Testing Your Python Code

When you write a function or a class, you can also write tests for that code. Testing proves that your code works as it’s supposed to in response to all the input types it’s designed to receive. When you write tests, you can be confident that your code will work correctly as more people begin to use your programs. You’ll also be able to test new code as you add it to make sure your changes don’t break your program’s existing behavior. Every programmer makes mistakes, so every programmer must test their code often, catching problems before users encounter them.

Testing a Function

To learn about testing, we need code to test. Here’s a simple function that takes in a first and last name, and returns a neatly formatted full name:

def get_formatted_name(first, last):
    """Generate a neatly formatted full name."""
    full_name = f"{first} {last}"
    return full_name.title()

The function get_formatted_name() combines the first and last name with a space in between to complete a full name, and then capitalizes and returns the full name. To check that get_formatted_name() works, let’s make a program that uses this function. The program names. py lets users enter a first and last name, and see a neatly formatted full name:

from name_function import get_formatted_name

print("Enter 'q' at any time to quit.")
while True:
    first = input("\nPlease give me a first name: ")
    if first == 'q':
        break
    last = input("Please give me a last name: ")
    if last == 'q':
        break

    formatted_name = get_formatted_name(first, last)
    print(f"\tNeatly formatted name: {formatted_name}.")

This program imports get_formatted_name() from name_function. py. The user can enter a series of first and last names, and see the formatted full names that are generated:

Enter 'q' at any time to quit.

Please give me a first name: ahmed
Please give me a last name: gouda
        Neatly formatted name: Ahmed Gouda.

Please give me a first name: mohammed
Please give me a last name: ali
        Neatly formatted name: Mohammed Ali.

Please give me a first name: q

We can see that the names generated here are correct. But let’s say we want to modify get_formatted_name() so it can also handle middle names. As we do so, we want to make sure we don’t break the way the function handles names that have only a first and last name. We could test our code by running names. py and entering a name like Mohammed Ali every time we modify get_formatted_name(), but that would become tedious. Fortunately, Python provides an efficient way to automate the testing of a function’s output. If we automate the testing of get_formatted_name(), we can always be confident that the function will work when given the kinds of names we’ve written tests for.

Unit Tests and Test Cases

The module unittest from the Python standard library provides tools for testing your code.

• A unit test verifies that one specific aspect of a function’s behavior is correct.
• A test case is a collection of unit tests that together prove that a function behaves as it’s supposed to, within the full range of situations you expect it to handle.

A good test case considers all the possible kinds of input a function could receive and includes tests to represent each of these situations. A test case with full coverage includes a full range of unit tests covering all the possible ways you can use a function. Achieving full coverage on a large project can be daunting. It’s often good enough to write tests for your code’s critical behaviors and then aim for full coverage only if the project starts to see widespread use.

A Passing Test

The syntax for setting up a test case takes some getting used to, but once you’ve set up the test case it’s straightforward to add more unit tests for your functions. To write a test case for a function, import the unittest module and the function you want to test. Then create a class that inherits from unittest.TestCase, and write a series of methods to test different aspects of your function’s behavior.

Here’s a test case with one method that verifies that the function get_formatted_name() works correctly when given a first and last name:

import unittest
from name_function import get_formatted_name

class NamesTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
    """Tests for 'name_function.py'."""

    def test_first_last_name(self):
        """Do names like 'Mohammed Ali' work?"""
        formatted_name = get_formatted_name('Mohammed', 'Ali')
        self.assertEqual(formatted_name, 'Mohammed Ali')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

First, we import unittest and the function we want to test, get_formatted_name(). At class NamesTestCase(unittest.TestCase): we create a class called NamesTestCase, which will contain a series of unit tests for get_formatted_name().

You can name the class anything you want, but it’s best to call it something related to the function you’re about to test and to use the word Test in the class name. This class must inherit from the class unittest.TestCase so Python knows how to run the tests you write.

