CSC/ECE 517 Spring 2013/using fixtures with expertiza - Revision history

Dcpratt: /* Iterators */

2013-05-06T22:29:40Z

Iterators

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:29, 6 May 2013
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	attr2=i		attr2=i
	<% end %>		<% end %>

			You will see many examples of combining iterators, arrays and Fixtures.idenfity() in the Expertiza codebase. When used together these are a powerful means to create test scenarios with large numbers of database entries.

	==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==		==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==

Dcpratt: /* Iterators */

2013-05-06T22:25:15Z

Iterators

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:25, 6 May 2013
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	attr1=value		attr1=value
	attr2=value		attr2=value
			<% end %>

			Iterators can be combined with arrays for interesting results:

			<% for x in 1..10 %>
			object<%= x %>
			attr1=comment_array[ i%3 ]
			attr2=i
	<% end %>		<% end %>

Dcpratt: /* Iterators */

2013-05-06T22:22:19Z

Iterators

@@ Line 112: / Line 112: @@
 ====Iterators====
-Iterator stuff.
+YAML provides iterators to create multiple objects in a short amount of code.
 ==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==

Dcpratt: /* Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures */

2013-05-06T21:59:29Z

Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:59, 6 May 2013
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	Log in to the application and you'll see your data. You're now ready to start testing away!		Log in to the application and you'll see your data. You're now ready to start testing away!

			Now when you run into that strange problem you'd like to debug, you can begin from exactly the same point by re-running the procedure and having the database in the same condition.

	==Using the DBConsole Tool==		==Using the DBConsole Tool==

Dcpratt: /* Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures */

2013-05-06T21:51:54Z

Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures

@@ Line 115: / Line 115: @@
 ==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==
-Use rake.
+Like many things in Rails, the rake tool is used to create the fixture data.
 ==Using the DBConsole Tool==
 One thing you'll notice when using fixtures is that you're manipulating the SQL database directly.  In other words things won't always be going through the Model/View/Controller code structure.  Because of this it can be useful to use the SQL Database console in some cases.

Dcpratt: /* Arrays */

2013-05-06T21:43:46Z

Arrays

@@ Line 97: / Line 97: @@
 ====Arrays====
-Array stuff.
+A YAML array can be used to store several objects or attributes for use later in the yml file.  For example, below is an array of objects of the user class.
 ====Iterators====

Dcpratt: /* What is a Fixture? */

2013-05-06T21:33:27Z

What is a Fixture?

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:33, 6 May 2013
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	The term "fixture" comes from the engineering world (see this definition [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_fixture]) and represents some device which can be used to test a system without having to use the system extensively. For example consider how one might test a car tire. Instead of driving a car with the tire thousands of miles, an engineer would create a test fixture which spins the tire over various simulated roads thus providing an easier means of comprehensive testing.		The term "fixture" comes from the engineering world (see this definition [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_fixture]) and represents some device which can be used to test a system without having to use the system extensively. For example consider how one might test a car tire. Instead of driving a car with the tire thousands of miles, an engineer would create a test fixture which spins the tire over various simulated roads thus providing an easier means of comprehensive testing.

	A software test fixture is the same concept - how can we set up a test that would normally be complex in a fixed way.		A software test fixture is the same concept - how can we set up a test that would normally be complex in a fixed way.

	Fixtures in the context of Ruby on Rails represent test database entries. Once the test database is populated, either manual or automated testing can be done with the resultant database. Fixtures allow the tester to create the same data every time which allows for easier reproduction of bugs and quick regression testing.		Fixtures in the context of Ruby on Rails represent test database entries. Once the test database is populated, either manual or automated testing can be done with the resultant database. Fixtures allow the tester to create the same data every time which allows for easier reproduction of bugs and quick regression testing.

Dcpratt: /* Other YAML Tips and tricks */

2013-05-06T21:28:11Z

Other YAML Tips and tricks

← Older revision		Revision as of 21:28, 6 May 2013
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	===Other YAML Tips and tricks===		===Other YAML Tips and tricks===

	~~Arrays, iterators,~~		YAML gives us several ways to enhance creating objects in the database. We'll touch on the most commonly used in Expertiza.

	====Arrays====		====Arrays====

Dcpratt: /* Other YAML Tips and tricks */

2013-05-06T19:50:53Z

Other YAML Tips and tricks

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:50, 6 May 2013
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	===Other YAML Tips and tricks===		===Other YAML Tips and tricks===

			Arrays, iterators,

			====Arrays====
			Array stuff.

			====Iterators====
			Iterator stuff.

	==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==		==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==

Dcpratt: /* More Advanced YAML */

2013-05-06T19:48:04Z

More Advanced YAML

← Older revision		Revision as of 19:48, 6 May 2013
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	==More Advanced YAML==		==More Advanced YAML==

			===Using Fixtures.identify()===
	Here's an example from the file users.yml of creating a user:		Here's an example from the file users.yml of creating a user:

Line 82:		Line 83:
	email_on_review: 1		email_on_review: 1
	email_on_submission: 1		email_on_submission: 1

			Note the parent_id and role_id fields. These are references to other objects which in the SQL database would be a large, effectively random number. When we run our MVC code, these relationships get created explicitly - I'm going to make sure that a given user has a parent and role_id that I specify. But here in the YAML file we must link the records together in a different way since we are not running the MVC code.

			To do this we use the Fixtures.identify method. We now get to use that object identifier which is in the first column (and is not populated in the SQL database). This object identifier is used to index and find the numeric value using the Fixtures.identify() method.

			The example above is typical of how we can create relationships between different database tables. Note, for example, that "instructor_role" is from a different table (roles.yml) and refers to an object created in that file.

			Fixtures.identify() is one of the most used YAML features in Fixtures and you will see it again and again.

			===Other YAML Tips and tricks===

	==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==		==Using Rake to Instantiate Fixtures==