Web Services Unit Test: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:50, 1 June 2012

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.

Example: <?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;
   }

}

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.

Documentation

Web Services Unit Test: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:50, 1 June 2012

How to write the PHPUnit

Coding style

How to run the PHPUnit

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-= Delete simpletest web service unit tests=
+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:
-With PHP Unit coming up to Moodle 2.3 we'll be removing the web service simpletest unit tests. The reasons are:
+* discover use cases you didn't think about.
-* these unit tests are only web service call tests. It would be good to have unit tests for : servers / web service call / external lib / core lib function.
+* understand the feelings and the needs of the web service client developer.
-* some unit tests are just one quick call. It seems sometimes obvious that some other use cases should have been tested.
+* end up with a function usable by everybody, not only by your own client.
-* some unit tests create and delete user/category/grouo/course/... in the database. It seems that PHP Unit could facilitate this kind of testing, not sure though...
+* reach integration way faster as you joined a proof of validity
-* some web service functions don't have unit test at all
+* make the QA process a breeze
-* it's buggy: MDL-30210
-= Add PHP Unit web service unit tests =
+== How to write the PHPUnit ==
-I see three kind of unit test related to one web service
+If it doesn't exist create a COMPONENTFOLDER/COMPONENTexternallib_test.php file.
-# external function unit test: This is actually testing xxx_params too as each external funtion should call it. Here the questions is do we want to test xxx_returns at the same time?
-# web service call test: I think this is required to properly test all servers against all call. here the question is to know if we want to reproduce all the same use case then for external function
-# core lib function unit test: most of time these kind of unit test don't exist. Note: often the core lib function doesn't exist itself, the external function being a code logic duplication of multiple scripts.
-= Web service automatic testing =
+Example:
-TBD
+<code php>
+<?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;
+    }
+}
+</code>
+=== 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.
+== How to run the PHPUnit ==