Python Test

How pytest, unittest, and nose deal with assertions.

The job of the test framework to tell developers how and why their tests failed is a difficult job.

In this episode I talk about assert helper functions and the 3 methods pytest uses to get around having users need to use assert helper functions.

Given-When-Then is borrowed from BDD and is my favorite structure for test case design.

It doesn’t matter if you are using pytest, unittest, nose, or something completely different, this episode will help you write better tests.

• The Given-When-Then structure for test method/function development.
• How and why to utilize fixtures for your given or precondition code.
• Similarities with other structure discriptions...

• Intro to Harry Percival, his background and story of how he got into TDD and ended up writing a book
• Comparing using unittest and pytest with applicability to testing django projects. 
• Functional end to end testing with selenium.
• The django test client for middle level tests...

In today's podcast, I dodge the question of "What do you think of Agile?" by reading an essay from Dave Thomas

The waterfall model has been used and modified and changed and rebelled against since before I started programming. Waterfall such an important character in the story of software development that we should get to know it a better.

My experience with writing software comes from my experience: where I grew up, what eras I lived through, what my economical and geographical experiences have been, when I learned to code, and what projects I've worked on.

Sponsored By:

• Patreon Supporters: Help support the show with as little as $1 per month and be the first to know when new episodes come out.

• Setup and Teardown
• Benefits of Test Fixtures
  • code reuse
  • cleanup of resources
  • errors vs failures
  • focusing your thinking on what you are testing and what you are not
  • scoping for efficiency
• Brief look at pytest named fixtures

References

• pytest fixtures series
• pytest fixtures nuts & bolts
• pytest session scoped fixtures
• unittest fixtures
• nose...

• Setup and Teardown
• Benefits of Test Fixtures
  • code reuse
  • cleanup of resources
  • errors vs failures
  • focusing your thinking on what you are testing and what you are not
  • scoping for efficiency
• Brief look at pytest named fixtures

References

• pytest fixtures series
• pytest fixtures nuts & bolts
• pytest session scoped fixtures
• unittest fixtures
• nose...

Answering a listener question...

I list my requirements for a framework and discuss how Pytest, Unittest, and Nose measure up to those requirements.

Mentioned:

• pytest
• unittest
• nose
• delayed assert
• pytest-expect
• doctest

I did the audio processing differently for this episode. Please let me know how it sounds, if there are any problems, etc...