Issue with Assert.Throws Exception in NUnit testing - c#

I am trying out NUnit, Unit Testing and Integration testing for the first time. I have been reading up and doing lots of online courses. As I'm sure you know very well it's something knowing theory and doing it in practice.
I am stuck on a particular test. The application that I have is in C# .Net 3.5.
I am trying to assert that a method with a certain bad input will throw a particular exception.
When I run the method with the same input given to the test the expected exception is thrown.
The method being tested code is:
private static bool FilePathHasInvalidChars(string userInputPath)
{
try
{
Path.GetFullPath(userInputPath);//this is where the warning appears
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Log.Error(String.Format(
"The Program failed to run due to invalid characters or empty string value for the Input Directory. Full Path : <{0}>. Error Message : {1}.",
userInputPath, e.Message), e);
return true;
}
return false;
}
I want to check that the above code can catch an exception if the provided input directory is not meeting the criteria.
The Unit test that I have at the moment is:
[Test]
public void can_throws_exception_for_empty_string()
{
var testDirectory = "";
var sut = new DirectoryInfoValidator();
Assert.Throws<ArgumentNullException>(() => sut.FilePathHasInvalidChars(testDirectory));
}
The problem I have is that the test allways fails and if I check the return it states that It expected an ArgumentNull exception but was null. I have taken a screenshot of the output from the test:
Any idea what I might be doing wrong?
EDIT: By the way I have also attempted to use
[ExpectedException(typeof(ArgumentNullException), ExceptionMessage= "Log Message", MatchType=MessageMatch.Contains)]
Have had same result with that.
On an ending note I am not sure if this is considered an Integration test or a Unit test given that my method uses Path.GetFullPath(string directory). Anyway my main issue right now is understanding what I am doing wrong. :)
Many thanks,
Jetnor.
UPDATE: After taking all the points into consideration and looking at my system's needs I have decided not to throw an exception. Instead I have decided to create tests which cover the different possible exceptions that can occur in my situation. The test method looks like this:
[Test]
public void returns_true_for_empty_string()
{
var testDirectory = "";
var sut = new DirectoryInfoValidator();
var isInvalidPath = sut.FilePathHasInvalidChars(testDirectory);
Assert.That(isInvalidPath, Is.True);
}
This is a starting point. I inted to use the [TestCase] option by providing all the inputs to one test and checking all of them at the same time. Thanks for your help guys.

Your method FilePathHasInvalidChars does not throw an exception. An exception is thrown inside of your method, but your method catches and handles the exception. Your method will always return a valid value.
If you want your method to throw an ArgumentNullException rather than logging and swallowing it, try this:
private static bool FilePathHasInvalidChars(string userInputPath)
{
try
{
Path.GetFullPath(userInputPath);//this is where the warning appears
}
catch (ArgumentNullException) {
Log.Error("The Program failed to run due to a null string value for the Input Directory.");
throw;
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Log.Error(String.Format(
"The Program failed to run due to invalid characters or empty string value for the Input Directory. Full Path : <{0}>. Error Message : {1}.",
userInputPath, e.Message), e);
return true;
}
return false;
}
With this modification, if userInputPath is null your method will log and re-throw the ArgumentNullException, and your unit test will see the exception and pass.

Your code does not throw an ArgumentNullException. Based on your code, it should never* throw any exception- it should simply return true or false.
Change your test to the NUnit equivalent of:
Assert.IsTrue(() => sut.FilePathHasInvalidChars(testDirectory));
Or, if an empty string SHOULD throw an ArgumentNullException, modify the code to something like the following**:
private static bool FilePathHasInvalidChars(string userInputPath)
{
if(string.IsNullOrWhiteSpace(userInputPath) throw new
ArgumentNullException("userInputPath");
try
{
Path.GetFullPath(userInputPath);//this is where the warning appears
}
catch (ArgumentException e)
{
Log.Error(String.Format(
"The Program failed to run due to invalid characters or empty string value for the Input Directory. Full Path : <{0}>. Error Message : {1}.",
userInputPath, e.Message), e);
throw;
}
catch (Exception e)
{
Log.Error(String.Format(
"The Program failed to run due to invalid characters or empty string value for the Input Directory. Full Path : <{0}>. Error Message : {1}.",
userInputPath, e.Message), e);
return true;
}
return false;
}
*- For a value of "never" that means "so rarely you're unlikely to have to consider it"
**- I haven't tried to compile that, so there may be errors; it's just a starting point.

