We Keep Coding

Unit Testing a controller that uses windows authentication

-------Please see updates below as I now have this set up for dependency injection and the use of the MOQ mocking framework. I'd still like to split up my repository so it doesn't directly depend on pulling the windowsUser within the same function.
I have a Web API in an intranet site that populates a dropdown. The query behind the dropdown takes the windows username as a parameter to return the list.
I realize I don't have all of this set up correctly because I'm not able to unit test it. I need to know how this "should" be set up to allow unit testing and then what the unit tests should look like.
Additional info: this is an ASP.NET MVC 5 application.
INTERFACE
public interface ITestRepository
{
HttpResponseMessage DropDownList();
}
REPOSITORY
public class ExampleRepository : IExampleRepository
{
//Accessing the data through Entity Framework
private MyDatabaseEntities db = new MyDatabaseEntities();
public HttpResponseMessage DropDownList()
{
//Get the current windows user
string windowsUser = HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.Name;
//Pass the parameter to a procedure running a select query
var sourceQuery = (from p in db.spDropDownList(windowsUser)
select p).ToList();
string result = JsonConvert.SerializeObject(sourceQuery);
var response = new HttpResponseMessage();
response.Content = new StringContent(result, System.Text.Encoding.Unicode, "application/json");
return response;
}
}
CONTROLLER
public class ExampleController : ApiController
{
private IExampleRepository _exampleRepository;
public ExampleController()
{
_exampleRepository = new ExampleRepository();
}
[HttpGet]
public HttpResponseMessage DropDownList()
{
try
{
return _exampleRepository.DropDownList();
}
catch
{
throw new HttpResponseException(new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.NotFound));
}
}
}
UPDATE 1
I have updated my Controller based on BartoszKP's suggestion to show dependency injection.
UPDATED CONTROLLER
public class ExampleController : ApiController
{
private IExampleRepository _exampleRepository;
//Dependency Injection
public ExampleController(IExampleRepository exampleRepository)
{
_exampleRepository = exampleRepository;
}
[HttpGet]
public HttpResponseMessage DropDownList()
{
try
{
return _exampleRepository.DropDownList();
}
catch
{
throw new HttpResponseException(new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.NotFound));
}
}
}
UPDATE 2
I have decided to use MOQ as a mocking framework for unit testing. I'm able to test something simple, like the following. This would test a simple method that doesn't take any parameters and doesn't include the windowsUser part.
[TestMethod]
public void ExampleOfAnotherTest()
{
//Arrange
var mockRepository = new Mock<IExampleRepository>();
mockRepository
.Setup(x => x.DropDownList())
.Returns(new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.OK));
ExampleController controller = new ExampleController(mockRepository.Object);
controller.Request = new HttpRequestMessage();
controller.Configuration = new HttpConfiguration();
//Act
var response = controller.DropDownList();
//Assert
Assert.AreEqual(HttpStatusCode.OK, response.StatusCode);
}
I need help testing the DropDownList method (one that does include code to get the windowsUser). I need advice on how to break this method apart. I know both parts shouldn't been in the same method. I don't know how to arrange splitting out the windowsUser variable. I realize this really should be brought in as a parameter, but I can't figure out how.

