Web Services Unit Test

Since Moodle 2.3 we are using PHP Unit framework. Writing a unit test before writing an external function is very helpful. This is due to the fact that the easiest external function is not an easy task, you most likely discover this page through How_to_contribute_a_web_service_function_to_core. Writing PHPUnit you will:

• discover use cases you didn't think about.
• understand the feelings and the needs of the web service client developer.
• end up with a function usable by everybody, not only by your own client.
• reach integration way faster as you joined a proof of validity
• make the QA process a breeze

How to write the PHPUnit

If it doesn't exist create a COMPONENTFOLDER/COMPONENTexternallib_test.php file.

<?php // This file is part of Moodle - http://moodle.org/ // // Moodle is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify // it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by // the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or // (at your option) any later version. // // Moodle is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, // but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of // MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the // GNU General Public License for more details. // // You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License // along with Moodle. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

/**

* COMPONENT External functions unit tests
*
* @package    core
* @category   phpunit
* @copyright  20XX Your Name
* @license    http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html GNU GPL v3 or later
*/

defined('MOODLE_INTERNAL') || die();

class COMPONENTexternallib_testcase extends advanced_testcase {

   /**
    * 
    */
   protected function setUp() {
       global $CFG;
       require_once($CFG->dirroot . '/COMPONENT/externallib.php');  
   }

   /**
    * Test
    */
   public function test_FUNCTION_NAME() {
       global $USER;

       $this->resetAfterTest(true);

       $params = array(PARAM1, PARAM2, ...);

       $returnvalue = COMPONENT_external::FUNCTION_NAME($params);

       // Some PHPUnit assert
       $this->assertEquals(EXPECTED_VALUE, RETURNED_VALUE);
   }

}

But the quickest way is most likely to look at some example like course/courseexternallib_test.php

Coding style

• external functions often check many capabilities. Remember to assign the correct one to the $USER and also test when the $USER doesn't have them.