Related

How can I have an exception show in debugging output that doesn't cause a "catch"

This may be a basic question but I have not been able to find an answer from searching. I have code that is causing an exception to be written to the Output -> Debug window in Visual Studio. My try...catch is proceeding to the next line of code anyway. The exception is with a NuGet package.
Does this mean an exception is happening in the NuGet package and is handled by the Nuget package? How can I troubleshoot this further?
private void HandleStorageWriteAvailable(IXDocument doc)
{
using IStorage storage = doc.OpenStorage(StorageName, AccessType_e.Write);
{
Debug.WriteLine("Attempting to write to storage.");
try
{
using (Stream str = storage.TryOpenStream(EntityStreamName, true))
{
if (str is not null)
{
try
{
string test = string.Concat(Enumerable.Repeat("*", 100000));
var xmlSer = new XmlSerializer(typeof(string));
xmlSer.Serialize(str, test);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine("Something bad happened when trying to write to the SW file.");
Debug.WriteLine(ex);
}
}
else
{
Debug.WriteLine($"Failed to open stream {EntityStreamName} to write to.");
}
}
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Debug.WriteLine(ex);
}
}
}
The exception happens on the line using (Stream str = storage.TryOpenStream(EntityStreamName, true)) when the exception happens the code proceeds to the next line not the catch.
Is this normal behaviour if that exception is being handled by something else? I've never seen this before.
In general, a method called TrySomething will be designed so that it won't throw an exception, but return some sort of error code instead.
Check for example the Dictionary class : it has an Add method which can throw an ArgumentException if the key already exists, and a TryAdd method which instead just returns false.
Chances are, your IStorage implementation of TryOpenStream also has an OpenStream method, and the Try version is just a try/catch wrapper which outputs the error to the Console in case of error.
How do you know it happens on that line?
However there is a setting that enables breaking handled exception in "Exception Settings" dialog (Ctrl+Alt+E). For each type of exception you can control. Here is a link that explain how it works : https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/debugger/managing-exceptions-with-the-debugger?view=vs-2022

Where should I create an Exception object?

The Best practices for exceptions document on MSDN says that you can have an exception builder method inside your class if the same exception is to be used in many parts of the class. But also, it says that in some cases, it's better to use the exception's constructor.
Let's say I have the following code in an UserData class:
private MailAddress _addr;
public UserData(string emailAddress)
{
// Tries to validate the e-mail address
try
{
_addr = new MailAddress(emailAddress);
}
catch
{
throw new ArgumentException(nameof(emailAddress), "Invalid email address.");
}
if (_addr.Address != emailAddress)
{
throw new ArgumentException(nameof(emailAddress), "Invalid email address.");
}
}
You can see that in both throw statements, I'm throwing the exact same exception.
The question is: Is it correct to add an exception builder method to get my exception and throw that? Will I get the correct stacktrace and such if I do so? And if not, how do I determine between exception builders and constructors?
Is it correct to add an exception builder method to get my exception and throw that
That depends. As suggested in the article you linked: If it's the same exception (with the same information), it makes sense to create such a helper method to keep your code clean.
Will I get the correct stacktrace and such if I do so
Yes, you will.
Take a look at this example. (DotNetFiddle).
public static void Main()
{
try{
throw CreateEx("Hi");
} catch(Exception ex) {
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
try {
CreateEx2("Hi");
} catch(Exception ex) {
Console.WriteLine(ex.ToString());
}
}
public static Exception CreateEx(string text){
text += " Additional text";
return new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(text);
}
public static void CreateEx2(string text){
text += " Additional text";
throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException(text);
}
The stacktrace depends on where the exception is thrown, not where it is built.
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Specified argument was out of the range of valid values.
Parameter name: Hi Additional text
at Program.Main() in d:\Windows\Temp\b4ln3dbq.0.cs:line 13
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException: Specified argument was out of the range of valid values.
Parameter name: Hi Additional text
at Program.CreateEx2(String text) in d:\Windows\Temp\b4ln3dbq.0.cs:line 34
at Program.Main() in d:\Windows\Temp\b4ln3dbq.0.cs:line 19

How do I obtain 100% coverage when an exception is thrown in a unit test?

