Database Testing of CodeIgniter Application with PHPUnit (CIUnit)

CodeIgniter PHPUnit

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This article explains how to use Database Fixtures of CIUnit.

Database Fixtures is the functionality to load prepared data to testing database before running tests.

If you have not installed PHPUnit/CIUnit, it is better to read How to use PHPUnit (CIUnit) with CodeIgniter 2.1.0 first.

Generate Database Fixtures

To create empty fixture files from testing database, 

$ cd tests
$ php generate fixtures

Above command creates "table_fixt.yml" in tests/fixtures/ folder. If the file already exists, nothing happens.

In fixtures/ folder, there is "phone_carrier_fixt.yml" already, so remove it and create fixture file.

$ rm fixtures/phone_carrier_fixt.yml
$ php generate fixtures
generating...
phone_carrier *** fixture fixtures/phone_carrier_fixt.yml written.

"fixtures/phone_carrier_fixt.yml" was created. Open it with your editor, you'll see empty fields:

1:
    name: 
    txt_address: 
    txt_message_length: 

2:
    name: 
    txt_address: 
    txt_message_length: 

3:
    name: 
    txt_address: 
    txt_message_length:

Add your data into the yaml file, and the fixture file is completed.
"phone_carrier_fixt.yml" contained in CIUnit is like below:

1:
    name: 'Verizon'
    txt_address: '@vzpix.com'
    txt_message_length: 160
2:
    name: 'AT&T'
    txt_address: '@mms.att.net'
    txt_message_length: 160
3:
    name: 'Sprint'
    txt_address: '@pm.sprint.com'
    txt_message_length: 160
4:
    name: 'T-Mobile'
    txt_address: '@tmomail.net'
    txt_message_length: 160
5:
    name: 'Virgin'
    txt_address: '@vmpix.com'
    txt_message_length: 160

If you want to add data with new lines, write as below:

1:
    entry_id: 1
    entry_name: test
    entry_body: |
        This is test.
        2nd line.
    entry_date: '2011-07-25 18:52:33'

Generate Database Fixtures from Table Data

You can create yaml file from table data in testing database, with using "generate.php".

$ php generate.php fixtures

Above command create fixture files in fixtures/ folder. By default, it fetches 5 records. it overwrites existing yaml files.

You can specify how many records do you fetch, using n option below:

$ php generate.php fixtures -n 10

How to use Database Fixtures

$tables property

To use database fixtures, define $tables property in your model test and assign an array with table name and fixture name.

<?php

/**
 * @group Model
 */

class Foo_model_test extends CIUnit_TestCase
{
    protected $tables = array(
        'table1' => 'table1',
        'table2' => 'table2',
    );

Above test file defines to use "table1_fixt.yml" data to table1 table, and use "table2_fixt.yml" data to table2 table. Key of array is table name, value of array is yaml filename (exclude "_fixt.yml").

If you define $tables property, setUp() method in the parent class CIUnit_TestCase class truncates the table and loads the fixture data into the table.

setUp() method is called before each test method runs.

And tearDown() method in CIUnit_TestCase class truncates the table after each test method runs.

dbfixt() method

You can also load the fixture with dbfixt() method blow:

$this->dbfixt(array(
                    'table1' => 'table1',
                    'table2' => 'table2',
                   )
             );

$this->dbfixt('table1', 'table2');

Above two examples mean the same, truncating table1 table and loading table1_fixt.yml data, and truncating table2 table and loading table2_fixt.yml data.

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