From 29ad854faf81f574aff6c23e4c1298aaa129f6d4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Marten Gajda Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2023 12:30:20 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] Update Readme, closes #87 (#88) Also simplifies the `EmptyCharSequence` Quality a bit. --- README.md | 153 +++++++++++++++++- .../charsequence/EmptyCharSequence.java | 2 +- 2 files changed, 152 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 6ee77cb..e68452c 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -3,10 +3,159 @@ # Confidence -A Java Assertion Framework. +A declarative Java Assertion Framework. Confidence makes it easier to write Java Unit tests that give you great confidence in your code with little effort. # Note -Confidence is still under development. All parts should be considered subject to change. \ No newline at end of file +Confidence is still under development. All parts should be considered subject to change. + +# Declarative Testing + +Declarative testing means, focusing on the **What** instead of the **How**. + +Any unit under test (typically a class) has two aspects: +* **What** it is meant to do and +* **How** you have to use it. + +The **How** is, to a large extend, determined by the interface of a class or the signature of a function. In case of mutable classes and non-pure functions the order interactions may also be relevant. In any case though, the **How** is typically very static and, to some extent, also enforced by the compiler. That means we often can use the same methods for testing various implementations of the same type, we just need to provide different data and assert different behavior. That's the **What**. A declarative test leaves the **How** to the test framework and only describes the **What**. + +## Example + +The classic non-declarative test of a `Predicate` might look like this: + +```java +assertTrue(new IsEven().test(2)); +assertFalse(new IsEven().test(3)); +``` + +It contains interface details like the fact that you call the `test` method and that it returns `true` in case the argument satisfies the `Predicate`. + +The declarative test might look like this + +```java +assertThat(new IsEven(), + is(allOf( + satsifiedBy(2), + not(satisfiedBy(3)) + ))); +``` + +In this case we don't see **how** the instance is tested, we just describe **what** we expect, namely that `2` satisfies the `Predicate` and `3` doesn't. +All the method calls and result evaluation are performed by the `satisfiedBy` `Quality`, which can be used for every `Predicate` implementation + +## Qualities + +In Confidence, you use [`Quality`](https://github.com/saynotobugsorg/confidence/blob/main/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/Quality.java)s to express **what** you expect of the unit under test. As seen above, `Quality`s are composable to express even complex behavior. +Confidence already provides many `Quality` implementations, but to use its full power you should +write custom `Quality`s for your own types. + +# Writing custom `Quality` implementations + +Confidence already comes with a number of useful `Quality`s that cover many JDK types. +Yet, it is important to be able to write custom implementations. Ideally you provide +a library with `Qualitiy`s for all types you declare in your own code. That makes it easier for you and others (for instance users of your library) to write tests. + +## Composing Qualities + +In many cases you can write a new `Quality` by composing it from already existing ones. +In fact, many of the `Quality`s in the `confidence-core` module are just compositions of +simpler `Quality`s. + +### Example + +This is the implementation of the [`EmptyCharSequence`](https://github.com/saynotobugsorg/confidence/blob/main/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/quality/charsequence/EmptyCharSequence.java) `Quality`, that describes `CharSequences` +and `String` with a length of `0`. + +```java +@StaticFactories(value = "Core", packageName = "org.saynotobugs.confidence.quality") +public final class EmptyCharSequence extends QualityComposition +{ + public EmptyCharSequence() + { + super(new Satisfies<>(c -> c.length() == 0, new Text(""))); + } +} + +``` + +This creates a new `Quality` composition based on an existing `Satisfies` `Quality`. +`Satisfies` takes a `Predicate` that must be satisfied for the `Quality` to be satisfied and a `Description` of the expectation. By default, the fail `Description` +is the actual value, but `Satisfies` takes an optional argument