Static repository... can't use DI, what to do? - c#

I am in a situation where we need to modify what is being returned from the static repository in a 3rd party open-source application (NopCommerce). The problem is that they use static repositories, so I can't merely inherit an interface and DI my own repository. I'm trying to do this without modifying the NopCommerce code-base... any fresh ideas?
Edit: I want NopCommerce to use my repos, rather than have my code use theirs.

You could abstract away their stuff by creating an interface of your own and a class implementation that delegates to NopCommerce. Then have your code use the interface instead of directly accessing NopCommerce's classes. You can modify the output of NopCommerce inside your class before the result is returned to your application.
And as an added bonus you could also mock the interface to do some tests that didn't require the full-blown repository implementations.
Something like this, in code:
public interface IRepository
{
MyItem GetItem(int id);
}
public class MyNopCommerceWrapper : IRepository
{
public MyItem GetItem(int id)
{
// I have no idea what NopCommerce API looks like, so I made this up.
var myItem = NopCommerce.GetItem(id);
ModifyMyItem(myItem);
return myItem;
}
}

We are currently on a really, really tight deadline, and this problem was not forseen. So I am thinking of first starting with a poor man's static interface/poor man's DI like the following (so I don't have to modify the entire solution). Then at a later time, when we are not-so-pressed for time, change over to use an interface and dependency injection and submit a patch to NopCommerce:
// Poor-man's static interface (DI).
public static class OriginalBuiltInStaticClass {
private static IMyNewClass _myNewClass;
public static void Inject(IMyNewClass myNewClass) {
_myNewClass = myNewClass;
A = _myNewClass.A;
B = _myNewClass.B;
C = _myNewClass.C;
}
public static Action A = CopySimpleRenameBuiltInStaticClass.A;
public static Func<int, string> B = CopySimpleRenameBuiltInStaticClass.B;
public static Action C = CopySimpleRenameBuiltInStaticClass.C;
}
// Original vendor class which was copied and renamed.
public static class CopySimpleRenameBuiltInStaticClass {
public static void A() {
Console.WriteLine("OriginalBuiltInStaticClass.A()");
}
public static string B(int id) {
Console.WriteLine("OriginalBuiltInStaticClass.B()");
return id.ToString();
}
public static void C() {
Console.WriteLine("OriginalBuiltInStaticClass.C()");
}
}
// Creating an interface to merge into trunk of NopCommerce (convert static repositories)
public interface IMyNewClass {
void A();
string B(int id);
void C();
}
// Implementation of interface.
public class MyNewClass : IMyNewClass {
public void A() {
Console.WriteLine("MyNewClass.A()");
}
public string B(int id) {
Console.WriteLine("MyNewClass.B()");
return id.ToString();
}
public void C() {
CopySimpleRenameBuiltInStaticClass.C();
}
}
Any thoughts?

Sounds like a job for Facade.

Related

Can't mock an extension method wtih JustMock [duplicate]

