Breaking Dependencies to Allow Unit Testing

Breaking Dependencies
to Allow UnitTesting
Steve Smith
CTO, Falafel Software
@ardalis | ardalis.com

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Legacy Code
“To me, legacy code is simply code without tests.”
Michael Feathers
Working Effectively with Legacy Code

UnitTesting (Legacy) Code is…

Hollywood made a whole movie about it…

But let’s back up…
• Why UnitTests?
• Why not just use other kinds of tests?
• What are dependencies?
• How do we break these dependencies?

UnitTest Characteristics
• Test a single unit of code
• A method, or at most, a class
• Do not test Infrastructure concerns
• Database, filesystem, etc.
• Do not test “through” the UI
• Just code testing code; no screen readers, etc.

UnitTests are (should be) FAST
• No dependencies means
1000s of tests per second
• Run them constantly

UnitTests are SMALL
• Testing one thing should be simple
• If not, can it be made simpler?
• Should be quick to write

UnitTest Naming
• Descriptive And Meaningful Phrases (DAMP)
• NameTest Class: ClassNameMethodNameShould
• NameTest Method: DoSomethingGivenSomething
• http://ardalis.com/unit-test-naming-convention

Seams
• Represent areas of code where pieces can be decoupled
• Testable code has many seams; legacy code has few, if any

Kinds ofTests
UI
Integration
Tests
UnitTests
http://martinfowler.com/bliki/TestPyramid.html

Ask yourself:
•Can I test this scenario with a UnitTest?
•Can I test it with an IntegrationTest?
• Can I test it with an automated UITest?
UI
Integration Tests
UnitTests

Don’t believe your test runner…
IntegrationTest

UnitTest?
• Requires a database or file?
• Sends emails?
• Must be executed through the UI?
Not a unit test

Dependencies and Coupling
All dependencies point toward
infrastructure
Presentation
Layer
Business Layer
Infrastructure
Data Access
Tests
Tests (and everything else) now
depend on Infrastructure

Dependency Inversion Principle
High-level modules should not depend on low-level modules. Both should
depend on abstractions.
Abstractions should not depend on details. Details should depend on
abstractions.
Agile Principles, Patterns, and Practices in C#

Depend on Abstractions
All dependencies point toward
Business Logic / Core
Presentation
Layer
Business Layer
Infrastructure
Data Access
UnitTests
Integration
Tests
UITests

Inject Dependencies
• Classes should follow Explicit Dependencies Principle
• http://deviq.com/explicit-dependencies-principle
• Prefer Constructor Injection
• Classes cannot be created in an invalid state
https://flic.kr/p/5QsGnB

Common Dependencies to Decouple
•Database
•File System
•Email
•Web APIs
•System Clock
•Configuration
•Thread.Sleep
•Random

Tight Couplers: Statics and new
• Avoid static cling
• Calling static methods with side effects
• Remember: new is glue
• Avoid gluing your code to a specific implementation
• Simple types and value objects usually OK

Coupling Code Smells
• Learn more in my Refactoring Fundamentals course on Pluralsight
• http://www.pluralsight.com/courses/refactoring-fundamentals
• Coupling Smells introduce tight coupling between parts of a system

Feature Envy
• Characterized by many getter calls
• Instead, try to package data and behavior together
• Keep together things that change together
• Common Closure Principle – Classes that change together are packaged together

public class Rental
{
private Movie _movie;
public decimal GetPrice()
{
if (_movie.IsNewRelease)
{
if (_movie.IsChildrens)
{
return 4;
}
return 5;
}
if (_movie.IsChildrens)
{
return 2;
}
return 3;
}
}

public class Movie
{
public bool IsNewRelease { get; set; }
public bool IsChildrens { get; set; }
public string Title { get; set; }
public decimal GetPrice()
{
if (IsNewRelease)
{
if (IsChildrens)
{
return 4;
}
return 5;
}
if (IsChildrens)
{
return 2;
}
return 3;
}
}

Law of Demeter
• Or “Strong Suggestion of Demeter”
• A Method m on an object O should only call methods on
• O itself
• m’s parameters
• Objects created within m
• O’s direct fields and properties
• Global variables and static methods

public void GetPaidByCustomer(Customer customer)
{
decimal payment = 12.00;
var wallet = customer.Wallet;
if(wallet.Total > payment)
{
wallet.RemoveMoney(payment);
}
else
{
// come back later to get paid
}
}

public class Customer
{
private Wallet _wallet;
public decimal RequestPayment(decimal amount)
{
if(_wallet != null && _wallet.Total > amount)
{
_wallet.RemoveMoney(amount);
return amount;
}
return 0;
}
}

public void GetPaidByCustomer(Customer customer)
{
decimal payment = 12.00;
decimal amountPaid = customer.RequestPayment(payment);
if(amountPaid == payment)
{
// say thank you and provide a receipt
}
else
{
// come back later to get paid
}
}

http://geek-and-poke.com

Constructor Smells
• new keyword (or static calls) in constructor or field declaration
• Anything more than field assignment!
• Database access in constructor
• Complex object graph construction
• Conditionals or Loops

Good Constructors
• Do not create collaborators, but instead accept them as parameters
• Use a Factory for complex object graph creation
• Avoid instantiating fields at declaration