You usually do not unit-test repositories (integration tests verify if they really persist the data in the database correctly) - see for example this article on MSDN:
Typically, it is difficult to unit test the repositories themselves, so it is often better to write integration tests for them.
So, let's focus on testing only the controller.
Change the controller to take IExampleRepository in its constructor as a parameter:
private IExampleRepository _exampleRepository;
public ExampleController(IExampleRepository exampleRepository)
{
_exampleRepository = exampleRepository;
}
Then, in your unit tests, use one of mocking frameworks (such as RhinoMock for example) to create a stub for the sole purpose of testing the controller.
[TestFixture]
public class ExampleTestFixture
{
private IExampleRepository CreateRepositoryStub(fake data)
{
var exampleRepositoryStub = ...; // create the stub with a mocking framework
// make the stub return given fake data
return exampleRepositoryStub;
}
[Test]
public void GivenX_WhenDropDownListIsRequested_ReturnsY()
{
// Arrange
var exampleRepositoryStub = CreateRepositoryStub(X);
var exampleController = new ExampleController(exampleRepositoryStub);
// Act
var result = exampleController.DropDownList();
// Assert
Assert.That(result, Is.Equal(Y));
}
}
This is just a quick&dirty example - CreateRepositoryStub method should be of course extracted to some test utility class. Perhaps it should return a fluent interface to make the test's Arrange section more readable on what is given. Something more like:
// Arrange
var exampleController
= GivenAController()
.WithFakeData(X);
(with better names that reflect your business logic of course).
In case of ASP.NET MVC, the framework needs to know how to construct the controller. Fortunately, ASP.NET supports the Dependency Injection paradigm and a parameterless constructor is not required when using MVC unity.
Also, note the comment by Richard Szalay:
You shouldn't use HttpContext.Current in WebApi - you can use base.User which comes from HttpRequestBase.User and is mockable. If you really want to continue using HttpContext.Current, take a look at Mock HttpContext.Current in Test Init Method

One trick that I find very useful when trying to make old code testable when said code is accessing some global static or other messy stuff that I can't easily just parameterize is to wrap access to the resource in a virtual method call. Then you can subclass your system under test and use that in the unit test instead.
Example, using a hard dependency in the System.Random class
public class Untestable
{
public int CalculateSomethingRandom()
{
return new Random().Next() + new Random().Next();
}
}
Now we replace var rng = new Random();
public class Untestable
{
public int CalculateSomethingRandom()
{
return GetRandomNumber() + GetRandomNumber();
}
protected virtual int GetRandomNumber()
{
return new Random().Next();
}
}
Now we can create a testable version of the class:
public class Testable : Untestable
{
protected override int GetRandomNumber()
{
// You can return whatever you want for your test here,
// it depends on what type of behaviour you are faking.
// You can easily inject values here via a constructor or
// some public field in the subclass. You can also add
// counters for times method was called, save the args etc.
return 4;
}
}
The drawback with this method is that you can't use (most) isolation frameworks to implement protected methods (easily), and for good reason, since protected methods are sort of internal and shouldn't be all that important to your unit tests. It's still a really handy way of getting things covered with tests so you can refactor them, instead of having to spend 10 hours without tests, trying to do major architectual changes to your code before you get to "safety".
Just another tool to keep in mind, I find it comes in handy from time to time!
EDIT: More concretely, in your case you might want to create a protected virtual string GetLoggedInUserName(). This will technically speaking keep the actual call to HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.Name untested, but you will have isolated it to the simplest smallest possible method, so you can test that the code is calling the correct method the right amount of times with the correct args, and then you simply have to know that HttpContext.Current.User.Identity.Name contains what you want. This can later be refactored into some sort of user manager or logged in user provider, you'll see what suits best as you go along.

Testing CRUD class.

I have some issue. Im writing some unit test in my project but i don't know how to test my CRUD methods.. Maybe they are not testable ;/
This is one of my methods:
public static void IncrementInvalidLoginColumn(string login)
{
User user;
using (DTContext context = new DTContext())
{
try
{
user = context.Users.Where(u => u.Login.CompareTo(login) == 0).FirstOrDefault();
if (user.InvalidLogins < 3)
{
user.InvalidLogins = user.InvalidLogins + 1;
}
context.SaveChanges();
}
catch
{
}
}
}
Maybe someone will have idea what should i do.

