gtest-tutorial

Three lines of wisdom.

You can't stay agile without clean code.
You can't have clean code without refactoring.
You can't refactor without good automated tests.

First a short explanation of the terminology used in Google Test.

Compared to other docs, this tutorial has colored code, more compact overviews, and merges several documents (Google Test, Google Mock and Google Mock Cheat sheet) into one.

Test Double Terminology (according to Uncle Bob)

Is a formal name, analogous with a stunt double. It is a generic term for any kind of pretend object used in place of a real object during testing.

The name might be misleading; note that the word "double" here refers to the "other" (mocked) entity, not a pair of entities.

These are defined in Gerard Meszaros's book and used by, for instance, Martin Fowler and Uncle Bob:

Sample interface

interface Authorizer
{
  public Boolean authorize(String username, String password);
}

Here are sample definitions for the five well-known kinds of test doubles in increasing complexity:

1. dummy:

Sample implementation:

public class DummyAuthorizer implements Authorizer {
  public Boolean authorize(String username, String password) {
    return null;
  }
}

Only mimics interface
Only constructed but not used
Return value is here (in Java) designed to give error upon use (NullPointerException)

2. stub: a kind of dummy

Sample implementation:

public class AcceptingAuthorizerStub implements Authorizer {
  public Boolean authorize(String username, String password) {
    return true;
  }
}

Provide canned (statically predefined) answers (return values) to calls
Stubs (sometimes) verify state

3. spy: a kind of stub

Sample implementation:

public class AcceptingAuthorizerSpy implements Authorizer {
  public boolean authorizeWasCalled = false;

  public Boolean authorize(String username, String password) {
    authorizeWasCalled = true;
    return true;
  }
}

Logs statistics on behaviour
Check somewhere (else) that a method, in this case authorize, was called.

4. mock: a kind of spy

Sometimes used in an informal way to refer to the whole family of objects that are used in tests.

Simples sample implementation:

public class AcceptingAuthorizerVerificationMock implements Authorizer {
  public boolean authorizeWasCalled = false;

  public Boolean authorize(String username, String password) {
    authorizeWasCalled = true;
    return true;
  }

  public boolean verify() {
    return authorizedWasCalled;
  }
}

Mocks always verifies behaviour, that is which functions are called (in which order)
Less interested in the return values of functions
More interested in which function was called, with what arguments, when, and how often
Used by mocking tools

5. fake: a simulator (like none of the above)

Sample implementation:

public class AcceptingAuthorizerFake implements Authorizer {
      public Boolean authorize(String username, String password) {
        return username.equals("Bob");
      }
  }

Has simplified business behavior
An in-memory database is a good example.

Sum up

Definition of stub, spy and mock can be auto-generated.
See also article

Google Test and Mock presentation

Assertions

Standard assertions

Pattern: [ASSERT,EXPECT]_

[TRUE,FALSE] (boolean)
[EQ,NE](expected, actual) (equable (most) types)
[LT,LE,GT,GE] (comparable types)
[STREQ,STRNE,STRCASEEQ,STRCASENE] for C-strings
[FLOAT_EQ,DOUBLE_EQ](expected, actual) floating pointer numbers (with implicit range)
[NEAR](expected, actual, absolute_range) floating pointer numbers (with explicit absolute_range)
THAT(expression, m), generic matcher assertion: true if expression matcher matcher m

Important: In order for diagnostics to be correct for ...EQ/NEQ-functions the first parameter should be the expected value (in some cases constant) and the second should be the one calculated by function under test.

Two kinds of behaviour on failures:

Fatal: starts with ASSERT and stops execution
Non-fatal: starts with EXPECT and continues execution

Sample:

ASSERT_EQ(x.size(), y.size()) << "Vectors x and y are of unequal length";

Values of left-hand and right-hand side expressions are printed upon assertion failure. For the case of STL-containers the beginning of the containers are printed (but not necessarily at the element indexes where the two containers differ).

Death tests with exit assertions

ASSERT_DEATH(statement, expected_message): assert that a statement does a system call to exit() and prints a specific expected_message to standard output
ASSERT_EXIT(statement, predicate, expected_message): assert that a statement does a system call to exit() fulfilling predicate and prints a specific expected_message to standard output

For instance:

ASSERT_EXIT(square-root (-22.0), ::testing::ExitedWithCode(-1), "Error: Negative Input");

Defining a simple test

Arguments to TEST must be valid C++ symbols and shouldn't (but can) contain an underscore.