“
”
IoC Containers are just factories on
steroids.
Don’t be afraid to use them where they can help

public class MoviesController : Controller
{
private MovieDBContext _db = new MovieDBContext();
private UserManager _userManager;
public MoviesController()
{
_userManager = new SqlUserManager();
}
}
[Test]
public void TestSomeMethod()
{
var controller = new MoviesController();
// Boom! Cannot create without a database
}

public class MoviesController : Controller
{
private MovieDBContext _db;
private UserManager _userManager;
public MoviesController(MovieDbContext dbContext,
userManager)
{
_db = dbContext;
_userManager = userManager;
}
}
[Test]
{
var controller = new MoviesController(fakeContext,
fakeUserManager);
// continue test here
}

public class HomeController: Controller
{
private User _user;
private string _displayMode;
public HomeController()
{
_user = HttpContext.Current.User;
_displayMode = Config.AppSettings[“dispMode”];
}
}
[Test]
{
var controller = new HomeController();
// Boom! Cannot create an active HttpContext
// Also, how to vary display mode when there is one
// configuration file for the whole test project?
}

public class HomeController: Controller
{
private User _user;
private string _displayMode;
public HomeController(User user, IConfig config)
{
_user = user;
_displayMode = config.DisplayMode;
}
}
[Test]
{
var config = new Config() {DisplayMode=“Landscape”};
var user = new User();
var controller = new HomeController(user,config);
}

Avoid Initialize Methods
• Moving code out of the constructor and into Init()
• If called from constructor, no different
• If called later, leaves object in invalid state until called
• Object has too many responsibilities
• If Initialize depends on infrastructure, object will still be hard to test

public class SomeService
{
private IUserRepository _userRepository;
private DnsRecord _dnsRecord;
public SomeService(IUserRepository userRepository)
{
_userRepository = userRepository;
}
public void Initialize()
{
string ip = Server.GetAvailableIpAddress();
_dnsRecord = DNS.Associate(“SomeService”, ip);
}
}
[Test]
{
// I can construct SomeService, but how do I test it
// when every method depends on Initialize() ?
}

{
private DnsRecord _dnsRecord;
public SomeService(IUserRepository userRepository,
DnsRecord dnsRecord)
{
_dnsRecord = dnsRecord;
}
// initialize code moved to factory
[Test]
{
var service = new SomeService(testRepo,
testDnsRecord);
}

“Test” Constructors
• “It’s OK, I’ll provide an “extra” constructor my tests can use!”
• Great! As long as we don’t have to test any other classes that use the other
constructor.

{
// testable constructor
public SomeService(IUserRepository userRepository)
{
}
public void SomeService()
{
_userRepository = new EfUserRepository();
}
}
// how can we test this?
public void SomeMethodElsewhere()
{
var result = new SomeService().DoSomething();
}

Avoid Digging into Collaborators
• Pass in the specific object(s) you need
• Avoid using “Context” or “Manager” objects to access additional
dependencies
• Violates Law of Demeter: Context.SomeItem.Foo()
• Suspicious Names: environment, principal, container
• Symptoms:Tests have mocks that return mocks

public class TaxCalculator
{
private TaxTable _taxTable;
…
public decimal ComputeTax(User user, Invoice invoice)
{
var address = user.Address;
var amount = invoice.Subtotal;
var rate = _taxTable.GetTaxRate(address);
return amount * rate;
}
}
// tests must now create users and invoices
// instead of just passing in address and subtotal amount

public class TaxCalculator
{
private TaxTable _taxTable;
…
public decimal ComputeTax(Address address,
decimal subtotal)
{
var rate = _taxTable.GetTaxRate(address);
return subtotal * rate;
}
}
// API is now more honest about what it actually requires
// Tests are much simpler to write

Avoid Global State Access
• Singletons
• Static fields or methods
• Static initializers
• Registries
• Service Locators

Singletons
• Avoid classes that implement their own lifetime tracking
• GoF Singleton Pattern
• It’s OK to have a container manage object lifetime and enforce having only a
single instance of a class within your application

public class TrainScheduler
{
public Track FindAvailableTrack()
{
// loop through available tracks
if(TrackStatusChecker.IsAvailable(track))
// do something
return track;
}
}
// tests of FindAvailableTrack now depend on
// TrackStatusChecker, which is a slow web service

public class TrainScheduler
{
private TrainStatusCheckerWrapper _wrapper;
TrainScheduler(TrainStatusCheckerWrapper wrapper)
{
_wrapper = wrapper;
}
public Track FindAvailableTrack()
{
// loop through available tracks
if(_wrapper.IsAvailable(track))
// do something
return track;
}
}
// tests of FindAvailableTrack now can easily inject a
// wrapper to test the behavior of FindAvailableTrack()
// wrapper could just as easily be an interface

Summary
• Inject Dependencies
• Remember “New is glue”.
• Keep yourAPIs honest
• Remember the Explicit Dependencies Principle.Tell your friends.
• Maintain seams and keep coupling loose

Thanks!
• Questions?
• Follow me at @ardalis
• Check out http://DevIQ.com for more on these topics
• Take Pride inYour Code!
• References
• http://misko.hevery.com/code-reviewers-guide/
• Working Effectively with Legacy Code
by Michael Feathers

Breaking Dependencies to Allow Unit Testing

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