I am writing a test that depends on the results of an extension method but I don't want a future failure of that extension method to ever break this test. Mocking that result seemed the obvious choice but Moq doesn't seem to offer a way to override a static method (a requirement for an extension method). There is a similar idea with Moq.Protected and Moq.Stub, but they don't seem to offer anything for this scenario. Am I missing something or should I be going about this a different way?
Here is a trivial example that fails with the usual "Invalid expectation on a non-overridable member". This is a bad example of needing to mock an extension method, but it should do.
public class SomeType {
int Id { get; set; }
}
var ListMock = new Mock<List<SomeType>>();
ListMock.Expect(l => l.FirstOrDefault(st => st.Id == 5))
.Returns(new SomeType { Id = 5 });
As for any TypeMock junkies that might suggest I use Isolator instead: I appreciate the effort since it looks like TypeMock could do the job blindfolded and inebriated, but our budget isn't increasing any time soon.
Extension methods are just static methods in disguise. Mocking frameworks like Moq or Rhinomocks can only create mock instances of objects, this means mocking static methods is not possible.
If you can change the extension methods code then you can code it like this to be able to test:
using System;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using Moq;
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static IMyImplementation Implementation = new MyImplementation();
public static string MyMethod(this object obj)
{
return Implementation.MyMethod(obj);
}
}
public interface IMyImplementation
{
string MyMethod(object obj);
}
public class MyImplementation : IMyImplementation
{
public string MyMethod(object obj)
{
return "Hello World!";
}
}
So the extention methods are only a wrapper around the implementation interface.
(You could use just the implementation class without extension methods which are sort of syntactic sugar.)
And you can mock the implementation interface and set it as implementation for the extensions class.
public class MyClassUsingExtensions
{
public string ReturnStringForObject(object obj)
{
return obj.MyMethod();
}
}
[TestClass]
public class MyTests
{
[TestMethod]
public void MyTest()
{
// Given:
//-------
var mockMyImplementation = new Mock<IMyImplementation>();
MyExtensions.Implementation = mockMyImplementation.Object;
var myClassUsingExtensions = new MyClassUsingExtensions();
// When:
//-------
var myObject = new Object();
myClassUsingExtensions.ReturnStringForObject(myObject);
//Then:
//-------
// This would fail because you cannot test for the extension method
//mockMyImplementation.Verify(m => m.MyMethod());
// This is success because you test for the mocked implementation interface
mockMyImplementation.Verify(m => m.MyMethod(myObject));
}
}
I know this question hasn't been active for about a year but Microsoft released a framework to handle exactly this called Moles.
Here are a few tutorials as well:
DimeCasts.net
Nikolai Tillman's Tutorial
I created a wrapper class for the extension methods that I needed to mock.
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static string MyExtension<T>(this T obj)
{
return "Hello World!";
}
}
public interface IExtensionMethodsWrapper
{
string MyExtension<T>(T myObj);
}
public class ExtensionMethodsWrapper : IExtensionMethodsWrapper
{
public string MyExtension<T>(T myObj)
{
return myObj.MyExtension();
}
}
Then you can mock the wrapper methods in your tests and code with your IOC container.
For extension methods I normally use the following approach:
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static Func<int,int, int> _doSumm = (x, y) => x + y;
public static int Summ(this int x, int y)
{
return _doSumm(x, y);
}
}
It allows to inject _doSumm fairly easy.
Best thing you can do is to provide a custom implementation for the type that has the extension method, e.g:
[Fact]
public class Tests
{
public void ShouldRunOk()
{
var service = new MyService(new FakeWebHostEnvironment());
// Service.DoStuff() internally calls the SomeExtensionFunction() on IWebHostEnvironment
// Here it works just fine as we provide a custom implementation of that interface
service.DoStuff().Should().NotBeNull();
}
}
public class FakeWebHostEnvironment : IWebHostEnvironment
{
/* IWebHostEnvironment implementation */
public bool SomeExtensionFunction()
{
return false;
}
}

Is it a good practice to cast from an interface to some concrete class when needed?

I'am developing a small system and i developed the classic generic repository. For now, i have the following architecture for my DAL.
public interface IRepositorio<T> where T : class
{
T Get(long id);
long Insert(T obj);
bool Update(T obj);
bool Delete(T obj);
}
public abstract class Repositorio<T> : IRepositorio<T> where T : class
{
public IDbConnection Connection
{
get
{
return new SqlConnection(ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["DBFila"].ConnectionString);
}
}
public T Get(long id)
{
//...
}
public long Insert(T obj)
{
//...
}
public bool Update(T obj)
{
//...
}
public bool Delete(T obj)
{
//...
}
}
My concrete repository looks like this:
public class FilaRepositorio : Repositorio<FilaRepositorio>
{
public FilaRepositorio()
{
}
public void SomeCustomMethod()
{
// Some custom method
}
}
I am also using Simple Injector to follow the IoC and DI patterns, for this reason, when i try to call "SomeCustomMethod()" i dont have access to it (obviously). Look:
public class Processador
{
private IRepositorio<FilaModel> _repoFila;
public Processador(IRepositorio<FilaModel> repoFila)
{
_repoFila = repoFila;
}
public void Processar()
{
_repoFila.SomeCustomMethod(); // <-- wrong
((FilaRepositorio)_repoFila).SomeCustomMethod();// <-- works
}
}
Given this i have some questions:
Is a good or acceptable practice to make that cast (FilaRepositorio)?
If its not a good practice, how to write good code for this case?
There are a few options available. The main problem with making the cast is that it is an implementation concern.
What would happen if the injected object was not a FilaRepositorio?
By making the cast you are tightly coupling the class to an implementation concern that is not guaranteed to be the inject dependency. Thus the constructor is not being entirely truthful about what it needs to perform its function.
This demonstrates the need to practice Explicit Dependencies Principle
The Explicit Dependencies Principle states:
Methods and classes should explicitly require (typically through
method parameters or constructor parameters) any collaborating objects
they need in order to function correctly.
One way to avoid it would be to make a derived interface that explicitly exposes the desired functionality of its dependents.
public interface IFilaRepositorio : IRepositorio<FilaModel> {
void SomeCustomMethod();
}
public class FilaRepositorio : Repositorio<FilaModel>, IFilaRepositorio {
public void SomeCustomMethod() {
//...other code removed for brevity.
}
}
and have the Processador depend on that more targeted abstraction.
Now there is no need for the cast at all and the class explicitly expresses what it needs.
public class Processador {
private readonly IFilaRepositorio _repoFila;
public Processador(IFilaRepositorio repoFila) {
_repoFila = repoFila;
}
public void Processar() {
_repoFila.SomeCustomMethod(); // <-- works
}
}
If you need to access a specific method from any part of your application, then that specific method must be part of your abstraction, or else there is no guarantee that you may use it when changing the concrete class.
I do not believe that your use of casting is a good idea at all, what is usually done in this case is to create a specific interface which defines any other method you could need to use:
public interface IFilaRepositorio : IRepositorio<Fila>
{
void SomeCustomMethod();
}
And than use and declare that specific interface in any part of your code where you believe you need to use it:
public class Processador
{
private IFilaRepositorio _repoFila;
public Processador(IFilaRepositorio repoFila)
{
_repoFila = repoFila;
}
public void Processar()
{
_repoFila.SomeCustomMethod();
}
}