It depends on what you mean by "unit" test. If you don't want your test to hit the database then your method is not testable (or at least not without some refactoring).
If hitting the database is acceptable (which would actually be an integration test) then you can definitely test your method.
Here are some steps:
1. Arrange the initial data. You use an instance of the DTContext directly in the test to put the system in a predefined state (basically you write some user records in the database)
You run the method you want to test (which in fact uses its own instance of the DTContext)
You use DTContext again to read the user information directly from the database and assert that the InvalidLogins property has incremented.
You need to make sure you delete any data that you put in manually.
This is the gist of DI:
public class Example {
private IDatabaseGateway myDatabase;
public Example(IDatabaseGateway myDb) {
myDatabase = myDb;
}
public void DoStuff() {
...
myDatabase.GetData();
...
}
}
You give your business class an abstraction of the database via the constructor, that is you inject your dependencies in the class that needs them.
Once you have this in place, in production code you pass in the constructor a concrete instance of IDatabaseGateway that goes to the actual database.
In the case of a unit test you pass it a mock instance of the same interface. The mock is a special object that you can setup/configure to return what you want. Various libraries exist for mocking (an easy one is Moq).
However without modifying your code too much, it is better to stick with integration testing that hits the database. It will give you a simple and valid test.
Especially since there are some pitfalls in mocking the DbContext in EF (ex. some queries may not work when you will use them in production, testing updates in EF with mocks is a bit trickier).

Ok so i read all of your posts and they was very helpful.
I use MOQ framework and this is example how i do it.
This is how Liviu M. told me to do for example:
public class CRUDclass
{
private DTContext _context;
public CRUDclass(DTContext myObj)
{
_context = myObj;
}
}
We have CRUD Class which are doing operations directly on our database. We have constructor with one argument and private field. This our context :)
This is (for example) my method in CRUDclass:
public bool AddUser(User user)
{
try
{
_context.Users.Add(user);
_context.SaveChanges();
return true;
}
catch
{
return false;
}
}
Ovecourse he have our DTContext class witch DBSet becouse i using entity framework. And after that i am able to write some test method:
[TestMethod]
public void Should_Add_User()
{
var mockSet = new Mock<DbSet<User>>();
var mockContext = new Mock<DTContext>();
mockContext.Setup(m => m.Users).Returns(mockSet.Object);
var usrCRUD = new UserCRUD(mockContext.Object);
var usr = new User();
usr.Login = "Login_Name";
usr.Email = "loginName#test.com";
usr.Password = "***";
usr.InvalidLogins = 0;
usr.RememberID = 0;
usrCRUD.AddUser(usr);
mockSet.Verify(m => m.Add(It.Is<User>(arg => arg.Login == "Login_Name")));
mockContext.Verify(m => m.SaveChanges(), Times.Once());
}
At first a have to set my fake object (Mock>).
This test method checks if our user was added to Mock :)
I hope it can help somebody, if anything will be unclear please write a question :)

The idea of unit tests is to test your ifs, switches, etc., not the database operations.
In your case you need an interface that is an abstration of DTContext. In the simplest case it might look as the following.
public interface IObjectContext : IDisposable
{
IEnumerable<User> Users { get; }
}
In more complicated cases you may need to use IQueryable<T> or IObjectSet<T> instead of IEnumerable<T>.
Add a partial class declaration of DTContext and make it implement IObjectContext. Add a constructor to the class that contains the method IncrementInvalidLoginColumn with a parameter of type IObjectContext. Now you can inject any instance of IObjectContext instead of creating it in your class. This instance can be a DTContext or a mock for testing. Your class is ready to be tested without connection to a real database.
NB. In case of instances of IDisposable it's better to inject a Func<IObjectContext> instead of IObjectContext. Then you can create an instance for each operation and dispose it immediately after.

If there are CRUD operations in your code then I will recommend to use MOQ framework for unit testing. Below links are quite helpful:
Quick Start
Code Project

Ideally you would inject your DTContext rather than creating a new one every time that the method is called. That way you could mock that object in your unit test and verify that it is called as expected.
Your constructor would look something like:
private readonly IDTContext _context;
public CrudClass(IDTContext context)
{
_context = context
}
With your method now looking like
public static void IncrementInvalidLoginColumn(string login)
{
User user;
try
{
user = _context.Users.Where(u => u.Login.CompareTo(login) == 0).FirstOrDefault();
if (user.InvalidLogins < 3)
{
user.InvalidLogins = user.InvalidLogins + 1;
}
_context.SaveChanges();
}
catch
{
// Handle errors
}
}
And then in your test, if you were using a framework like Moq, you would basically script how that object would behave and test against that. For instance, setting up the mocked IDTContext to always return the same user for your Users collection and SaveChanges() method will write the number of invalid logins to a variable that you could then test against.

