the direct declaration of unit tests without importing a library (whether third party or standard). Additionally, the Boolean conditions of the unit tests can be expressed in the same syntax as Boolean expressions used in non-unit test code, such as what is used forifandwhilestatements.
Languages with built-in unit testing support include:
Languages with standard unit testing framework support include:
Some languages do not have built-in unit-testing support but have established unit testing libraries or frameworks. These languages include:
- ABAP
- C++
- C#
- Clojure[33]
- Elixir
- Java
- JavaScript
- Objective-C
- Perl
- PHP
- PowerShell[34]
- Rwith testthat
- Scala
- tcl
- Visual Basic.NET
- Xojowith XojoUnit
See also
[edit]- Acceptance testing
- Characterization test
- Component-based usability testing
- Design predicates
- Design by contract
- Extreme programming
- Functional testing
- Integration testing
- List of unit testing frameworks
- Regression testing
- Software archaeology
- Software testing
- System testing
- Test case
- Test-driven development
- xUnit– a family of unit testing frameworks.
References
[edit]- ^abKolawa, Adam; Huizinga, Dorota (2007).Automated Defect Prevention: Best Practices in Software Management.Wiley-IEEE Computer Society Press. p. 75.ISBN978-0-470-04212-0.
- ^Benington, Herbert D. (1956). "Production of large computer programs".Proceedings of the Symposium on Advanced Programming Methods for Digital Computers, Washington, D.C., June 28-29, 1956.Office of Naval Research, Department of the Navy: 15–28.
- ^abBenington, H. D. (1 March 1987)."Production of large computer programs (reprint of the 1956 paper with an updated foreword)".Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Software Engineering.ICSE '87. Washington, DC, USA: IEEE Computer Society Press: 299–310.ISBN978-0-89791-216-7.
- ^Donegan, James J.; Packard, Calvin; Pashby, Paul (1 January 1964)."Experiences with the goddard computing system during manned spaceflight missions".Proceedings of the 1964 19th ACM national conference.ACM '64. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 12.101–12.108.doi:10.1145/800257.808889.ISBN978-1-4503-7918-2.
- ^Zimmerman, Norman A. (26 August 1969)."System integration as a programming function".Proceedings of the 1969 24th national conference.ACM '69. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery. pp. 459–467.doi:10.1145/800195.805951.ISBN978-1-4503-7493-4.
- ^MIL-STD-483 Military standard: configuration management practices for systems, equipment, munitions, and computer programs.United states, Department of Defense. 31 December 1970. pp. Section 3.4.7.2.
The contractor shall then code and test software Units, and enter the source and object code, and associated listings of each successfully tested Unit into the Developmental Configuration
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ^Tighe, Michael F. (1 January 1978)."The value of a proper software quality assurance methodology".ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review.7(3–4): 165–172.doi:10.1145/1007775.811118.ISSN0163-5999.
- ^Gulati, Shekhar (2017).Java Unit Testing with JUnit 5: Test Driven Development with JUnit 5.Rahul Sharma. Berkeley, CA: Apress. p. 8.ISBN978-1-4842-3015-2.OCLC1012347252.
- ^Winters, Titus (2020).Software engineering at Google: lessons learned from programming over time.Tom Manshreck, Hyrum Wright (1st ed.). Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.ISBN978-1-4920-8274-3.OCLC1144086840.
- ^Beck, Kent(2002).Test-Driven Development by Example.Addison-Wesley.ISBN978-0321146533.
- ^Systems and software engineering -- Vocabulary.Iso/Iec/IEEE 24765:2010(E). 1 December 2010. pp. 1–418.doi:10.1109/IEEESTD.2010.5733835.ISBN978-0-7381-6205-8.
- ^Kaner, Cem (May 2003)."What Is a Good Test Case?"(PDF).STAR East:2.
- ^Gulati & Sharma 2017,pp. 133–137, Chapter §7 JUnit 5 Extension Model - Parameterized Test.
- ^abHamill, Paul (2004).Unit Test Frameworks: Tools for High-Quality Software Development.O'Reilly Media, Inc.ISBN9780596552817.
- ^Boehm, Barry W.;Papaccio, Philip N. (October 1988)."Understanding and Controlling Software Costs"(PDF).IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering.14(10): 1462–1477.doi:10.1109/32.6191.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 9 October 2016.Retrieved13 May2016.
- ^"Test Early and Often".Microsoft.
- ^"Prove It Works: Using the Unit Test Framework for Software Testing and Validation".National Instruments.21 August 2017.
- ^Erik (10 March 2023)."You Still Don't Know How to Do Unit Testing (and Your Secret is Safe with Me)".Stackify.Retrieved10 March2023.
- ^Brooks, Frederick J.(1995) [1975].The Mythical Man-Month.Addison-Wesley. p.64.ISBN978-0-201-83595-3.
- ^daVeiga, Nada(6 February 2008)."Change Code Without Fear: Utilize a regression safety net".Retrieved8 February2008.
- ^Kucharski, Marek(23 November 2011)."Making Unit Testing Practical for Embedded Development".Retrieved20 July2020.
- ^"Unit Tests And Databases".Retrieved29 January2024.
- ^Bullseye Testing Technology (2006–2008)."Intermediate Coverage Goals".Retrieved24 March2009.
- ^"Unit Tests - D Programming Language".D Programming Language.D Language Foundation.Retrieved5 August2017.
- ^Steve Klabnik and Carol Nichols, with contributions from the Rust Community (2015–2023)."How to Write Tests".Retrieved21 August2023.
- ^"Crystal Spec".crystal-lang.org.Retrieved18 September2017.
- ^"testing - The Go Programming Language".golang.org.Retrieved3 December2013.
- ^"Unit Testing · The Julia Language".docs.julialang.org.Retrieved15 June2022.
- ^Python Documentation (2016)."unittest -- Unit testing framework".Retrieved18 April2016.
- ^Welsh, Noel; Culpepper, Ryan."RackUnit: Unit Testing".PLT Design Inc.Retrieved26 February2019.
- ^Welsh, Noel; Culpepper, Ryan."RackUnit Unit Testing package part of Racket main distribution".PLT Design Inc.Retrieved26 February2019.
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- ^Sierra, Stuart."API for clojure.test - Clojure v1.6 (stable)".Retrieved11 February2015.
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Further reading
[edit]- Feathers, Michael C. (2005).Working Effectively with Legacy Code.Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference.ISBN978-0131177055.
- Gulati, Shekhar; Sharma, Rahul (2017).Java Unit Testing with JUnit 5.Apress.