utest.el

Emacs lisp unit testing DSL. Cross-emacs compatible. Runnable from command line.

Example

In mylib.el:

(defun add (a b) (+ a b))
(provide 'mylib)

In mylib.test.el:

(require 'mylib)
(require 'utest)

(scene "add"
  (test "returns the sum of two positive integers"
    (check (= (add 1 2) 3)))
  (test "returns the sum of two negative integers"
    (check (= (add -1 -2) -3))))

On the command line:

$ utest -I /path/to/mylib mylib.test.el

utest exits with non-zero status if and only if any tests fail. It is compatible with GNU Emacs, Aquamacs, and XEmacs; you may specify an emacs binary with -e. Great for automation and continuous integration.

The utest.el library is searched for in the emacs load path, and in the directory that utest lives in. You may expand the load path with -I. Run with --help for more options.

Digging Deeper

utest.el provides a rich DSL for common testing scenarios. Tests are grouped into nestable scenes. Here's what you can do with them.

Before and After Hooks

You may specify forms to run before and after each test.

(scene "my scene"
  (before
    ;; Code here runs before each test.
    ...)
  (after
    ;; Code here runs after each test.
    ...)
  (wrap
    ;; Code here wraps around the test. It should include a call
    ;; to `run' to run the test.
    ... (run) ...)
)

Nested scenes behave as you would expect:

• before hooks in outer scenes are run first.
• after hooks in outer scenes are run last.
• Outer wrap hooks wrap inner ones.

Buffers

Most tests need to be run in the context of a buffer. You can define named buffers via a buffers clause, and run code in a buffer's context using in-buffer:

(scene "using buffers"
  (buffers "
    == buffer-one
    This is buffer one.
    == buffer-two
    This is buffer two.")

  (test "buffer one"
    (in-buffer buffer-one
      (check (equal (buffer-string) "This is buffer one.
"))))

  (test "buffer two"
    (in-buffer buffer-two
      (check (equal (buffer-string) "This is buffer two.
")))))

Each buffer may specify the postion of point, as well as any number of named markers, which are available as local variables in your tests. Point is denoted by -!- in the buffer string, named markers by -<NAME>-.

(scene "test"
  (buffers "
    == buffer-one
    Foo -!-bar-<end>-")

  (test "buffer point and markers"
    (in-buffer buffer-one
      (check (equal (buffer-substring (point) end) "bar")))))

Strings

To check long strings, like the contents of a multiline buffer, you can keep your tests tidy by using named strings. This lets you use a syntax similar to buffers to define long strings, which are available as local variables in your tests.

(scene "test"
  (strings "
    == string-one
    aaa bbb")

  (test "strings"
    (equal string-one "aaa bbb
")))

Selecting a Region

To test behavior when a region is selected, use select-region.

(select-region start end)

Typically, start and end are markers in a named buffer (see "Buffers" above).

Note on Patches/Pull Requests

• Bug reports: http://github.com/oggy/utest.el/issues
• Source: http://github.com/oggy/utest.el
• Patches: Fork on Github, send pull request.
  • Ensure patch includes tests.

Copyright

Copyright (c) 2010 George Ogata. See LICENSE for details.