DB-less PHPUnit tests #

This page is for application creators who write unit tests that run anywhere in seconds. Exponential's phpunit.xml loads tests/bootstrap.php, which loads Composer's autoloader and the test toolkit but does not boot the kernel; tests that need nothing else run without a database (PHPUnit).

Contents #

1. What to test without a database
2. A test class
3. Loading your classes
4. Running
5. Mapping tests to files

What to test without a database #

Keep database access out of these classes, or behind an interface you can replace in the test.

A test class #

<?php
// extension/expdemo/tests/expDemoColorValidatorTest.php
class expDemoColorValidatorTest extends PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase
{
    public function testAcceptsHexColors()
    {
        $this->assertTrue( expDemoColorValidator::isValid( '#a1b2c3' ) );
    }

    public function testRefusesOtherText()
    {
        $this->assertFalse( expDemoColorValidator::isValid( 'red; background: url(x)' ) );
    }
}

Loading your classes #

Classes in the extension autoload map are found once php bin/php/ezpgenerateautoloads.php -e has run. A test that runs in a separate checkout can require_once the class file when it is not autoloadable, as the kernel's own help tests do (tests/tests/kernel/classes/help/).

Running #

vendor/bin/phpunit extension/expdemo/tests/
vendor/bin/phpunit --filter testRefusesOtherText extension/expdemo/tests/

Run it in your extension's CI on every push and pull request (Continuous integration for extensions).

Mapping tests to files #

The kernel keeps tests/test-map.json, which maps source files to the tests that cover them, so a change runs only its own tests before a push. Do the same in a large extension: a small map file and a script that picks the tests of the changed files.

Related pages #

• Testing applications
• Testing and CI standard
• PHPUnit versions
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.