[erlang-questions] eunit vs. common_test

[Christian]

I think that usage of blackbox and whitebox testing is off. But I'm
not sure how well defined those terms are in testing. This is how I
use them at work:

To me blackbox testing is to:
* be fully aware of the implementation
* to derive tests cases from the code knowledge
* to reach into components that are not available to the application user

And whitebox testing is:
* to act as a user, preferably to avoid learning implementation details
* to drive test cases from a functional description/specification of the system
* to use the abstractions and simplifications the application presents
the user with

If there is any distiction I would put into eunit vs ct it is that
eunit is for quick tests, to be run each time you save your buffers or
at least before you check in your code.

Comparably ct is more for daily smoke-tests, or very long-running
duration tests. But as you see for yourself, both tools have some
overlap and with some stretching you can use ct for unit tests and
eunit for functional tests.

By the way,

add fib(4) = 1337 (to simulate a bug) in your fib-implementation and
see how your tests goes.

Your eunit fib_test_ is a test generator, and ?_assert() returns an
individual test for your list of tests. Each test will be reported for
failure/success.

Your ct test fib_test will check that all tests succeed or if at least
one failed.

In this case: eunit wins even though all that
questionmark-leading-underscore macrology looks like high frequency
perlish-noise.

On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 18:26, David Mercer<dmercer@REDACTED> wrote:
> Would it be accurate to describe common_test as a blackbox testing tool and
> eunit as a whitebox (or open-box or whatever the opposite of blackbox is)?
>
> If so, is the following example in the eunit documentation misleading?  I
> usually think of asserts as being in the code rather than separated in
> separate test functions:
>
>        fib_test_() ->
>           [?_assert(fib(0) =:= 1),
>                ?_assert(fib(1) =:= 1),
>                ?_assert(fib(2) =:= 2),
>                ?_assert(fib(3) =:= 3),
>                ?_assert(fib(4) =:= 5),
>                ?_assert(fib(5) =:= 8),
>                ?_assertException(error, function_clause, fib(-1)),
>                ?_assert(fib(31) =:= 2178309)
>           ].
>
> This is a blackbox test, and I would write it in common_test as:
>
>        fib_test(_) ->
>                1 = fib(0),
>                1 = fib(1),
>                2 = fib(2),
>                3 = fib(3),
>                4 = fib(4),
>                8 = fib(5),
>                {'EXIT',{function_clause,_}} = catch fib(-1),
>                2178309 = fib(31).
>
> Am I on-track in my understanding, or completely off-base?
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Christian [mailto:chsu79@REDACTED]
>> Sent: Friday, June 12, 2009 9:57 AM
>> To: David Mercer
>> Cc: erlang-questions
>> Subject: Re: [erlang-questions] eunit vs. common_test
>>
>> I do not feel that they are two overlapping test systems where you
>> pick one or the other but not both.
>>
>> Eunit has tools for assertions and making table driven tests, things
>> that are common in unit tests. A tool for the developer.
>>
>> Common test is more of a manager of test suites, to give them a
>> configuration and to set up multiple nodes to participate in a test.
>> Ct is good at giving you test code coverage with relatively little
>> effort. A tool for someone that manages the test machines and makes
>> sure the managers and developers get their reports.
>>
>> One test suite in ct can very well be to execute your eunit tests.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 12, 2009 at 15:46, David Mercer<dmercer@REDACTED> wrote:
>> > It seems that most of us use eunit for unit testing instead of
>> common_test.
>> > I myself use common_test.  What are the advantages eunit has over
>> > common_test, and should I switch?  Please advise.  Thank-you.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > David Mercer
>> >
>> >
>
>