ABSTRACT

WHAT MAKES GOOD TESTS?

• Tests should be as simple as possible.
• Tests should run as quickly as possible.
• Tests should avoid coupling with other tests.
• Tests should communicate intent.

CANONICAL FORM OF A TEST

• Setup pre-conditions.
• Perform operation under test.
• Make assertions.
• Benefits of following canonical form.

TESTING TOOLS

• Factories (instead of fixtures).
• Coverage.py
• django-nose + multiprocess

GUIDELINES

• Tests should be as simple as possible.
• Each test method tests one thing, and one thing only.
• Only set up the minimum needed pre-conditions for your test.
• Create your pre-conditions explicitly - don't use shared helper methods outside your module.
• Name your TestCase methods to indicate what they actually test.
• Use factories, not fixtures.
• Use django.tests.TestCase instead of unittest2.TestCase
• Create mixins, not shared TestCases.
• Segment your tests.
• Don't use setupClass() or tearDownClass()