to create a more adequate fail `Description` for a given actual value. + +The annotation + +``` +@StaticFactories(value = "Core", packageName = "org.saynotobugs.confidence.quality") +``` +ensures a static factory methods like the following is automatically created in a class called `Core`: + +```java +public static EmptyCharSequence emptyCharSequence() { + return new org.saynotobugs.confidence.quality.charsequence.EmptyCharSequence(); +} +``` + +## Testing Qualities + +Classic non-declarative tests often times have a major flaw: the (often times very imperative) test code is not tested itself. After all, you only can trust your production code, when you can trust the test code too. + +The functional ideas Confidence is built upon, makes it easy to test +`Quality`s and ensure the **how** has full test coverage. + +Confidence makes it easy to test a `Quality`. Just describe the expected behavior when you provide instances that are expected to pass and some that are expected to fail the assertion of the `Quality` under test: + +```java +assertThat(new EmptyCharSequence(), // The Quality under test. + new AllOf<>( + new Passes<>(""), // An example that should pass the test. + new Fails<>(" ", "\" \""), // Examples that should fail the test … + new Fails<>("123", "\"123\""), // … along with the resulting description. + new HasDescription("") // The description of the Quality. + )); +} +``` + + + +# Switching from Hamcrest + +As a Hamcrest user you'll find it easy to switch to Confidence. The core idea is the same: Composable components to describe he expected behavior of your code. In Hamcrest these are called `Matcher` in Confidence they are called `Quality`. + +There are some significant differences though: + +* In case of a mismatch, Hamcrest (for Java) needs to run the `Matcher` again to get a mismatch description, a Confidence `Quality` returns an [`Assessment`](https://github.com/saynotobugsorg/confidence/blob/main/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/Assessment.java) that contains the result and a description of the issue (in case the assessment failed). +* Confidence makes it easier to produce comprehensible descriptions, closer to what Assertj or Google Truth produce, by using composable [Descriptions](https://github.com/saynotobugsorg/confidence/blob/main/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/Description.java) +* In Confidence the `Contains` `Quality` has the same semantics as Java `Collection.contains(Object)` +* Confidence has out ouf the box support for testing `Quality` implementations. + +There are also some noticeable differences in how some of the core `Quality` implementations are being +called or used. The following table shows the most important ones. + + +General note on matching arrays: arrays (including ones of primitive types) can be matched with matchers to match `Iterable`s decorated with `arrayThat(…)`. + +| Hamcrest | Confidence | +|---|---------------------------------------| +| `contains(...)` | `iterates(...)` | +| `containsInAnyOrder(...)` | `iteratesInAnyOrder(...)` | +| `iterableWithSize(...)` | `hasNumberOfElements(...)` | +| `hasItem(...)` | `contains(...)` | +| `hasItems(...)` | `contains(...)` | +| `everyItem(...)` | `each(...)` | +| `sameInstance(...)`, `theInstance(...)` | `sameAs(...)` | +| `matchesRegex(...)`, `matchesPattern(...)` | `matchesPattern(...)` | +| `array(...)` | `arrayThat(iterates(...))`* | +| `hasItemInArray(...)` | `arrayThat(contains(...))`* | +| `arrayWithSize(...)` | `arrayThat(hasNumberOfElements(...))`* | + +*works with arrays of primitive types + +Confidence provides an adapter to use Hamcrest `Matcher`s in Confidence assertions. +The adapter `Quality` is called `hamcrest` and you just pass `Matcher` to it like in: + +```java +assertThat(List.of(1,2,5,10,11), hamcrest(hasItem(2))); + +``` \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/quality/charsequence/EmptyCharSequence.java b/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/quality/charsequence/EmptyCharSequence.java index 7f7349d..e7f6425 100644 --- a/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/quality/charsequence/EmptyCharSequence.java +++ b/confidence-core/src/main/java/org/saynotobugs/confidence/quality/charsequence/EmptyCharSequence.java @@ -30,6 +30,6 @@ public final class EmptyCharSequence extends QualityComposition { public EmptyCharSequence() { - super(new Satisfies<>(c -> c.length() == 0, Value::new, new Text(""))); + super(new Satisfies<>(c -> c.length() == 0, new Text(""))); } }