Unit Testing without Database: Linq to SQL

I have a repository implemented using LINQ to SQL. I need to do Unit Testing though I don't have a database. How can I write the UT for FreezeAllAccountsForUser method? Can you please show an example using manually mocking?
Note: There is inheritance mapping used in domain objects
Note: Unit Testing is to be done using Visual Studio Team Test
Comment from #StuperUser. Unit testing involves completely isolating code from the other objects it interacts with. This means that if the code fails, you can be sure that the failure is to do with the code under test. To do this you have to fake these objects.
CODE
public void FreezeAllAccountsForUser(int userId)
{
List<DTOLayer.BankAccountDTOForStatus> bankAccountDTOList = new List<DTOLayer.BankAccountDTOForStatus>();
IEnumerable<DBML_Project.BankAccount> accounts = AccountRepository.GetAllAccountsForUser(userId);
foreach (DBML_Project.BankAccount acc in accounts)
{
string typeResult = Convert.ToString(acc.GetType());
string baseValue = Convert.ToString(typeof(DBML_Project.BankAccount));
if (String.Equals(typeResult, baseValue))
{
throw new Exception("Not correct derived type");
}
acc.Freeze();
DTOLayer.BankAccountDTOForStatus presentAccount = new DTOLayer.BankAccountDTOForStatus();
presentAccount.BankAccountID = acc.BankAccountID;
presentAccount.Status = acc.Status;
bankAccountDTOList.Add(presentAccount);
}
IEnumerable<System.Xml.Linq.XElement> el = bankAccountDTOList.Select(x =>
new System.Xml.Linq.XElement("BankAccountDTOForStatus",
new System.Xml.Linq.XElement("BankAccountID", x.BankAccountID),
new System.Xml.Linq.XElement("Status", x.Status)
));
System.Xml.Linq.XElement root = new System.Xml.Linq.XElement("root", el);
//AccountRepository.UpdateBankAccountUsingParseXML_SP(root);
AccountRepository.Update();
}
Repository Layer
namespace RepositoryLayer
{
public interface ILijosBankRepository
{
System.Data.Linq.DataContext Context { get; set; }
List<DBML_Project.BankAccount> GetAllAccountsForUser(int userID);
void Update();
}
public class LijosSimpleBankRepository : ILijosBankRepository
{
public System.Data.Linq.DataContext Context
{
get;
set;
}
public List<DBML_Project.BankAccount> GetAllAccountsForUser(int userID)
{
IQueryable<DBML_Project.BankAccount> queryResultEntities = Context.GetTable<DBML_Project.BankAccount>().Where(p => p.AccountOwnerID == userID);
return queryResultEntities.ToList();
}
public virtual void Update()
{
//Context.SubmitChanges();
}
}
}
Domain Classes
namespace DBML_Project
{
public partial class BankAccount
{
//Define the domain behaviors
public virtual void Freeze()
{
//Do nothing
}
}
public class FixedBankAccount : BankAccount
{
public override void Freeze()
{
this.Status = "FrozenFA";
}
}
public class SavingsBankAccount : BankAccount
{
public override void Freeze()
{
this.Status = "FrozenSB";
}
}
}
Auto generated Class by LINQ to SQL
[global::System.Data.Linq.Mapping.TableAttribute(Name="dbo.BankAccount")]
[InheritanceMapping(Code = "Fixed", Type = typeof(FixedBankAccount), IsDefault = true)]
[InheritanceMapping(Code = "Savings", Type = typeof(SavingsBankAccount))]
public partial class BankAccount : INotifyPropertyChanging, INotifyPropertyChanged

Simply, you can't. The sole purpose of the repository implementation is talking to the database. So the database technology does matter and you should perform integration tests.
Unit testing this code is impossible because LINQ to Objects is a superset of LINQ to SQL. You might have a green unit test and still get the runtime exception when using real db because you used a feature of LINQ in your repository that cannot be translated into SQL.