For instance, a test case for

int Factorial(int n); // Returns the factorial of n

might look like

TEST(FactorialTest, HandlesZeroInput) {
  EXPECT_EQ(1, Factorial(0));
}

TEST(FactorialTest, HandlesPositiveInput) {
  EXPECT_EQ(1, Factorial(1));
  EXPECT_EQ(2, Factorial(2));
  EXPECT_EQ(6, Factorial(3));
  EXPECT_EQ(40320, Factorial(8));
}

Here,

the test case named FactorialTest contains
the two tests named HandlesZeroInput and HandlesPositiveInput.

Test results are grouped by test cases, so logically-related tests should be in the same test case.

Tests can be disabled by prefixing the symbolic name of either test case or the test with the string DISABLE_. A warning will be printed at the end of the test execution if there are any disabled tests. The flag -gtest_also_run_disabled_tests overrides this behaviour and runs all the disabled tests aswell.

Using test fixtures

Tests for

template <typename E> // E is the element type.
class Queue {
 public:
  Queue();
  void Enqueue(const E& element);
  E* Dequeue(); // Returns NULL if the queue is empty.
  size_t size() const;
  ...
};

can use the fixture class

class QueueTest : public ::testing::Test {
 protected:
  virtual void SetUp() {
    q1_.Enqueue(1);
    q2_.Enqueue(2);
    q2_.Enqueue(3);
  }

  // virtual void TearDown() {}

  Queue<int> q0_;
  Queue<int> q1_;
  Queue<int> q2_;
};

and to test it

TEST_F(QueueTest, IsEmptyInitially) {
  EXPECT_EQ(0, q0_.size());
}

TEST_F(QueueTest, DequeueWorks) {
  int* n = q0_.Dequeue();
  EXPECT_EQ(NULL, n);

  n = q1_.Dequeue();
  ASSERT_TRUE(n != NULL);
  EXPECT_EQ(1, *n);
  EXPECT_EQ(0, q1_.size());
  delete n;

  n = q2_.Dequeue();
  ASSERT_TRUE(n != NULL);
  EXPECT_EQ(2, *n);
  EXPECT_EQ(1, q2_.size());
  delete n;
}

Use EXPECT_* when you want the test to continue to reveal more errors after the assertion failure, and use ASSERT_* when continuing after failure doesn't make sense.

Running tests via manual main()

The typical C/C++ main() function looks like

// tests and fixtures ...

int main(int argc, char **argv) {
  ::testing::InitGoogleTest(&argc, argv);
  return RUN_ALL_TESTS();
}

TEST() and TEST_F() automatically register themselves for execution, which then happens during RUN_ALL_TESTS().
RUN_ALL_TESTS() runs all tests in the current link unit, and returns 0 upon success, 1 otherwise.
GCC forces return value of RUN_ALL_TESTS to be handle (not ignored)
RUN_ALL_TESTS shall only be called once!

Running tests via manual CMake

Alternatively, CMake provides a simpler interface for running the tests automatically (through linking with libgtest_main). See this file for details.

Checking behaviour with Google Mock

Now for some testing of behaviour with Google Mock.

Google Mock: Example Turtle Graphics

Typical example: Pen-like Graphics API.

States:

Pen-position as x and y coordinate
Pen either actively drawing (down) or inactive (up)

Actions (Behaviour):

Change pen position
Activate pen
Deactivate pen

class Turtle {
  ...
  virtual ~Turtle() {} // must be virtual, otherwise memory corruption
  virtual void PenUp() = 0;
  virtual void PenDown() = 0;
  virtual void Forward(int distance) = 0;
  virtual void Turn(int degrees) = 0;
  virtual void GoTo(int x, int y) = 0;
  virtual int GetX() const = 0;
  virtual int GetY() const = 0;
};

Important: It's preferred but not required for methods to be virtual.

Derive MockTurtle from Turtle

#include "gmock/gmock.h"  // Brings in Google Mock

class MockTurtle : public Turtle {
public: // mocks must be public
  ...

  // non-const methods:
  MOCK_METHOD0(PenUp, void());
  MOCK_METHOD0(PenDown, void());
  MOCK_METHOD1(Forward, void(int distance));
  MOCK_METHOD1(Turn, void(int degrees));
  MOCK_METHOD2(GoTo, void(int x, int y));

  // const methods:
  MOCK_CONST_METHOD0(GetX, int());
  MOCK_CONST_METHOD0(GetY, int());
};

Mocks should be defined in separate files, that is MockTurtle should be placed in mock_turtle.h.
If you're lazy and optimistic you can use scripts/generator/gmock_gen.py.

To mock a class template, such as

template <typename Elem>
class Stack {
 public:
  ...
  virtual ~Stack();  // must still be virtual
  virtual int GetSize() const = 0;
};

(note that ~Stack() must be virtual), just append _T to the MOCK_* macros:

template <typename Elem>
class MockStack : public Stack<Elem> {
 public:
  ...
  MOCK_CONST_METHOD0_T(GetSize, int());
};

Note: Many other languages, especially dynamic, provide more automation of this stage.

