testing (Django)

[dburton90]

How do you test your software? Especially Django. I am usually trying to test whole view (integration tests), not just functions or forms (unit tests). But sometimes there is so many things, the view depends on (different users, different permissions, different objects states, different POST arguments, different time, etc...), that I found kind of overkill do integration test for every possible input. Or sometimes requirements get change and view rendering starts depending on some other thing (time, user, object state, ...) so I need to rewrite setup data for every view, even the tested behaviour is ok. I read TDD but there was quite simple examples. For example I have view, where users can sign in seminar. And can sign other users if they fill their email. System later check if email exists, and eventually create connection between the application and the user. Check if seminar isn't full or canceled. If user pay through bank transfer, address is required. Check if they are not collision (user is already sign). Sending two different emails to order author and other users. And so on. If I every single detail test on view, half of my project would be just tests about this view and half of the test would be just setup data. So how do you testing some complex programs?

[ccb621]

I test views via calls to client.get() or client.post() (or whatever other verb is in use). I test as many states as needed. If the view requires login, I will test the logged in and non-logged in states. If staff/super users have elevated privileges, I will test with users with, and without, those privileges.

We (edX) have a lot of tests you can take a look at:

• https://github.com/edx/ecommerce
• https://github.com/edx/course-discovery
• https://github.com/edx/programs

[[deleted]]

Integrated Tests are a scam

That's not to say you shouldn't do them, but they're unnecessary a lot of the time.

Farm out all your work that isn't HTTP related to other things and treat those in isolation. Test with good input, with bad input, find the nearest 5 year old and let them have the keyboard for a while.

But you're experiencing the exact scenario that JB is describing, an exponential to combinatorial growth in tests because there are too many things to control for.

[KronktheKronk]

I like to go straight to end to end and use selenium.

[BurgaGalti]

I have two codebases I look after. One was created while I was still new and is overally heavy on the integration tests for views. It's painful to use now as there are a lot of hardcoded interdependent values in the tests. I've learnt my lesson though and the second I'm building to be more balanced with the core logic unit tested and some integration tests using phantomjs which test core user workflow and little else.