The Repository responsibility is to persist domain objects and fetch them on request. i.e. it's job is to take an object and deserialize/serialize it to from some form of durable storage.
So tests for the repository have to test against the real storage in this case a DB. i.e. these are integration tests - tests that your class integrates with the external DB.
Once you have this nailed, the rest of the client/app doesn't have to work against the real DB. They can mock the repository and have fast unit tests. You can assume that GetAccount works since the integration tests pass.
More details:
By passing in the Repository object as a ctor or method arg, you open the doors for passing in a fake or a mock. Thus now the service tests can run without a real repository >> there is no DB-access >> fast tests.
public void FreezeAllAccountsForUser(int userId, ILijosBankRepository accountRepository)
{
// your code as before
}
test ()
{ var mockRepository = new Mock<ILijosBankRepository>();
var service = // create object containing FreezeAllAccounts...
service.FreezeAllAccounts(SOME_USER_ID, mockRepository);
mock.Verify(r => r.GetAllAccountsForUser(SOME_USER_ID);
mock.Verify(r => r.Update());
}

You can by using the IDbSet interface in your datacontext and extracting an interface for your datacontext class. Programming towards interfaces is the key to creating unit testable code.
The reason that you would want to create unit tests for these linq queries is to have a unit test for the logical query. Integration tests are subject to all kinds of false negatives. The db not being in the right state, other queries running at the same time, other integration tests, etc. It is very hard to isolate a db well enough for a reliable integration test. That is why integration tests are so often ignored. If i have to pick one, i want the unit test...

NoSQL - How to mock database for unit testing?

I'm researching NoSQL databases and have a question regarding unit testing. What is the appropriate method to unit test the business logic? How does one mock a NoSQL database?

Your business logic should not touch the database directly, but rather go through a database access layer. This lets you mock that intermediate layer for unit testing. To do this, you can use dependency injection and mocking. There are frameworks that can help you with both of these things, but you can also do it by hand. Here's an example:
Say we have a DAL:
public class DBDataProvider: IDataProvider
{
public string getData()
{
//SQL to get data from actual database.
}
}
As you can see, this implements an interface for something that provides data for your business layer. It might look something like this:
public Interface IDataProvider
{
String getData();
}
Your business layer might look something like this:
public BusinessClass
{
private IDataProvider dataProvider;
public BusinessClass()
{
dataProvider = new DBDataProvider();
}
public BusinessClass(IDataProvider provider)
{
dataProvider = provider;
}
public void doBusinessStuff()
{
dataProvider.getData();
//Do something with data.
}
}
So now in your production code, you will make your business class using the default constructor, which will automatically make your class with a connection to the DB. However, notice that we can create a BusinessClass with an IDataProvider that we specify. So, you can make a "fake" data provider just for testing:
public class MockDataProvider: IDataProvider
{
public string getData()
{
//return some expected result that you can control, without doing a DB call.
}
}
Now in your test, you can create a new MockDataProvider, and pass that into the constructor for BusinessClass. Your business class will now use your mock data provider, instead of the real DB.
Here I did everything by hand, but it gives you an idea of how this works. In real life, you can use mocking and dependency injection frameworks to write a bunch of that code for you.

The same way you mock any dependency. Write a nice, neat contract from which implementation details can be abstracted away, then mock that contract. Typically this is done by using the Data Access Layer as the contract(s).
Without getting into real implementation details, lets say you have a query in your method you want to test: (note, i copied this code from a ravenDB example, but i know 0 about ravenDB, so it might not even compile)
public void SomeMethod()
{
var name = "Hello";
var motto = "World";
using (var docStore = new DocumentStore("localhost", 8080).Initialize())
using (var session = documentStore.OpenSession()){
session.Store(new Company { Name = name, Motto = motto });;
session.SaveChanges();
}
}
That's going to be pretty hard to mock / test because it requires a db on localhost on 8080. Now, if you separate this logic out into another class:
public class AwesomeDAL
public virtual void AddCompany(string name, string motto){
using (var docStore = new DocumentStore("localhost", 8080).Initialize())
using (var session = documentStore.OpenSession()){
session.Store(new Company { Name = name, Motto = motto });;
session.SaveChanges();
}
}
and allow for the injection of the dependency (AwesomeDal):
public class ClassBeingTested
{
public AwesomeDal DAL { get; set; }
public ClassBeingTested() : this(new AwesomeDal()){}
public ClassBeingTested(AwesomeDal dal)
{
this.DAL = dal;
}
public void SomeMethod()
{
var name = "Hello";
var motto = "World";
this.DAL.AddCompany(name, motto);
}
}
And you can now test the BL code in isolation. Or you can simulate database exceptions, or anything else you need to test because your data access layer is abstracted, and its implementation is easily mockable with a framework like Moq or RhinoMocks