NamesTestCase contains a single method that tests one aspect of get_formatted_name(). We call this method test_first_last_name() because we’re verifying that names with only a first and last name are formatted correctly. Any method that starts with test_ will be run automatically when we run test_name_function. py. Within this test method, we call the function we want to test. In this example we call get_formatted_name() with the arguments 'Mohammed' and 'Ali', and assign the result to formatted_name formatted_name = get_formatted_name('Mohammed', 'Ali').

At self.assertEqual(formatted_name, 'Mohammed Ali') we use one of unittest’s most useful features: an assert method. Assert methods verify that a result you received matches the result you expected to receive. In this case, because we know get_formatted_name() is supposed to return a capitalized, properly spaced full name, we expect the value of formatted_name to be Mohammed Ali. To check if this is true, we use unittest’s assertEqual() method and pass it formatted_name and 'Mohammed Ali'.

The line self.assertEqual(formatted_name, 'Mohammed Ali') says, “Compare the value in formatted_name to the string 'Mohammed Ali'. If they are equal as expected, fine. But if they don’t match, let me know!”

We’re going to run this file directly, but it’s important to note that many testing frameworks import your test files before running them. When a file is imported, the interpreter executes the file as it’s being imported. The if block

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

looks at a special variable, __name__, which is set when the program is executed. If this file is being run as the main program, the value of __name__ is set to __main__. In this case, we call unittest.main(), which runs the test case. When a testing framework imports this file, the value of __name__ won’t be __main__ and this block will not be executed.

When we run test_name_function. py, we get the following output:

.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1 test in 0.000s

OK

The dot on the first line of output tells us that a single test passed. The next line tells us that Python ran one test, and it took less than 0.001 seconds to run. The final OK tells us that all unit tests in the test case passed.

This output indicates that the function get_formatted_name() will always work for names that have a first and last name unless we modify the function. When we modify get_formatted_name(), we can run this test again. If the test case passes, we know the function will still work for names like Mohammed Ali.

A Failing Test

What does a failing test look like? Let’s modify get_formatted_name() so it can handle middle names, but we’ll do so in a way that breaks the function for names with just a first and last name, like Mohammed Ali.

Here’s a new version of get_formatted_name() that requires a middle name argument:

def get_formatted_name(first, middle, last):
    """Generate a neatly formatted full name."""
    full_name = f"{first} {middle} {last}"
    return full_name.title()

This version should work for people with middle names, but when we test it, we see that we’ve broken the function for people with just a first and last name. This time, running the file test_name_function. py gives this output:

E
======================================================================
ERROR: test_first_last_name (__main__.NamesTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
    File "test_name_function.py", line 8, in test_first_last_name
        formatted_name = get_formatted_name('Mohammed', 'Ali')
TypeError: get_formatted_name() missing 1 required positional argument: 'last

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1 test in 0.000s

FAILED (errors=1)

There’s a lot of information here because there’s a lot you might need to know when a test fails.

The first item in the output is a single E, which tells us one unit test in the test case resulted in an error.

Next, we see that test_first_last_name() in NamesTestCase caused an error. Knowing which test failed is critical when your test case contains many unit tests.

Then, we see a standard traceback, which reports that the function call get_formatted_name('Mohammed', 'Ali') no longer works because it’s missing a required positional argument.

We also see that one unit test was run. Finally, we see an additional message that the overall test case failed and that one error occurred when running the test case. This information appears at the end of the output so you see it right away; you don’t need to scroll up through a long output listing to find out how many tests failed.

Responding to a Failed Test

What do you do when a test fails? Assuming you’re checking the right conditions, a passing test means the function is behaving correctly and a failing test means there’s an error in the new code you wrote. So when a test fails, don’t change the test. Instead, fix the code that caused the test to fail. Examine the changes you just made to the function, and figure out how those changes broke the desired behavior.