In C# you can catch an exception in the default test suite like this:
[TestMethod]
[ExpectedException(typeof (ArgumentNullException))]
public void TestNullComposite()
{
IApi api = new Api();
api.GetDataUsingDataContract(null); // this method throws ArgumentNullException
}
But when you analyze the code coverage, it says that you only get 66.67% coverage because the last curly brace was not covered.
How would I go about achieving 100% coverage on this unit test?
Usually when people are measuring code coverage, they are looking at the code covered by the tests and not the tests themselves.
As this case shows, it doesn't really make sense to require 100% coverage on test units.
The test is supposed to throw. That is what you are testing.
If you really want the entire method to be executed I guess you could test whether the exception was thrown manually. Something like this (haven't tested it, but I don't see why it shouldn't work):
[TestMethod]
public void TestNullComposite()
{
IApi api = new Api();
bool didThrow = false;
try
{
api.GetDataUsingDataContract(null); // this method throws ArgumentNullException
}
catch(ArgumentNullException)
{
didThrow = true;
}
Assert.IsTrue(didThrow);
}
But it seems like extra work for no good reason. I would suggest you re-evaluate your testing practices.
Within NUnit you have a method Assert.Throws<Exception>(), which checks if the desired exception was thrown. It also returns that exception as return value, so that you could have further assertations if you like:
[Test]
public void Api_GetDataUsingDataContractWithNullParameter_ThrowsArgumentNullException()
{
var api = new Api();
var exception = Assert.Throws<ArgumentNullException>(() => api.GetDataUsingDataContract(null));
Assert.That(exception.Message, Is.Not.Null.Or.Empty);
Assert.That(exception.Message, Is.StringContaining("source"));
}
Due to the fact, that the method does not throw by itself, your coverage would be 100%.
What MAV is saying is true. Additionally, there is a way to exclude the test class from being analyzed from Code Coverage.
Just adorn your [TestClass] with the Attribute [ExcludeFromCodeCoverage]!
This way it is at least theoretically possible to reach 100% CC.
Yes You Can But First You have to understand see assert throw will fully cover when
The expected exception match with the exception thrown by your function
e.g
assertThrows(NullPointerException.class,() -> userProfileService.getUserDetailById(userProfile.getAssociateId()));
When the expected and actual exception are not match or no any exception are thrown by assertthrow.
Consider the above scenario example suppose called function will throw Other exception than NullPointerException then assertthrow will fail.
Now you have to think to fail and pass at the same time for assertthrow.
So a solution that I find is
userProfile = new UserProfile("101", "Amit Kumar Gupta", "amit#gmail.com", "Software Intern", "No",
"999999999");
userProfile2 = new UserProfile("102", "Satyam Sharma", "Satyam#gmail.com", "Software Engineer", "Yes",
"8769356421");
Mockito.when(userProfileDAO.findById(Mockito.anyString())).thenReturn(Optional.ofNullable(userProfile))
.thenReturn(Optional.ofNullable(userProfile2));
List<Class<? extends Exception>> exceptionClassList = new ArrayList<Class<? extends Exception>>();
exceptionClassList.add(NullPointerException.class);
exceptionClassList.add(IllegalArgumentException.class);
for (int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
try {
assertThrows(exceptionClassList.get(i),
() -> userProfileService.getUserDetailById(userProfile.getAssociateId()));
} catch (AssertionError e) {
assertNotNull(e.getMessage());
}
}
In this case Mockito will return two values and both will be used by function call inside the assertThrow first time assertThrow will match the expected exception i.e. NullPointerException.class
Second time assertThrow will Fail because the lambda function will not throw any exception but assertThrow is expecting a IllegalArgumentException.
It generates the AssertionError So that will caught by catch block.
Now You have 100% coverage.

why my exception shown like this?