Using Mocks

Import
Create mock objects
Optionally, set default actions on mock objects (using ON_CALL)
Set expectations on behaviour of mock objects (using EXPECT_CALL)
Exercise code that use mock objects
Upon destruction, Google Mock verifies that expectations have been satisfied

For instance:

#include "path/to/mock-turtle.h"
#include "gmock/gmock.h"
#include "gtest/gtest.h"
using ::testing::AtLeast;                     // #1

TEST(PainterTest, CanDrawSomething) {
  MockTurtle turtle;                          // #2
  EXPECT_CALL(turtle, PenDown())              // #3
      .Times(AtLeast(1));

  Painter painter(&turtle);                   // #4

  EXPECT_TRUE(painter.DrawCircle(0, 0, 10));
}                                             // #5

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
  // The following line must be executed to initialize Google Mock
  // (and Google Test) before running the tests.
  ::testing::InitGoogleMock(&argc, argv);
  return RUN_ALL_TESTS();
}

If the painter object didn't call this method, your test will fail with a message like this:

path/to/my_test.cc:119: Failure
Actual function call count doesn't match this expectation:
Actually: never called;
Expected: called at least once.

The line is clickable in Emacs and other tools that recognize GNU style messages.

Important!: Final verification happens in destructors of mock objects => use heap leak checker in test.

Interesting Fact!: EXPECT_CALL() (opposite to assertions) enables Google Mock to report a violation as soon as it happens, with context (stack trace, etc) still being intact. This makes debugging much easier.

Using Google Mock with Any Testing Framework

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
  // The following line causes Google Mock to throw an exception on failure,
  // which will be interpreted by your testing framework as a test failure.

  ::testing::GTEST_FLAG(throw_on_failure) = true;
  ::testing::InitGoogleMock(&argc, argv);
  ... whatever your testing framework requires ...
}

Setting Default Action

Customize the default action for (free) functions with return type T globally:

using ::testing::DefaultValue;

// Sets the default value to be returned. T must be CopyConstructible.
DefaultValue<T>::Set(value);
// Sets a factory. Will be invoked on demand. T must be MoveConstructible.
//   T MakeT();
DefaultValue<T>::SetFactory(&MakeT);
// ... use the mocks ...
// Resets the default value.
DefaultValue<T>::Clear();

To customize the default action for a particular method, use ON_CALL():

ON_CALL(mock_object, method(matchers))
    .With(multi_argument_matcher)  ?
    .WillByDefault(action);

Actions

Actions specify what a mock function should do when invoked, that is it defines behaviour. Can be a

Setting Expectations

Balance between setting too strict and too loose expectations.

EXPECT_CALL() sets an expectation (how will it be called? what will it do?) on a mock method using a declarative domain-specific language. It's complete spec is:

...
EXPECT_CALL(mock_object, method(matchers)) // separated by comma (limitations in C/C++-preprocessor)
    .With(multi_argument_matcher)  // ?
    .Times(cardinality)            // ?
    .InSequence(sequences)         // *
    .After(expectations)           // *
    .WillOnce(action)              // *
    .WillRepeatedly(action)        // ?
    .RetiresOnSaturation();        // ?

enabling more compact specifications (and automatic error diagnostics) compared to writing the cardinality loop ourselves.

Sample Expectation

For instance,

using ::testing::Return;
...
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, GetX())
    .Times(5)                     // called 5 times
    .WillOnce(Return(100))        // return 100 first time,
    .WillOnce(Return(150))        // return 150 second time
    .WillRepeatedly(Return(200)); // return 200 the remaining times

Matchers

A matcher matches a single argument. You can use it inside ON_CALL() or EXPECT_CALL(), or use it to validate a value directly using either

EXPECT_THAT(value, matcher): asserts that value matches matcher
ASSERT_THAT(value, matcher): the same as EXPECT_THAT(value, matcher), except that it generates a fatal failure

If you don't care about exact function parameter values use

using ::testing::_;
...
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, Forward(_)); // turtle moved forward by some arbitrary step

The underscore _ here is called a matcher (as in Erlang's pattern matching). Here's a list of all the others.

If you instead want to match a parameter against a specific type T use

A<T>()

or

An<T>()

For more specific comparison matching use either

Eq(value) or value : parameter == value
Ge(value) : parameter >= value
Gt(value) : parameter > value
Le(value) : parameter <= value
Lt(value) : parameter < value
Ne(value) : parameter != value
IsNull() : parameter is a NULL pointer (raw or smart)
NotNull() : parameter is a non-null pointer (raw or smart)
Ref(variable) : parameter is a reference to variable
TypedEq<type>(value) : parameter has type type and is equal to value. You may need to use this instead of Eq(value) when the mock function is overloaded

For instance,

using ::testing::Ge;
...
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, Forward(Ge(100))); // turtle moved forward at least 100 steps

There are more matchers...:

Cardinality

The cardinality parameter to .Times() can be either

AtLeast(n)
AtMost(n)
Between(m, n)
Exactly(n) or just n

Important!: The cardinality can be zero, in the case when a member is expected not to be called.

