How can I write better tests?

Asked on 2024-07-30

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To write better tests, you can leverage several features and best practices discussed in the WWDC sessions, particularly in the session titled "Go further with Swift Testing." Here are some key points:

  1. Readable Tests: Ensure your tests are easy to read and understand. This makes it easier to work with them and understand test failures, especially as your codebase grows. Swift testing includes features that help you write clear and expressive tests. For example, using expectations to validate code behavior (Go further with Swift Testing).

  2. Custom Test Descriptions: Use custom test descriptions to make your test outputs more readable. This can be achieved by conforming your types to the custom test string convertible protocol, which provides tailored test-specific descriptions (Go further with Swift Testing).

  3. Parameterized Testing: Instead of writing multiple test functions for different inputs, use parameterized tests. This allows you to pass different inputs to a single test function, making your tests more concise and easier to maintain. Parameterized tests also run each input as a separate test case, which can run in parallel, saving time (Go further with Swift Testing).

  4. Handling Known Issues: Use the with known issue trait to handle tests that are expected to fail due to known issues. This allows the test to run and notify you of compilation errors without counting the expected failure as a test failure (Go further with Swift Testing).

  5. Organizing Tests: Use test suites and tags to organize your tests. Test suites can contain other suites, providing flexibility in organizing tests. Tags can be used to group tests with common characteristics, making it easier to manage and run specific groups of tests (Go further with Swift Testing).

For a more detailed walkthrough on writing better tests, you can refer to the session Go further with Swift Testing.