I created my own class library and I have create() method like this:
public int create()
{
try
{
if(path!=null){
//do somethings
}
else{
throw new ArgumentNullException("path cannot be null ro empty", "path");
}
catch{
throw;
}
return 0;
}
}
In another project, I add my class library DLL and when I use my library method and because of something for example path=null my method thrown an exception and I get that in line that I wrote throw inside the catch...
I don't want that,how can I get error in line that I call create() method in my project
Thank you
SORRY I DONT KNOW ENGLISH VERY WELL so i try again to say my mean
I try to create class library and I want to get it to some one else to use, I want when exception in my create() method thrown visual studio highlight the line that create method was called, but it open my dll and go to create method and highlight the line that I wrote throw;... how can I solve it?
....................................................................................
finally I found the answer,see this link:
Hiding code from a DLL while debugging
To stop the debugger at the correct line when you throw your exception, all you have to do is to remove your try catch block (which is completely unnecessary in your case either way):
public int create()
{
if(path==null)
throw new ArgumentNullException("path", "path cannot be null or empty");
// do something
return 0;
}
Also as Oscar pointed out, you should switch the arguments when throwing the exception, as the first parameter is for the parameter name, the second for the message.
You have swapped the arguments of ArgumentNullException constructor. First goes the param name, and later the message.
public ArgumentNullException(
string paramName,
string message
)
http://msdn.microsoft.com/es-es/library/k8a0dfcy(v=vs.110).aspx
Also, you can safely remove the catch clause, as you're doing nothing there. Only catch exception you suppose to handle somehow, otherwise, let it bubble up.
When you rethrow an exception, only one stack frame is saved inside each method, therefore, you can't find out which line threw the exception, only the line that rethrew it. You can either log the message when you catch it for the first time, or don't rethrow but instead throw a new exception, and supply the caught exception as an inner exception.
You can always do check before try :
public int create(){
if(path!=null){
try{
//do somethings
}
catch{
throw;
}
else{
throw new ArgumentNullException("path cannot be null ro empty", "path");
}
return 0;
}

C# if exception is caught will it reach my return statement?