Mock a concrete class

I know that it is not possible to Mock a concrete class but only interfacecs and abstract classes.
Is there any way or any pattern to skirt this?
For example I have the following classes that do not implement any interface. I don't want to create a new instance of C since it will take lot of time in my unit test, how can I mock it and do unit test on Foo()?
public class A
{
public virtual void Foo(){}
}
public class C:A
{
public C()
{
// construction takes lot of time
}
public override void Foo()
{
}
}
Thanks
Disclaimer I work at Typemock.
I know that it is not possible to Mock a concrete class but only
interfaces and abstract classes
With Typemock Isolator you can mock everything, from abstract classes and interfaces to sealed and static classes.
I changed your example a little:
public class A
{
public virtual int Foo() { return 0; }
}
public class C : A
{
public C()
{
// construction takes lot of time
}
private int Bar()
{
return 3;
}
public override int Foo()
{
return Bar() + 1;
}
}
[TestClass]
public class Collections
{
[TestMethod]
public void FakingWithIsolatorExample()
{
var fakeC = Isolate.Fake.Instance<C>();
Isolate.WhenCalled(() => fakeC.Foo()).CallOriginal();
Isolate.NonPublic.WhenCalled(fakeC, "Bar").WillReturn(10);
int result = fakeC.Foo();
Assert.AreEqual(11, result);
}
}
Comments:
The ctor of C was ignored.
The real implementation of Foo was called and tested
A return value was assigned to private method of C.
No changes in your code and additional levels of indirection were needed.

C# static interface or abstract implementation

I have a program that needs to be able to interface with multiple platforms ie read/write files, read/write database or read/write web requests. The platform interface is selected from configuration and does not change while the application is running. I have a single read/write interface class which is inherited by the platform specific classes so that this is abstracted from the rest of the program.
My problem is that I have 10 classes in my framework that will need to use this interface. Instead of making multiple instances of this class, or passing a single reference to every class, I figured it would make sense to make the interface static. Unfortunately I have just learned that Interfaces cannot have static methods, static methods cannot call non-static methods and static methods cannot be abstract.
Can anyone show me another method of approaching this situation?
Edit:
Thanks for everyone's input, here is my solution based on the example given by Patrick Hofman (thank you!)
interface TheInterface
{
void read();
void write();
}
public class X : TheInterface
{
public void read() { //do something }
public void write() { //do something }
}
public class Y : TheInterface
{
public void read() { //do something }
public void write() { //do something }
}
public class FileAccessor
{
public static TheInterface accessor;
public static TheInterface Accessor
{
get
{
if(accessor) return accessor;
}
}
}
This can be called by any class as:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
switch (Config.interface)
{
case "X":
FileAccessor.accessor = new Lazy<X>();
case "Y":
FileAccessor.accessor = new Lazy<Y>();
default:
throw new Lazy<Exception>("Unknown interface: " + Config.interface);
}
FileAccessor.Accessor.read();
}
Indeed, interfaces, or abstract classes can't be static themselves, but the further implementation can. Also, you can use the singleton pattern to make your life easier, and allow inheritance, etc.
public class X : ISomeInterface
{
private X() { }
public static X instance;
public static X Instance
{
get
{
return instance ?? (instance = new X());
}
}
}
Or, using Lazy<T>:
public class X : ISomeInterface
{
private X() { }
public static Lazy<X> instanceLazy = new Lazy<X>(() => new X());
public static X Instance
{
get
{
return instance.Value;
}
}
}
Disclaimer: I am the author of the library described below.
I don't know if this helps you, but I have written a library (very early version yet) that allows you to define static interfaces, by defining normal interfaces and decorating their methods with an attribute named [Static], for example:
public interface IYourInterface
{
[Static]
void DoTheThing();
}
(Note that you don't explicitly add this interface to your implementations.)
Once you have defined the interface, you can instantiate it from within your code with any valid implementation you choose:
return typeof(YourImplementation).ToStaticContract<IYourInterface>();
If the methods can't be found in YourImplementation, this call fails at runtime with an exception.
If the methods are found and this call is successful, then the client code can polymorphically call your static methods like this:
IYourInterface proxy = GetAnImplementation();
proxy.DoTheThing();
You can make a Static Class which has Variable of your Interface.
public static class StaticClass
{
public static ISomeInterface Interface;
}
Now you can access the Instance from everywhere in your Framwork
static void Main(string[] args)
{
StaticClass.Interface = new SomeClass();
}

How do I use Moq to mock an extension method?