In this case get_formatted_name() used to require only two parameters: a first name and a last name. Now it requires a first name, middle name, and last name. The addition of that mandatory middle name parameter broke the desired behavior of get_formatted_name(). The best option here is to make the middle name optional. Once we do, our test for names like Mohammed Ali should pass again, and we should be able to accept middle names as well.

Let’s modify get_formatted_name() so middle names are optional and then run the test case again. If it passes, we’ll move on to making sure the function handles middle names properly.

To make middle names optional, we move the parameter middle to the end of the parameter list in the function definition and give it an empty default value. We also add an if test that builds the full name properly, depending on whether or not a middle name is provided:

def get_formatted_name(first, last, middle=''):
    """Generate a neatly formatted full name."""
    if middle:
        full_name = f"{first} {middle} {last}"
    else:
        full_name = f"{first} {last}"
    return full_name.title()

In this new version of get_formatted_name(), the middle name is optional. If a middle name is passed to the function, the full name will contain a first, middle, and last name. Otherwise, the full name will consist of just a first and last name. Now the function should work for both kinds of names.

To find out if the function still works for names like Mohammed Ali, let’s run test_name_function. py again:

.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1 test in 0.000s

OK

The test case passes now. This is ideal; it means the function works for names like Mohammed Ali again without us having to test the function manually. Fixing our function was easy because the failed test helped us identify the new code that broke existing behavior.

Adding New Tests

Now that we know get_formatted_name() works for simple names again, let’s write a second test for people who include a middle name. We do this by adding another method to the class NamesTestCase:

import unittest
from name_function import get_formatted_name

class NamesTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
    """Tests for 'name_function.py'."""

    def test_first_last_name(self):
        """Do names like 'Mohammed Ali' work?"""
        formatted_name = get_formatted_name('Mohammed', 'Ali')
        self.assertEqual(formatted_name, 'Mohammed Ali')

    def test_first_last_middle_name(self):
        """Do names like 'Ahmed Mohammed Gouda' work?"""
        formatted_name = get_formatted_name('Ahmed', 'Gouda', 'Mohammed')
        self.assertEqual(formatted_name, 'Ahmed Mohammed Gouda')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

We name this new method test_first_last_middle_name(). The method name must start with test_ so the method runs automatically when we run test_name_function. py. We name the method to make it clear which behavior of get_formatted_name() we’re testing. As a result, if the test fails, we know right away what kinds of names are affected. It’s fine to have long method names in your TestCase classes. They need to be descriptive so you can make sense of the output when your tests fail, and because Python calls them automatically, you’ll never have to write code that calls these methods.

To test the function, we call get_formatted_name() with a first, last, and middle name formatted_name = get_formatted_name('Ahmed', 'Gouda', 'Mohammed'), and then we use assertEqual() to check that the returned full name matches the full name (first, middle, and last) that we expect. When we run test_name_function. py again, both tests pass:

..
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 2 tests in 0.000s

OK

Great! We now know that the function still works for names like Mohammed
Ali, and we can be confident that it will work for names like Ahmed Mohammed Gouda as well.

Testing a Class

We've just wrote tests for a single function. Now you’ll write tests for a class. You’ll use classes in many of your own programs, so it’s helpful to be able to prove that your classes work correctly. If you have passing tests for a class you’re working on, you can be confident that improvements you make to the class won’t accidentally break its current behavior.

A Variety of Assert Methods

Python provides a number of assert methods in the unittest.TestCase class. As mentioned earlier, assert methods test whether a condition you believe is true at a specific point in your code is indeed true. If the condition is true as expected, your assumption about how that part of your program behaves is confirmed; you can be confident that no errors exist. If the condition you assume is true is actually not true, Python raises an exception.

Below table describes six commonly used assert methods. With these methods you can verify that returned values equal or don’t equal expected values, that values are True or False, and that values are in or not in a given list. You can use these methods only in a class that inherits from unittest.TestCase, so let’s look at how we can use one of these methods in the context of testing an actual class.

