From: ahoward <ahoward@...>
Date: 2003-05-16T00:34:48+09:00
Subject: Re: Test::Unit sequencing

On Thu, 15 May 2003, [iso-8859-1] Anders Bengtsson wrote:

> Hi Brian,
>
> "The first rule of unit testing is, don't let tests depend on each
> other.
> The second rule of unit testing is, don't let tests depend on each
> other."
> ;-)

i know this creed, but it seems not to apply where databases are concerned...

> You could write them in one big method. But if it is at all possible, try to
> create some kind of mock-object that fakes the behaviour of the environment.
> (Even if this involves changing the design of the application or the
> environment it is probably worth it).

IMHO.  in brian's (and some of my) situation the database *is* the mock object
carying the state - i hardly see the difference between calling a(), b(), c()
myself from within test_foo() vs simply making

  a() -> test_a()
  b() -> test_b()
  c() -> test_c()

isn't this just semantics?  i mean, where do you draw the line, should
assertions also be order independent?  i guess it seems that tests of systems
which carry state cannot avoid order dependancies - it's simply a question of
where you enforce it.  a while back one of the Test::Unit developers told me
they ran the tests in alphabetical order for exactly this reason - so i took
advantage of it.

-a

> The one-big-test way can work nicely too to find bugs, but it's not really
> unit testing, so that's why the unit testing tools won't really fit the
> problem.
>
> /Anders
>
>
>
> =====
> __________________________________________________
> Anders Bengtsson              ndrsbngtssn@yahoo.se
> Stockholm, Sweden
>
> _____________________________________________________
> G� f�re i k�n och f� din sajt v�rderad p� nolltid med Yahoo! Express
> Se mer p�: http://se.docs.yahoo.com/info/express/help/index.html
>
>

--
  ====================================
  | Ara Howard
  | NOAA Forecast Systems Laboratory
  | Information and Technology Services
  | Data Systems Group
  | R/FST 325 Broadway
  | Boulder, CO 80305-3328
  | Email: ara.t.howard@fsl.noaa.gov
  | Phone:  303-497-7238
  | Fax:    303-497-7259
  ====================================