Important!: Omitting Times() will infer the cardinality accordingly:

If neither WillOnce() nor WillRepeatedly() is in the EXPECT_CALL(), the inferred cardinality is Times(1).
If there are n WillOnce()'s but no WillRepeatedly(), where n >= 1, the cardinality is Times(n).
If there are n WillOnce()'s and one WillRepeatedly(), where n >= 0, the cardinality is Times(AtLeast(n)).

Compare this to a regexp x? y? ... y*.

Important!: If you want side-effects in expectations be careful because evaluation order maybe not be what you expect.

Open question!: Why is there no WillN()?

Quiz

To check that we have understood what does this mean?:

using ::testing::Return;
...
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, GetY())
.Times(4)
.WillOnce(Return(100));

Answer: It expects GetY to return 100 first time and 0 (default) the remaining three times.

Default return values

By default, mock object members get inferred return values when using C++11 (for default constructable types).

using ::testing::Return;
...
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, GetX())
    .Times(10)
    .WillOnce(Return(100))
    .WillOnce(Return(200))
    .WillOnce(Return(300));
    // expected Return(0), 7 times, if that's the default value of the return type

after all WillOnce()s are used up, Google Mock will do the default action for the function every time.

Multiple Expectations

Very often you need multiple expectations as in

using ::testing::_;
...
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, Forward(_));  // #1
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, Forward(10))  // #2
    .Times(2);

Ordered vs Unordered Calls

By default expections are not checked in ordered. If you want ordering you need to do this:

using ::testing::InSequence;
...
TEST(FooTest, DrawsLineSegment) {
  ...
  {
    InSequence dummy; // a bit too implicit for my taste..

    EXPECT_CALL(turtle, PenDown());
    EXPECT_CALL(turtle, Forward(100));
    EXPECT_CALL(turtle, PenUp());
  }
  Foo();
}

All Expectations are sticky (unless said otherwise)

Check that turtle is asked to go to the origin exactly twice (ignoring all other instructions it receives)?

using ::testing::_;
...
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, GoTo(_, _))  // #1
    .Times(AnyNumber());
EXPECT_CALL(turtle, GoTo(0, 0))  // #2
    .Times(2);

If you don't want this use RetiresOnSaturation as in for instance

using ::testing::InSequence;
using ::testing::Return;
...
{
  InSequence s;

  for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
    EXPECT_CALL(turtle, GetX())
        .WillOnce(Return(10*i))
        .RetiresOnSaturation();
  }
}

.

Alternative tool: dextool

reuse of Clang's C/Cpp parser enables
- 100 % correct Cpp parsing
- fully automated mock generation
used in Gripen software verification

Reads (in order of importance)

Convert this document to HTML on Ubuntu via

TMP=`tempfile --suffix=.html` && pandoc -s -f markdown_github -o $TMP README.md && $BROWSER $TMP

Install Google Test on Ubuntu 17.04

The command

sudo apt install googletest

only installs the Google Test source under /usr/src/googletest. To install the libs you need to build and install them via Googles own hack

cd /usr/src/googletest/googletest
sudo mkdir build
cd build
sudo cmake ..
sudo make
sudo cp libgtest* /usr/lib/
cd ..
sudo rm -rf build

Not ideal.

git clone --recurse-submodules https://github.com/google/googletest
cd googletest
cmake .
make

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gtest-tutorial

Test Double Terminology (according to Uncle Bob)

Sample interface

1. dummy:

2. stub: a kind of dummy

3. spy: a kind of stub

4. mock: a kind of spy

5. fake: a simulator (like none of the above)

Sum up

Google Test and Mock presentation

Assertions

Standard assertions

Death tests with exit assertions

Defining a simple test

Using test fixtures

Running tests via manual main()

Running tests via manual CMake

Checking behaviour with Google Mock

Google Mock: Example Turtle Graphics

Derive MockTurtle from Turtle

Using Mocks

Using Google Mock with Any Testing Framework

Setting Default Action

Actions

Setting Expectations

Sample Expectation

Matchers

Cardinality

Quiz

Default return values

Multiple Expectations

Ordered vs Unordered Calls

All Expectations are sticky (unless said otherwise)

Alternative tool: dextool

Reads (in order of importance)

Convert this document to HTML on Ubuntu via

Install Google Test on Ubuntu 17.04

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