======================== Testing coding standards ======================== **All new code, or changes to existing code, should have new or updated tests before being merged into master**. This document gives some guidelines for developers who are writing tests or reviewing code for CKAN. .. seealso:: :doc:`Testing CKAN ` How to set up your development environment to run CKAN's test suite :ref:`background jobs testing` How to handle asynchronous background jobs in your tests ---------------------------- Guidelines for writing tests ---------------------------- We want the tests in :mod:`ckan.tests` to be: Fast * Don't share setup code between tests (e.g. in test class ``setup()`` or ``setup_class()`` methods, saved against the ``self`` attribute of test classes, or in test helper modules). Instead use fixtures that create test objects and pass them as parameters, and inject into every method only the required fixtures. * Where appropriate, use the ``monkeypatch`` `fixture `_ to avoid pulling in other parts of CKAN (especially the database). Independent * Each test module, class and method should be able to be run on its own. * Tests shouldn't be tightly coupled to each other, changing a test shouldn't affect other tests. Clear It should be quick and easy to see what went wrong when a test fails, or to see what a test does and how it works if you have to debug or update a test. If you think the test or helper method isn't clear by itself, add docstrings. You shouldn't have to figure out what a complex test method does, or go and look up a lot of code in other files to understand a test method. * Tests should follow the canonical form for a pytest, see :ref:`test recipe`. * Write lots of small, simple test methods not a few big, complex tests. * Each test method should test just One Thing. * The name of a test method should clearly explain the intent of the test. See :ref:`naming`. Easy to find It should be easy to know where to add new tests for some new or changed code, or to find the existing tests for some code. * See :ref:`organization` * See :ref:`naming`. Easy to write Writing lots of small, clear and simple tests that all follow similar recipes and organization should make tests easy to write, as well as easy to read. The follow sections give some more specific guidelines and tips for writing CKAN tests. .. _organization: How should tests be organized? ============================== The organization of test modules in :mod:`ckan.tests` mirrors the organization of the source modules in :mod:`ckan`:: ckan/ tests/ controllers/ test_package.py <-- Tests for ckan/controllers/package.py ... lib/ test_helpers.py <-- Tests for ckan/lib/helpers.py ... logic/ action/ test_get.py ... auth/ test_get.py ... test_converters.py test_validators.py migration/ versions/ test_001_add_existing_tables.py ... model/ test_package.py ... ... There are a few exceptional test modules that don't fit into this structure, for example PEP8 tests and coding standards tests. These modules can just go in the top-level ``ckan/tests/`` directory. There shouldn't be too many of these. .. _naming: Naming test methods ------------------- `The name of a test method should clearly explain the intent of the test `_. Test method names are printed out when tests fail, so the user can often see what went wrong without having to look into the test file. When they do need to look into the file to debug or update a test, the test name helps to clarify the test. Do this even if it means your method name gets really long, since we don't write code that calls our test methods there's no advantage to having short test method names. Some modules in CKAN contain large numbers of loosely related functions. For example, :mod:`ckan.logic.action.update` contains all functions for updating things in CKAN. This means that :mod:`ckan.tests.logic.action.test_update` is going to contain an even larger number of test functions. So as well as the name of each test method explaining the intent of the test, tests should be grouped by a test class that aggregates tests against a model entity or action type, for instance:: class TestPackageCreate(object): # ... def test_it_validates_name(self): # ... def test_it_validates_url(self): # ... class TestResourceCreate(object) # ... def test_it_validates_package_id(self): # ... # ... Good test names: * ``TestUserUpdate.test_update_with_id_that_does_not_exist`` * ``TestUserUpdate.test_update_with_no_id`` * ``TestUserUpdate.test_update_with_invalid_name`` Bad test names: * ``test_user_update`` * ``test_update_pkg_1`` * ``test_package`` .. _test recipe: Recipe for a test method ======================== The `Pylons Unit Testing Guidelines `_ give the following recipe for all unit test methods to follow: 1. Set up the preconditions for the method / function being tested. 2. Call the method / function exactly one time, passing in the values established in the first step. 3. Make assertions about the return value, and / or any side effects. 4. Do absolutely nothing else. Most CKAN tests should follow this form. Here's an example of a simple action function test demonstrating the recipe: .. literalinclude:: /../ckan/tests/logic/action/test_update.py :start-after: # START-AFTER :end-before: # END-BEFORE How detailed should tests be? ============================= Generally, what we're trying to do is test the *interfaces* between modules in a way that supports modularization: if you change the code within a function, method, class or module, if you don't break any of that code's tests you should be able to expect that CKAN as a whole will not be broken. As a general guideline, the tests for a function or method should: - Test for success: - Test the function with typical, valid input values - Test with valid, edge-case inputs - If the function has multiple parameters, test them in different combinations - Test for failure: - Test that the function fails correctly (e.g. raises the expected type of exception) when given likely invalid inputs (for example, if the user passes an invalid user_id as a parameter) - Test that the function fails correctly when given bizarre input - Test that the function behaves correctly when given unicode characters as input - Cover the interface of the function: test all the parameters and features of the function .. _factory-boy: Creating test objects: :py:mod:`ckan.tests.factories` --------------------------------------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.factories :members: Test helper functions: :mod:`ckan.tests.helpers` ---------------------------------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.helpers :members: .. _fixtures: Pytest fixtures --------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.pytest_ckan.fixtures :members: .. _mock: Mocking: the ``mock`` library ----------------------------- We use the `mock library `_ to replace parts of CKAN with mock objects. This allows a CKAN function to be tested independently of other parts of CKAN or third-party libraries that the function uses. This generally makes the test simpler and faster (especially when :py:mod:`ckan.model` is mocked out so that the tests don't touch the database). With mock objects we can also make assertions about what methods the function called on the mock object and with which arguments. .. note:: Overuse of mocking is discouraged as it can make tests difficult to understand and maintain. Mocking can be useful and make tests both faster and simpler when used appropriately. Some rules of thumb: * Don't mock out more than one or two objects in a single test method. * Don't use mocking in more functional-style tests. For example the action function tests in :py:mod:`ckan.tests.logic.action` and the frontend tests in :py:mod:`ckan.tests.controllers` are functional tests, and probably shouldn't do any mocking. * Do use mocking in more unit-style tests. For example the authorization function tests in :py:mod:`ckan.tests.logic.auth`, the converter and validator tests in :py:mod:`ckan.tests.logic.auth`, and most (all?) lib tests in :py:mod:`ckan.tests.lib` are unit tests and should use mocking when necessary (often it's possible to unit test a method in isolation from other CKAN code without doing any mocking, which is ideal). In these kind of tests we can often mock one or two objects in a simple and easy to understand way, and make the test both simpler and faster. A mock object is a special object that allows user code to access any attribute name or call any method name (and pass any parameters) on the object, and the code will always get another mock object back: .. code-block:: python >>> import unittest.mock as mock >>> my_mock = mock.MagicMock() >>> my_mock.foo >>> my_mock.bar >>> my_mock.foobar() >>> my_mock.foobar(1, 2, 'barfoo') When a test needs a mock object to actually have some behavior besides always returning other mock objects, it can set the value of a certain attribute on the mock object, set the return value of a certain method, specify that a certain method should raise a certain exception, etc. You should read the mock library's documentation to really understand what's going on, but here's an example of a test from :py:mod:`ckan.tests.logic.auth.test_update` that tests the :py:func:`~ckan.logic.auth.update.user_update` authorization function and mocks out :py:mod:`ckan.model`: .. literalinclude:: /../ckan/tests/logic/auth/test_update.py :start-after: # START-AFTER :end-before: # END-BEFORE ---- The following sections will give specific guidelines and examples for writing tests for each module in CKAN. .. note:: When we say that *all* functions should have tests in the sections below, we mean all *public* functions that the module or class exports for use by other modules or classes in CKAN or by extensions or templates. *Private* helper methods (with names beginning with ``_``) never have to have their own tests, although they can have tests if helpful. Writing :mod:`ckan.logic.action` tests -------------------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.logic.action Writing :mod:`ckan.logic.auth` tests ------------------------------------ .. automodule:: ckan.tests.logic.auth Writing converter and validator tests ------------------------------------- **All converter and validator functions should have unit tests.** Although these converter and validator functions are tested indirectly by the action function tests, this may not catch all the converters and validators and all their options, and converters and validators are not only used by the action functions but are also available to plugins. Having unit tests will also help to clarify the intended behavior of each converter and validator. CKAN's action functions call :py:func:`ckan.lib.navl.dictization_functions.validate` to validate data posted by the user. Each action function passes a schema from :py:mod:`ckan.logic.schema` to :py:func:`~ckan.lib.navl.dictization_functions.validate`. The schema gives :py:func:`~ckan.lib.navl.dictization_functions.validate` lists of validation and conversion functions to apply to the user data. These validation and conversion functions are defined in :py:mod:`ckan.logic.validators`, :py:mod:`ckan.logic.converters` and :py:mod:`ckan.lib.navl.validators`. Most validator and converter tests should be unit tests that test the validator or converter function in isolation, without bringing in other parts of CKAN or touching the database. This requires using the ``mock`` library to mock ``ckan.model``, see :ref:`mock`. When testing validators, we often want to make the same assertions in many tests: assert that the validator didn't modify the ``data`` dict, assert that the validator didn't modify the ``errors`` dict, assert that the validator raised ``Invalid``, etc. Decorator functions are defined at the top of validator test modules like :py:mod:`ckan.tests.logic.test_validators` to make these common asserts easy. To use one of these decorators you have to: 1. Define a nested function inside your test method, that simply calls the validator function that you're trying to test. 2. Apply the decorators that you want to this nested function. 3. Call the nested function. Here's an example of a simple validator test that uses this technique: .. literalinclude:: /../ckan/tests/logic/test_validators.py :start-after: # START-AFTER :end-before: # END-BEFORE No tests for :mod:`ckan.logic.schema.py` ---------------------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.logic.test_schema Writing :mod:`ckan.controllers` tests ------------------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.controllers Writing :mod:`ckan.model` tests ------------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.model Writing :mod:`ckan.lib` tests ----------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.lib Writing :mod:`ckan.plugins` tests --------------------------------- .. automodule:: ckan.tests.plugins Writing :mod:`ckan.ckanext` tests --------------------------------- Within extensions, follow the same guidelines as for CKAN core. For example if an extension adds an action function then the action function should have tests, etc.