In System.IO there is a function:
string File.ReadAllText( string path );
I am trying to write a function that would call File.ReadAllText, take care of all possible exceptions and return true/false and store error message.
What I have is this:
public static class FileNoBS
{
public static bool ReadAllText( string path, out string text, out string errorMessage )
{
errorMessage = null;
text = null;
bool operationSuccessful = false;
try
{
text = System.IO.File.ReadAllText( path );
operationSuccessful = true;
}
catch ( ArgumentNullException e )
{
errorMessage = "Internal software error - argument null exception in FileNoBs.ReadAllText\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( ArgumentException e )
{
errorMessage = "Internal software error - path is a zero-length string, contains only white space, or contains one or more invalid characters as defined by InvalidPathChars in FileNoBs.ReadAllText.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( PathTooLongException e )
{
errorMessage = "The specified path was too long.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( DirectoryNotFoundException e )
{
errorMessage = "The specified directory was not found.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( FileNotFoundException e )
{
errorMessage = "The file specified in path was not found.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( IOException e )
{
errorMessage = "An I/O error occurred while opening the file.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( UnauthorizedAccessException e )
{
errorMessage = #"UnauthorizedAccessException
path specified a file that is read-only.
-or-
This operation is not supported on the current platform.
-or-
path specified a directory.
-or-
The caller does not have the required permission.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( NotSupportedException e )
{
errorMessage = "path is in an invalid format.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
catch ( SecurityException e )
{
errorMessage = "You do not have the required permission.\nMessage: " + e.Message;
}
return operationSuccessful;
}
}
I don't understand how how control flow goes with functions that return value.
Let's say UnauthorizedAccessException gets caught, errorMessage is set to
errorMessage = "You do not have the required permission..."
I know that finally gets executed every time, but compiler won't let me do return inside finally block. So will my return get reached or not?
Another question is how to simplify this while still following official guidelines:
"In general, you should only catch those exceptions that you know how to recover from. "
I dread going through all functions that I will need from File class (Move, Copy, Delete, ReadAllText, WriteAllText) and then Directory class and doing all these long blocks of code just to catch all exceptions I don't care about and not catch too many of them cause Microsoft says it's bad.
Thank you.
EDIT: I got comments like this is not handling exceptions this is "something else".
I am client for my code and I want to do something like this:
if ( !FileNoBS.ReadAllText( path, text, errorMessage ) ) {
MessageBox.Show( errorMessage );
return;
}
// continue working with all errors taken care of - don't care for whatever reason file wasn't opened and read, user is notified and I am moving on with my life
Your return will be reached as there isn't a return in the try block or the catch block.
Generally, you only want to catch exceptions that you expect may occur and have a way of handling them. For example, you may want to handle the file not being found from the given path and return a default file instead. You should allow other exceptions not to be caught so you know that something unexpected has happened and not hide it by catching all exceptions.
As I said in my comment, you are better off handling the exceptions at a higher level and simply displaying the exception message rather than manually setting each message. I think in this case the message from the exception will be descriptive enough.
public static class FileNoBS
{
public static string ReadAllText(string path)
{
return System.IO.File.ReadAllText( path );
}
}
then use it like this at some higher level in your application. I typically have a general handler to handle all application exceptions and log them and display a message box if necessary.
try
{
var text = FileNoBS.ReadAllText("file.ext");
}
catch(Exception e)
{
Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}
Instead of catching the exceptions you should try to avoid the situation that will lead to those exceptions being thrown in the first place. In your case you should have some input validation before calling ReadAllText
never accept a path that is null - you know this will lead to an exception so handle it before it does
never accept a path that leads to a file that does not exist - use File.Exists(path) prior to the call
never accept a malformed path E.g. the empty string or one with invalid characters - this will lead to an exception
These tests should be performed where the input originates. That is if the user types them in, validate them before using them. If they come from a DB or somewhere else validate there before use. If it's not user input they are all indications of a system error and should be treated as such, not as something the user should worry about.
Security exceptions can be somewhat harder to test up front and in many cases it is exceptional to get a violation and therefor perfectly ok to get an exception. It shouldn't crash the program of course but be handled with an errormessage to the user (if it's based on user input, if it's system generated data that leads to this, it's an idication of a system error that should be fixed at code level). It's often more appropriate to do this where the call happens than in some library method.
for IOExceptions they can be put into two buckets. Recoverable once (usually a retry) and unrecoverable once. As a minimum give the user feedback on the exception, so the user might have the option of retrying.
A very general rule that should be part of the error correction logic is to never have invalid data floating around the system. Make sure that all objects manage the invariants (Tools are available for this such as code contracts). Reject invalid input from the user (or other systems) when they are received instead of when they result in an exception.
If you do all the input validation and still have E.g. ArgumentNullException then that points to an error in the logic of the program, something that you want to be able to easily find in a test and correct before you release the bug. You shouldn't try and mask this error.
Provided no other error occurs, yes.
I'd add at the end:
catch (Exception e)
{
errormessage = "An unexpected error has occured.";
}
return operationSuccessful;
Though, this will always return the successful even if you got an error. I'm not sure if that's what you want, or if your variables are badly named.
The return statement is going to be called in case of any exception in your code, before it is placed at the end of the program before it exits.
I will suggest placing a single exception handler with a high level Exception type, like the 'Exception' type itself, and print or log the exception message. Specifying so many exception handlers in each method is going to take a lot of energy which your should actually put in the method itself.
try
{
return ReadAllText("path", "text", "error");
}
catch (Exception exception)
{
Console.WriteLine(exception);
}
return false;
So if the method gets called, it will return immediately, otherwise the exception gets printed/logged and the method will return false.
You can however, mention a couple or few explicit exception handlers in some cases, where you think it will be beneficial.
Yes It will return the value.
But, better you handle return value in finally statement.
If in any case you want to return operationSuccessful value, then write finally block after catch blocks as follows,
finally
{
return operationSuccessful;
}

Categories