Unit Testing

In computer programming, a unit test is a method of testing the correctness of a particular module of source code.

The idea is to write test cases for every non-trivial function or method in the module so that each test case is separate from the others if possible. This type of testing is mostly done by the developers.

Benefits

The goal of unit testing is to isolate each part of the program and show that the individual parts are correct. It provides a written contract that the piece must satisfy. This isolated testing provides four main benefits:

Encourages change

Unit testing allows the programmer to refactor code at a later date, and make sure the module still works correctly (regression testing). This provides the benefit of encouraging programmers to make changes to the code since it is easy for the programmer to check if the piece is still working properly.

Simplifies Integration

Unit testing helps eliminate uncertainty in the pieces themselves and can be used in a bottom-up testing style approach. By testing the parts of a program first and then testing the sum of its parts will make integration testing easier.

Documents the code

Unit testing provides a sort of "living document" for the class being tested. Clients looking to learn how to use the class can look at the unit tests to determine how to use the class to fit their needs.

Separation of Interface from Implementation

Because some classes may have references to other classes, testing a class can frequently spill over into testing another class. A common example of this is classes that depend on a database; in order to test the class, the tester finds herself writing code that interacts with the database. This is a mistake, because a unit test should never go outside of its own class boundary. As a result, the software developer abstracts an interface around the database connection, and then implements that interface with their own Mock Object. This results in loosely coupled code, thus minimizing dependencies in the system.

Limitations

It is important to realize that unit-testing will not catch every error in the program. By definition, it only tests the functionality of the units themselves. Therefore, it will not catch integration errors, performance problems and any other system-wide issues. In addition, it may not be trivial to anticipate all special cases of input the program unit under study may receive in reality. Unit testing is only effective if it is used in conjunction with other software testing activities.

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