A Class to Test

Testing a class is similar to testing a function—much of your work involves testing the behavior of the methods in the class. But there are a few differences, so let’s write a class to test. Consider a class that helps administer anonymous surveys:

class AnonymousSurvey:
    """Collect anonymous answers to a survey question."""

    def __init__(self, question):
        """Store a question, and prepare to store responses."""
        self.question = question
        self.responses = []

    def show_question(self):
        """Show the survey question."""
        print(self.question)

    def store_response(self, new_response):
        """Store a single response to the survey."""
        self.responses.append(new_response)

    def show_results(self):
        """Show all the responses that have been given."""
        print("Survey results:")
        for response in self.responses:
            print(f"- {response}")

This class starts with a survey question that you provide def __init__(self, question): and includes an empty list to store responses. The class has methods to print the survey question def show_question(self):, add a new response to the response list def store_response(self, new_response):, and print all the responses stored in the list def show_results(self):.

To create an instance from this class, all you have to provide is a question. Once you have an instance representing a particular survey, you display the survey question with show_question(), store a response using store_response(), and show results with show_results().

To show that the AnonymousSurvey class works, let’s write a program that uses the class:

This program defines a question ("What language did you first learn to speak?") and creates an AnonymousSurvey object with that question. The program calls show_question() to display the question and then prompts for responses. Each response is stored as it is received. When all responses have been entered (the user inputs q to quit), show_results() prints the survey results:

What language did you first learn to speak?
Enter 'q' at any time to quit.

Language: Arabic
Language: English
Language: English
Language: q  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the survey!
Survey results:
- Arabic
- English
- English

This class works for a simple anonymous survey. But let’s say we want to improve AnonymousSurvey and the module it’s in, survey. We could allow each user to enter more than one response. We could write a method to list only unique responses and to report how many times each response was given. We could write another class to manage non-anonymous surveys.

Implementing such changes would risk affecting the current behavior of the class AnonymousSurvey. For example, it’s possible that while trying to allow each user to enter multiple responses, we could accidentally change how single responses are handled. To ensure we don’t break existing behavior as we develop this module, we can write tests for the class.

Testing the AnonymousSurvey Class

Let’s write a test that verifies one aspect of the way AnonymousSurvey behaves. We’ll write a test to verify that a single response to the survey question is stored properly. We’ll use the assertIn() method to verify that the response is in the list of responses after it’s been stored:

import unittest
from survey import AnonymousSurvey

class TestAnonymousSurvey(unittest.TestCase):
    """Tests for the class AnonymousSurvey"""

    def test_store_single_response(self):
        """Test that a single response is stored properly."""
        question = "What language did you first learn to speak?"
        my_survey = AnonymousSurvey(question)
        my_survey.store_response('English')
        self.assertIn('English', my_survey.responses)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

We start by importing the unittest module and the class we want to test, AnonymousSurvey. We call our test case TestAnonymousSurvey, which again inherits from unittest.TestCase. The first test method will verify that when we store a response to the survey question, the response ends up in the survey’s list of responses. A good descriptive name for this method is test_store_single_response(). If this test fails, we’ll know from the method name shown in the output of the failing test that there was a problem storing a single response to the survey.

To test the behavior of a class, we need to make an instance of the class. At my_survey = AnonymousSurvey(question) we create an instance called my_survey with the question "What language did you first learn to speak?" We store a single response, English, using the store_response() method. Then we verify that the response was stored correctly by asserting that English is in the list my_survey. responses self.assertIn('English', my_survey.responses).

