A introduction on codeception

1. AUTOMATED TESTING WITH
CODECEPTION
PHP automated testing framework
Jonathan Lau
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

2. MOTIVATION + BIO
•
Quick start guide for codeception
•
Experience with running it in a Cake based project
•
Introduce it as a alternative choice
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

3. TEST STRATEGY
What do we use these days?
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

4. WAYS TO TEST
•
Unit test
•
Functional test
•
White box testing
•
•
Full knowledge of the code
base
Knowledge of input and
expected output
•
No browser emulation
•
!
Run script during build /
check out
•
Acceptance test
•
Yes, still need this for sanity
sake
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

5. EFFORT VS RETURN
•
•
Unit tests are easy to write
but it can’t cover integration
issue
Functional / acceptance
tests can cover the end to
end behavior but it can take
a while to write and some
effort to maintain
Maintenance effort
Acceptance test
Functional test
Unit test
Coverage
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

6. ACCEPTANCE TEST
Let the robot do the clicking
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

7. ACCEPTANCE TEST
•
Browser emulator: Selenum or Mink
•
Select on-screen elements by text or path
•
Supported actions: click, enter text, drag drop etc.
•
Coverage can be an issue
•
Really SLOW
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

8. EXAMPLE CODE
<?php
$I = new WebGuy($scenario);
$I->amOnPage('/');
$I->click('Sign Up');
$I->submitForm('#signup', array('username' => 'MilesDavis', 'email' =>
'miles@davis.com'));
$I->see('Thank you for Signing Up!');
?>
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

9. FUNCTIONAL TEST
•
Very similar concept as acceptance test
•
No browser emulation
•
Emulate the actual web request instead
•
Might need hook into the framework to introduce a test
mode.
•
Can’t test javascript / AJAX
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

10. EXAMPLE CODE
<?php
$I = new TestGuy($scenario);
$I->amOnPage('/');
$I->click('Sign Up');
$I->submitForm('#signup', array('username' => 'MilesDavis', 'email' => 'miles@davis.com'));
$I->see('Thank you for Signing Up!');
$I->seeEmailSent('miles@davis.com', 'Thank you for registration');
$I->seeInDatabase('users', array('email' => 'miles@davis.com'));
?>
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

11. UNIT TEST
•
Friendly only to developer
•
Running the test subject in isolation and surrounding pieces are
stubbed out
•
It’s good for validating logic correctness
•
Can’t validate integration issues
•
Built on top of PHP Unit and has more tooling to help write test
faster
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

12. EXAMPLE CODE
<?php
// we are testing the public method of User class.
$I = new CodeGuy($scenario);
$I->testMethod('User.update');
$I->haveStubClass($unit = Stub::make('User'));
$I->dontSeeInDatabase('users', array('id' => 1, 'username' => 'miles'));
$I->executeTestedMethodOn($unit, 1, array('username' => 'miles'));
$I->seeMethodInvoked($unit, 'save');
$I->seeInDatabase('users', array('id' => 1, 'username' => 'miles'));
?>
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

13. GENERAL PITFALLS
•
Javascript pop up box
•
Drag and drop - takes a bit more work to get it to
work
•
Delay tuning - variance in the latency on the web
servers
•
Browser session is refreshed between test files
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

14. WHAT WORKS FOR US
•
Integration risk is always
larger than algorithmic
correctness
•
Automating acceptance test
is a huge win
•
Automating functional test
should be next
•
Unit test… meh…
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com

15. KILL BUGS
LIKE THE
TERRAINS
Good luck and thanks
!
jon@smokehousesoftware.com
!
Contributors: Kenneth Chiu
Smokehouse Software | Jonathan Lau | jon@smokehousesoftware.com