6.7: Testing with JUnit

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When beginners start writing methods, they usually test them by invoking them from main and checking the results by hand. Writing code like this can get repetitive, but there are tools to make it easier. For cases where we know the right answer, we can do better by writing unit tests.

For example, to test fibonacci from Section 6.9, we could write:

public static void main(String[] args) {
    if (fibonacci(1) != 1) {
        System.err.println("fibonacci(1) is incorrect");
    }
    if (fibonacci(2) != 1) {
        System.err.println("fibonacci(2) is incorrect");
    }
    if (fibonacci(3) != 2) {
        System.err.println("fibonacci(3) is incorrect");
    }
}

This test code is self-explanatory, but it’s longer than it needs to be and it doesn’t scale very well. In addition, the error messages provide limited information. Using a unit test framework addresses these and other issues.

JUnit is a common testing tool for Java programs (see http://junit.org). To use it, you have to create a test class that contains test methods. If the name of your class is Class, the name of the test class is ClassTest. And if there is a method in Class named method, there should be a method in TestClass named testMethod.

For example, suppose that the fibonacci method belongs to a class named Series. Here is the corresponding JUnit test class and test method:

import junit.framework.TestCase;

public class SeriesTest extends TestCase {

    public void testFibonacci() {
        assertEquals(1, Series.fibonacci(1));
        assertEquals(1, Series.fibonacci(2));
        assertEquals(2, Series.fibonacci(3));
    }
}

This example uses the keyword extends, which indicates that the new class, SeriesTest is based on an existing class, TestCase, which is imported from the package junit.framework.

Many development environments can generate test classes and test methods automatically. In DrJava, you can select New JUnit Test Case from the File menu to generate an empty test class.

assertEquals is provided by the TestCase class. It takes two arguments and checks whether they are equal. If so, it does nothing; otherwise it displays a detailed error message. Normally the first argument is the “expected value”, which we consider correct, and the second argument is the “actual value” we want to check. If they are not equal, the test fails.

Using assertEquals is more concise than writing your own if statements and System.err messages. JUnit provides additional assert methods, such as assertNull, assertSame, and assertTrue, that can be used to design a variety of tests.

To run JUnit directly from DrJava, click the Test button on the toolbar. If all your test methods pass, you will see a green bar in the lower-right corner. Otherwise, DrJava will take you directly to the first assertion that failed.