I am writing a test that depends on the results of an extension method but I don't want a future failure of that extension method to ever break this test. Mocking that result seemed the obvious choice but Moq doesn't seem to offer a way to override a static method (a requirement for an extension method). There is a similar idea with Moq.Protected and Moq.Stub, but they don't seem to offer anything for this scenario. Am I missing something or should I be going about this a different way?
Here is a trivial example that fails with the usual "Invalid expectation on a non-overridable member". This is a bad example of needing to mock an extension method, but it should do.
public class SomeType {
int Id { get; set; }
}
var ListMock = new Mock<List<SomeType>>();
ListMock.Expect(l => l.FirstOrDefault(st => st.Id == 5))
.Returns(new SomeType { Id = 5 });
As for any TypeMock junkies that might suggest I use Isolator instead: I appreciate the effort since it looks like TypeMock could do the job blindfolded and inebriated, but our budget isn't increasing any time soon.
Extension methods are just static methods in disguise. Mocking frameworks like Moq or Rhinomocks can only create mock instances of objects, this means mocking static methods is not possible.
If you can change the extension methods code then you can code it like this to be able to test:
using System;
using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using Moq;
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static IMyImplementation Implementation = new MyImplementation();
public static string MyMethod(this object obj)
{
return Implementation.MyMethod(obj);
}
}
public interface IMyImplementation
{
string MyMethod(object obj);
}
public class MyImplementation : IMyImplementation
{
public string MyMethod(object obj)
{
return "Hello World!";
}
}
So the extention methods are only a wrapper around the implementation interface.
(You could use just the implementation class without extension methods which are sort of syntactic sugar.)
And you can mock the implementation interface and set it as implementation for the extensions class.
public class MyClassUsingExtensions
{
public string ReturnStringForObject(object obj)
{
return obj.MyMethod();
}
}
[TestClass]
public class MyTests
{
[TestMethod]
public void MyTest()
{
// Given:
//-------
var mockMyImplementation = new Mock<IMyImplementation>();
MyExtensions.Implementation = mockMyImplementation.Object;
var myClassUsingExtensions = new MyClassUsingExtensions();
// When:
//-------
var myObject = new Object();
myClassUsingExtensions.ReturnStringForObject(myObject);
//Then:
//-------
// This would fail because you cannot test for the extension method
//mockMyImplementation.Verify(m => m.MyMethod());
// This is success because you test for the mocked implementation interface
mockMyImplementation.Verify(m => m.MyMethod(myObject));
}
}
I know this question hasn't been active for about a year but Microsoft released a framework to handle exactly this called Moles.
Here are a few tutorials as well:
DimeCasts.net
Nikolai Tillman's Tutorial
I created a wrapper class for the extension methods that I needed to mock.
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static string MyExtension<T>(this T obj)
{
return "Hello World!";
}
}
public interface IExtensionMethodsWrapper
{
string MyExtension<T>(T myObj);
}
public class ExtensionMethodsWrapper : IExtensionMethodsWrapper
{
public string MyExtension<T>(T myObj)
{
return myObj.MyExtension();
}
}
Then you can mock the wrapper methods in your tests and code with your IOC container.
For extension methods I normally use the following approach:
public static class MyExtensions
{
public static Func<int,int, int> _doSumm = (x, y) => x + y;
public static int Summ(this int x, int y)
{
return _doSumm(x, y);
}
}
It allows to inject _doSumm fairly easy.
Best thing you can do is to provide a custom implementation for the type that has the extension method, e.g:
[Fact]
public class Tests
{
public void ShouldRunOk()
{
var service = new MyService(new FakeWebHostEnvironment());
// Service.DoStuff() internally calls the SomeExtensionFunction() on IWebHostEnvironment
// Here it works just fine as we provide a custom implementation of that interface
service.DoStuff().Should().NotBeNull();
}
}
public class FakeWebHostEnvironment : IWebHostEnvironment
{
/* IWebHostEnvironment implementation */
public bool SomeExtensionFunction()
{
return false;
}
}

Categories