Testing MOSS 2007 Web Parts.

Question

Hi,

 

I need to write some unit tests for some Web Parts. However I have a few questions:

 

What exactly do I test? Most of the Web Parts I am testing are consuming a Web Service and retrieving some data. In the render method this data is displayed. In the childcontrol method the controls are initialised. Most of the methods return void. What exactly can I write a unit test for in this scenario.

 

Each Web Part is deployed as a feature. Below is an example implementation of the FeatureInstalled() method:

Code Snippet

 

public override void FeatureInstalled(SPFeatureReceiverProperties properties)

{

// Make sure we De-Activate the Feature by default

using (SPSite site = new SPSite("http://localhost"))

{

using (SPWeb web = site.OpenWeb())

{

Guid _featureGuid = new Guid("5a6fbdb9-475a-4ea4-b25e-ef51f9f9e9e5");

// Check to see if the feature is already De-Activated.

SPFeature _feature = web.Features[_featureGuid];

if (_feature != null)

{

// De-Activate the feature

web.Features.Remove(_featureGuid);

}

}

}

}

 

 

Can I write a unit test for this method? If so what exactly would I be testing? Thanks for your help in advance. Rest assured I have spent a substantial amount of time googling this subject. I believe your help here will be of help to many not just me.

Answer 1

Hi,

 

The nature of SharePoint and Web Parts, as you have no doubt found, can make them difficult to unit test in the conventional sense.  A good general article reviewing real-world findings and pitfalls when testing in SharePoint can be found at http://www.pseale.com/blog/SharePointNotUnitTesting.aspx.  Regarding your specific questions:

 

1. A test that uses the Object Model to manually install the feature in question would be the right place to start;  You could consider the following:

* Test Feature Installation when it is not currently installed.

* Test Feature Installation when it is already installed.

* Test Feature Installation when it is installed and cannot be removed (such as by adding a dependent feature).

The above test, and all tests for SharePoint, will need to be configured for remote execution on the web server, as all OM calls must execute locally on the server.

 

Also, consider in the code above how you can validate the de-activation code.  It may make more sense to factor out the "deactivate if already installed" code into it's own method, so that you can test it in isolation from other feature installation.

 

2. For testing Web Parts, you're not likely to get obvious method results for your test validation, but you can apply validation (via regex matches and the like) to the resulting output in the web part.  You may find that Web Tests work better than Unit Tests for some of these, in terms of the testing framework used.  A good checklist of things you'll want to test (automated if possible) in SharePoint can be found at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms916830.aspx.

 

Hope this helps, and please let me know if you have additional questions/concerns.

 

Joe Allan Muharsky

SDET, Visual Studio Team Test

 

Answer 2

Hello Friends,

 

Thanking you for these posts.

Actually I do need help for automated testing on web parts any sites which you

can introduce me I have googled alot but didn't find anything useful.

I want to know with which testing tools I can do automated testing on web parts.

 

Thanks in advance

Answer 3

hi,

You can test the MOSS Application on MS VSTS. but you will face some errors while running the test script of MOSS. googled it you will find how to fix that errors.

Answer 4

Hello,

 

What else is possible to test except Webparts in SharePoint Server 2007?

 

Thanks

Answer 5

You can use Typemock Isolator to fake the SharePoint objects in your tests, and run your tests even on an XP machine. And you can do that with as much as a single line of code. Read more on testing SharePoint in the link

Answer 6

Hi Muhammad Tufail,

Can you please drop me an email with your contact details on [e-mail].