When we run test_survey. py, the test passes:

.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1 test in 0.000s

OK

This is good, but a survey is useful only if it generates more than one response. Let’s verify that three responses can be stored correctly. To do this, we add another method to TestAnonymousSurvey:

import unittest
from survey import AnonymousSurvey

class TestAnonymousSurvey(unittest.TestCase):
    """Tests for the class AnonymousSurvey"""

    def test_store_single_response(self):
        """Test that a single response is stored properly."""
        question = "What language did you first learn to speak?"
        my_survey = AnonymousSurvey(question)
        my_survey.store_response('English')
        self.assertIn('English', my_survey.responses)

    def test_store_three_responses(self):
        """Test that three individual responses are stored properly."""
        question = "What language did you first learn to speak?"
        my_survey = AnonymousSurvey(question)
        responses = ['Arabic', 'English', 'Spanish']
        for response in responses:
            my_survey.store_response(response)

        for response in responses:
            self.assertIn(response, my_survey.responses)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

We call the new method test_store_three_responses(). We create a survey object just like we did in test_store_single_response(). We define a list containing three different responses responses = ['Arabic', 'English', 'Spanish'], and then we call store_response() for each of these responses. Once the responses have been stored, we write another loop and assert that each response is now in my_survey. responses for response in responses:.

When we run test_survey. py again, both tests (for a single response and for three responses) pass:

..
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 2 tests in 0.000s

OK

This works perfectly. However, these tests are a bit repetitive, so we’ll use another feature of unittest to make them more efficient.

The setUp() Method

In test_survey. py we created a new instance of AnonymousSurvey in each test method, and we created new responses in each method. The unittest.TestCase class has a setUp() method that allows you to create these objects once and then use them in each of your test methods. When you include a setUp() method in a TestCase class, Python runs the setUp() method before running each method starting with test_. Any objects created in the setUp() method are then available in each test method you write.

Let’s use setUp() to create a survey instance and a set of responses that can be used in test_store_single_response() and test_store_three_responses():

import unittest
from survey import AnonymousSurvey

class TestAnonymousSurvey(unittest.TestCase):
    """Tests for the class AnonymousSurvey."""

    def setUp(self):
        """
        Create a survey and a set of responses for use in all test methods.
        """
        question = "What language did you first learn to speak?"
        self.my_survey = AnonymousSurvey(question)
        self.responses = ['Arabic', 'English', 'Spanish']

    def test_store_single_response(self):
        """Test that a single response is stored properly."""
        self.my_survey.store_response(self.responses[0])
        self.assertIn(self.responses[0], self.my_survey.responses)

    def test_store_three_responses(self):
        """Test that three individual responses are stored properly."""
        for response in self.responses:
            self.my_survey.store_response(response)
        for response in self.responses:
            self.assertIn(response, self.my_survey.responses)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    unittest.main()

The method setUp() does two things: it creates a survey instance self.my_survey = AnonymousSurvey(question), and it creates a list of responses self.responses = ['Arabic', 'English', 'Spanish']. Each of these is prefixed by self, so they can be used anywhere in the class. This makes the two test methods simpler, because neither one has to make a survey instance or a response.

The method test_store_single_response() verifies that the first response in self.responses—self.responses[0]—can be stored correctly, and test_store _three_responses() verifies that all three responses in self.responses can be stored correctly.

When we run test_survey. py again, both tests still pass. These tests would be particularly useful when trying to expand AnonymousSurvey to handle multiple responses for each person. After modifying the code to accept multiple responses, you could run these tests and make sure you haven’t affected the ability to store a single response or a series of individual responses.

When you’re testing your own classes, the setUp() method can make your test methods easier to write. You make one set of instances and attributes in setUp() and then use these instances in all your test methods. This is much easier than making a new set of instances and attributes in each test method.

When a test case is running, Python prints one character for each unit test as it is completed. A passing test prints a dot, a test that results in an error prints an E, and a test that results in a failed assertion prints an F. This is why you’ll see a different number of dots and characters on the first line of output when you run your test cases. If a test case takes a long time to run because it contains many unit tests, you can watch these results to get a sense of how many tests are passing.