In addition to the already posted (correct) answers, let me propose an alternative solution: Use a real development database! Nothing is a more realistic mock that the real thing. If you test on it directly, at least you know that your code will actually run.
If you can abstract away your database easily, I recommend doing that, though.

fake DataRepository - emulating the database

Quick Info: I'm using C# 4.0 and RhinoMocks (with AAA)
I'll explain with some code what I'm thinking about doing:
public class SampleData
{
private List<Person> _persons = new List<Person>()
{
new Person { PersonID = 1, Name = "Jack"},
new Person { PersonID = 2, Name = "John"}
};
public List<Person> Persons
{
get { return _persons; }
}
}
So this is a class which mimics data in the DB. Now I want to use this data in my unit tests. In other words, instead of getting data out of the DB, I want to get them out of the datarepository.
I think I can achieve this by stubbing the Repository and by making it use the DataRepository instead:
UC1003_ConsultantsBeherenBL consultantsBeherenBL = new UC1003_ConsultantsBeherenBL();
consultantsBeherenBL = MockRepository.GeneratePartialMock<UC1003_ConsultantsBeherenBL>();
consultantsBeherenBL.Repository = MockRepository.GenerateMock<IRepository>();
This would cause my code to automaticly look for data in the DataRepository instead. So instead of stubbing a method and directly inserting a list (e.g. d => d.Find(Arg.Is.Anything)).IgnoreArguments().Return(a list which you just filled up)) I'd get "real" data back (the data which has been filtered from the DataRepository). This means I can test if my code can really find something, without having to insert test data in my DB (integration test).
How would I go about implementing such a thing? I've tried looking on the web for articles or questions, but I can't seem to find a lot :/
Any help is appreciated.
EDIT: I've tried to SimpleInjector and StructureMap, but I'm stuck implementing one of them.
I'm currently using a repository on my entity framework, so my baseBL looks like this (note: all my other BL's enherit from this one):
public class BaseBL
{
private IRepository _repository;
public IRepository Repository
{
get
{
if (_repository == null)
_repository = new Repository(new DetacheringenEntities());
return _repository;
}
set { _repository = value; }
}
public IEnumerable<T> GetAll<T>()
{
... --> Generic methods
My Repository class:
public class Repository : BaseRepository, IRepository
{
#region Base Implementation
private bool _disposed;
public Repository(DetacheringenEntities context)
{
this._context = context;
this._contextReused = true;
}
#endregion
#region IRepository Members
public int Add<T>(T entity)
... --> implementations of generic methods
As far as I can make out, I now need to be able to say in my tests that instead of using the DetacheringenEntities, I need to use my DataRepository. I don't understand how I switch out my entity framework with a data class, because that data class won't fit in there.
Should I let my DataRepository enherit my IRepository class and make my own implementations?
public class SampleData : IRepository
But I can't do things like this with my lists :/
public IEnumerable<T> GetAll<T>()
{
return Repository.GetAll<T>();
}
Big thanks again for help
EDIT: I realised that a unit test doesn't need a data repository, so I'm just testing that logic in an integration test. This makes a data repository useless, since the code can be tested without a repository.
I'd like to thank everybody for their help though, thanks :)

Use a Dependency injection framework to handle your dependencies. In your unit test you can swap the real implementation with a stubbed one.
In StructureMap for example, you'll say in your code. "All right, now give me the active instance of IDataRepository", for your normal code this would point to an implementation to the real database. In your unittest you can then overwrite this by putting ObjectFactory.Inject(new FakeDataRepository()). The fake repo is then used by all your code, which makes it really easy to test a single unit of work.Í