423 lines
19 KiB
HTML
423 lines
19 KiB
HTML
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
|
|
<title>
|
|
Overview and feature list for the SimpleTest PHP unit tester and web tester
|
|
</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="docs.css" title="Styles">
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<div class="menu_back">
|
|
<div class="menu">
|
|
<h2>
|
|
<a href="index.html">SimpleTest</a>
|
|
</h2>
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<span class="chosen">Overview</span>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="unit_test_documentation.html">Unit tester</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="group_test_documentation.html">Group tests</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="server_stubs_documentation.html">Server stubs</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="mock_objects_documentation.html">Mock objects</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="partial_mocks_documentation.html">Partial mocks</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="reporter_documentation.html">Reporting</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="expectation_documentation.html">Expectations</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="web_tester_documentation.html">Web tester</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="form_testing_documentation.html">Testing forms</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="authentication_documentation.html">Authentication</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
<li>
|
|
<a href="browser_documentation.html">Scriptable browser</a>
|
|
</li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</div>
|
|
<h1>Overview of SimpleTest</h1>
|
|
<div class="content">
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a class="target" name="summary">
|
|
<h2>What is SimpleTest?</h2>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The heart of SimpleTest is a testing framework built around
|
|
test case classes.
|
|
These are written as extensions of base test case classes,
|
|
each extended with methods that actually contain test code.
|
|
Top level test scripts then invoke the <span class="new_code">run()</span>
|
|
methods on every one of these test cases in order.
|
|
Each test method is written to invoke various assertions that
|
|
the developer expects to be true such as
|
|
<span class="new_code">assertEqual()</span>.
|
|
If the expectation is correct, then a successful result is dispatched to the
|
|
observing test reporter, but any failure triggers an alert
|
|
and a description of the mismatch.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
A <a href="unit_test_documentation.html">test case</a> looks like this...
|
|
<pre>
|
|
<?php
|
|
class <strong>MyTestCase</strong> extends UnitTestCase {
|
|
<strong>
|
|
function testLog() {
|
|
$log = &new Log('my.log');
|
|
$log->message('Hello');
|
|
$this->assertTrue(file_exists('my.log'));
|
|
}</strong>
|
|
}
|
|
?>
|
|
</pre>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
These tools are designed for the developer.
|
|
Tests are written in the PHP language itself more or less
|
|
as the application itself is built.
|
|
The advantage of using PHP itself as the testing language is that
|
|
there are no new languages to learn, testing can start straight away,
|
|
and the developer can test any part of the code.
|
|
Basically, all parts that can be accessed by the application code can also be
|
|
accessed by the test code if they are in the same language.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The simplest type of test case is the
|
|
<a href="unit_tester_documentation.html">UnitTestCase</a>.
|
|
This class of test case includes standard tests for equality,
|
|
references and pattern matching.
|
|
All these test the typical expectations of what you would
|
|
expect the result of a function or method to be.
|
|
This is by far the most common type of test in the daily
|
|
routine of development, making up about 95% of test cases.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The top level task of a web application though is not to
|
|
produce correct output from its methods and objects, but
|
|
to generate web pages.
|
|
The <a href="web_tester_documentation.html">WebTestCase</a> class tests web
|
|
pages.
|
|
It simulates a web browser requesting a page, complete with
|
|
cookies, proxies, secure connections, authentication, forms, frames and most
|
|
navigation elements.
|
|
With this type of test case, the developer can assert that
|
|
information is present in the page and that forms and
|
|
sessions are handled correctly.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
A <a href="web_tester_documentation.html">WebTestCase</a> looks like this...
|
|
<pre>
|
|
<?php
|
|
class <strong>MySiteTest</strong> extends WebTestCase {
|
|
<strong>
|
|
function testHomePage() {
|
|
$this->get('http://www.my-site.com/index.php');
|
|
$this->assertTitle('My Home Page');
|
|
$this->clickLink('Contact');
|
|
$this->assertTitle('Contact me');
|
|
$this->assertWantedPattern('/Email me at/');
|
|
}</strong>
|
|
}
|
|
?>
|
|
</pre>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a class="target" name="features">
|
|
<h2>Feature list</h2>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
The following is a very rough outline of past and future features
|
|
and their expected point of release.
