+ + +

Unit Testing Class

+ +

Unit testing is an approach to software development in which tests are written for each function in your application. +If you are not familiar with the concept you might do a little googling on the subject.

+ +

Code Igniter's Unit Test class is quite simple, consisting of an evaluation function and two result functions. +It's not intended to be a full-blown test suite but rather a simple mechanism to evaluate your code +to determine if it is producing the correct data type and result. +

+ + +

Initializing the Class

+ +

Like most other classes in Code Igniter, the Unit Test class is initialized in your controller using the $this->load->library function:

+ +$this->load->library('unit_test'); +

Once loaded, the Unit Test object will be available using: $this->unit

+ + +

Running Tests

+ +

Running a test involves supplying a test and an expected result to the following function:

+ +

$this->unit->run( `test`, `expected result`, '`test name`' );

+ +

Where test is the result of the code you wish to test, +expected result is the data type you expect, and test name is an optional name you can give your test. Example:

+ +

$test = 1 + 1;

+

+$expected_result = 2;

+

+$test_name = 'Adds one plus one';

+

+$this->unit->run($test, $expected_result, $test_name);

+ +

The expected result you supply can either be a literal match, or a data type match. Here's an example of a literal:

+ +$this->unit->run('Foo', 'Foo'); + +

Here is an example of a data type match:

+ +$this->unit->run('Foo', 'is_string'); + +

Notice the use of "is_string" in the second parameter? This tells the function to evaluate whether your test is producing a string +as the result. Here is a list of allowed comparison types:

+ +

is_string
is_bool
is_true
is_false
is_int
is_numeric
is_float
is_double
is_array
is_null

+ + +

Generating Reports

+ +

You can either display results after each test, or your can run several tests and generate a report at the end. +To show a report directly simply echo or return the run function:

+ +echo $this->unit->run($test, $expected_result); + +

To run a full report of all tests, use this:

+ +echo $this->unit->report(); + +

The report will be formatted in an HTML table for viewing. If you prefer the raw data you can retrieve an array using:

+ +echo $this->unit->result(); + + +

Strict Mode

+ +

By default the unit test class evaluates literal matches loosely. Consider this example:

+ +$this->unit->run(1, TRUE); + +

The test is evaluating an integer, but the expected result is a boolean. PHP, however, due to it's loose data-typing +will evaluate the above code as TRUE using a normal equality test:

+ +if (1 == TRUE) echo 'This evaluates as true'; + +

If you prefer, you can put the unit test class in to strict mode, which will compare the data type as well as the value:

+ +if (1 === TRUE) echo 'This evaluates as FALSE'; + +

To enable strict mode use this:

+ +$this->unit->strict(TRUE); + +

Enabling/Disabling Unit Testing

+ +

If you would like to leave some testing in place in your scripts, but not have it run unless you need it, you can disable +unit testing using:

+ +$this->unit->active(FALSE) + + + +

Creating a Template

+ +

If you would like your test results formatted differently then the default you can set your own template. Here is an +example of a simple template. Note the required pseudo-variables:

+ +


+$str = '

+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="1">

+    {rows}

+        <tr>

+        <td>{item}</td>

+        <td>{result}</td>

+        </tr>

+    {/rows}

+</table>';

+

+$this->unit->set_template($str);
+

+ + + + + + + +

Code Igniter User Guide Version 1.4.0

Unit Testing Class

Initializing the Class

Running Tests

$this->unit->run( test, expected result, 'test name' );

Generating Reports

Strict Mode

Enabling/Disabling Unit Testing

Creating a Template

$this->unit->run( `test`, `expected result`, '`test name`' );