diff --git a/src/content/daily-email/2023-07-03.md b/src/content/daily-email/2023-07-03.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..1d872ccd --- /dev/null +++ b/src/content/daily-email/2023-07-03.md @@ -0,0 +1,43 @@ +--- +title: > + Why write custom assertions in your tests? +pubDate: 2023-07-03 +permalink: > + archive/2023/07/03/why-write-custom-assertions-in-your-tests +tags: + - automated-testing +--- + +I'm refactoring some code on a client project - creating a Repository class to centralise some logic before implementing the next feature. + +The repository class is responsible for finding and returning any nodes with a specified field value and some base conditions (it must be the correct node type, published, etc.). + +## Adding a custom assertion + +I'm using PHPUnit's native assertions to check it returns a Collection (I regularly include the `illuminate/collections` library from Laravel in other projects) and that each item is an instance of a `NodeInterface`, but there isn't an assertion to check each node is of the correct type. + +My initial implementation was to loop over each node and use `assertSame` on its bundle before refactoring to create an array of unique bundle names and comparing it to my expected names: + +```php +self::assertSame( + expected: [$nodeType], + actual: $haystack + ->map(fn (NodeInterface $item): string => $item->bundle()) + ->unique() + ->toArray(), +); +``` + +## Why write a custom assertion? + +Whilst this works, it likely won't be clear in the future what it's testing. + +My initial thought was to add a comment describing it, but then I decided to wrap it in a custom assertion - `assertContainsOnlyNodesOfType` - a private static function within my test class that wraps the native assertions. + +This approach makes the test more readable now and in the future and more domain-focused by giving it a descriptive name. + +It can be easily reused within the same test case or elsewhere. + +Although I only perform one assertion in this case, I can combine multiple assertions and perform any other required steps. + +Finally, I can contain any implementation details within the custom assertion. Here, I'm matching the result against an array of expected values, not just a single node type which is what I want. This detail can be contained within the assertion, making it easier to read and reuse in the future.