|
|
I am afraid it is liable to change without warning as meeting the
|
|
milestones rather depends on time available.
|
|
Green stuff has been coded, but not necessarily released yet.
|
|
If you have a pressing need for a green but unreleased feature
|
|
then you should check-out the code from sourceforge CVS directly.
|
|
A released feature is marked as "Done".
|
|
<table>
|
|
<thead>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<th>Feature</th><th>Description</th><th>Release</th>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
</thead>
|
|
<tbody>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Unit test case</td>
|
|
<td>Core test case class and assertions</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Html display</td>
|
|
<td>Simplest possible display</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Autoloading of test cases</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
Reading a file with test cases and loading them into a
|
|
group test automatically
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Mock objects code generator</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
Objects capable of simulating other objects removing
|
|
test dependencies
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Server stubs</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
Mocks without expectations to be used outside of test cases,
|
|
e.g. for prototyping
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Integration of other unit testers</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
The ability to read and simulate test cases from PHPUnit
|
|
and PEAR::PhpUnit
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Web test case</td>
|
|
<td>Basic pattern matching of fetched pages</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>HTML parsing of pages</td>
|
|
<td>Allows link following and title tag matching</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Partial mocks</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
Mocking parts of a class for testing less than a class
|
|
or for complex simulations
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Web cookie handling</td>
|
|
<td>Correct handling of cookies when fetching pages</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Following redirects</td>
|
|
<td>Page fetching automatically follows 300 redirects</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Form parsing</td>
|
|
<td>Ability to submit simple forms and read default form values</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Command line interface</td>
|
|
<td>Test display without the need of a web browser</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Exposure of expectation classes</td>
|
|
<td>Can create precise tests with mocks as well as test cases</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>XML output and parsing</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
Allows multi host testing and the integration of acceptance
|
|
testing extensions
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Command line test case</td>
|
|
<td>Allows testing of utilities and file handling</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>PHP Documentor compatibility</td>
|
|
<td>Fully generated class level documentation</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Browser interface</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
Exposure of lower level web browser interface for more
|
|
detailed test cases
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>HTTP authentication</td>
|
|
<td>
|
|
Fetching protected web pages with basic authentication
|
|
only
|
|
</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Browser navigation buttons</td>
|
|
<td>Back, forward and retry</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>SSL support</td>
|
|
<td>Can connect to https: pages</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Proxy support</td>
|
|
<td>Can connect via. common proxies</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Frames support</td>
|
|
<td>Handling of frames in web test cases</td>
|
|
<td style="color: green;">Done</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Improved display</td>
|
|
<td>Better web GUI with tree display of test cases</td>
|
|
<td style="color: red;">1.1</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Localisation</td>
|
|
<td>Messages abstracted and code generated from XML</td>
|
|
<td style="color: red;">1.1</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>File upload testing</td>
|
|
<td>Can simulate the input type file tag</td>
|
|
<td style="color: red;">1.1</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Mocking interfaces</td>
|
|
<td>Can generate mock objects to interfaces as well as classes</td>
|
|
<td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>Testing exceptions</td>
|
|
<td>Similar to testing PHP errors</td>
|
|
<td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
<tr>
|
|
<td>XPath searching of elements</td>
|
|
<td>Can make use of HTML tidy for faster and more flexible content matching</td>
|
|
<td style="color: red;">2.0</td>
|
|
</tr>
|
|
</tbody>
|
|
</table>
|
|
PHP5 migraton will start straight after the version 1.1 series,
|
|
whereupon PHP4 will no longer be supported.
|
|
SimpleTest is currently compatible with PHP5, but will not
|
|
make use of all of the new features until version 2.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a class="target" name="resources">
|
|
<h2>Web resources for testing</h2>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Process is at least as important as tools.
|
|
The type of process that makes the heaviest use of a developer's
|
|
testing tool is of course
|
|
<a href="http://www.extremeprogramming.org/">Extreme Programming</a>.
|
|
This is one of the
|
|
<a href="http://www.agilealliance.com/articles/index">Agile Methodologies</a>
|
|
which combine various practices to "flatten the cost curve" of software development.
|
|
More extreme still is <a href="http://www.testdriven.com/modules/news/">Test Driven Development</a>,
|
|
where you very strictly adhere to the rule of no coding until you have a test.
|
|
If you're more of a planner or believe that experience trumps evolution,
|
|
you may prefer the
|
|
<a href="http://www.therationaledge.com/content/dec_01/f_spiritOfTheRUP_pk.html">RUP</a> approach.
|
|
I haven't tried it, but even I can see that you will need test tools (see figure 9).
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Most unit testers clone <a href="http://www.junit.org/">JUnit</a> to some degree,
|
|
as far as the interface at least. There is a wealth of information on the
|
|
JUnit site including the
|
|
<a href="http://junit.sourceforge.net/doc/faq/faq.htm">FAQ</a>
|
|
which contains plenty of general advice on testing.
|
|
Once you get bitten by the bug you will certainly appreciate the phrase
|
|
<a href="http://junit.sourceforge.net/doc/testinfected/testing.htm">test infected</a>
|
|
coined by Eric Gamma.
|
|
If you are still reviewing which unit tester to use the main choices
|
|
are <a href="http://phpunit.sourceforge.net/">PHPUnit</a>
|
|
and <a href="http://pear.php.net/manual/en/package.php.phpunit.php">Pear PHP::PHPUnit</a>.
|
|
They currently lack a lot of features found in
|
|
<a href="http://www.lastcraft.com/simple_test.php">SimpleTest</a>, but the PEAR
|
|
version at least has been upgraded for PHP5 and is recommended if you are porting
|
|
existing <a href="http://www.junit.org/">JUnit</a> test cases.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
Library writers don't seem to ship tests with their code very often
|
|
which is a shame.
|
|
Library code that includes tests can be more safely refactored and
|
|
the test code can act as additional documentation in a fairly standard
|
|
form.
|
|
This can save trawling the source code for clues when problems occour,
|
|
especially when upgrading such a library.
|
|
Libraries using SimpleTest for their unit testing include
|
|
<a href="http://wact.sourceforge.net/">WACT</a> and
|
|
<a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/htmlsax">PEAR::XML_HTMLSax</a>.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
There is currently a sad lack of material on mock objects, which is a shame
|
|
as unit testing without them is a lot more work.
|
|
The <a href="http://www.sidewize.com/company/mockobjects.pdf">original mock objects paper</a>
|
|
is very Java focused, but still worth a read.
|
|
As a new technology there are plenty of discussions and debate on how to use mocks,
|
|
often on Wikis such as
|
|
<a href="http://xpdeveloper.com/cgi-bin/oldwiki.cgi?MockObjects">Extreme Tuesday</a>
|
|
or <a href="http://www.mockobjects.com/wiki/MocksObjectsPaper">www.mockobjects.com</a>
|
|
or <a href="http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?MockObject">the original C2 Wiki</a>.
|
|
Injecting mocks into a class is the main area of debate for which this
|
|
<a href="http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-mocktest.html">paper on IBM</a>
|
|
makes a good starting point.
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
There are plenty of web testing tools, but most are written in Java and
|
|
tutorials and advice are rather thin on the ground.
|
|
The only hope is to look at the documentation for
|
|
<a href="http://httpunit.sourceforge.net/">HTTPUnit</a>,
|
|
<a href="http://htmlunit.sourceforge.net/">HTMLUnit</a>
|
|
or <a href="http://jwebunit.sourceforge.net/">JWebUnit</a> and hope for clues.
|
|
There are some XML driven test frameworks, but again most
|
|
require Java to run.
|
|
As SimpleTest does not support JavaScript you would probably
|
|
have to look at these tools anyway if you have highly dynamic
|
|
pages.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
</div>
|
|
<div class="copyright">
|
|
Copyright<br>Marcus Baker, Jason Sweat, Perrick Penet 2004
|
|
</div>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|