Testing Quick Start

ColdBox tightly integrates with TestBox, the Behavior Driven Development Testing Framework for ColdFusion (CFML). We can easily do unit and integration testing for our application. To start, let's install TestBox via CommandBox

install testbox --saveDev

Please note the --saveDev flag we used. This tells CommandBox that this dependency is only for testing purposes and not for distribution or production usage. Check out the box.json under the devDependencies.

Test Harness

Every ColdBox application template comes with a pre-set testing harness under the /tests folder:

Dir           0 Apr 25,2015 11:04:11 resources
Dir           0 Apr 25,2015 11:04:11 results
Dir           0 Apr 25,2015 11:04:11 specs
File        817 Apr 13,2015 18:04:34 Application.cfc
File        693 Jan 15,2015 14:01:18 runner.cfm
File       5164 Jan 15,2015 14:01:20 test.xml

Every harness has its own unique Application.cfc which must mimic your application's settings. It also comes with an HTML runner called runner.cfm and an ANT runner called test.xml. All your test bundles and specifications will go under the specs directory and in the appropriate sub-directory:

Dir           0 Apr 27,2015 11:04:11 integration
Dir           0 Apr 25,2015 11:04:11 modules
Dir           0 Dec 16,2013 19:12:32 unit
File          0 Jan 15,2015 14:01:18 all_tests_go_here.txt

Under the integration tests you will find the test bundles that come with the application template and the ones we generated:

File       1857 Apr 27,2015 11:04:11 helloTest.cfc
File       3236 Jan 21,2015 16:01:56 MainBDDTest.cfc
File       4398 Jan 15,2015 14:01:20 MainTest.cfc

The helloTest BDD test bundle can be show below:

/*******************************************************************************
*    Integration Test as BDD (CF10+ or Railo 4.1 Plus)
*
*    Extends the integration class: coldbox.system.testing.BaseTestCase
*
*    so you can test your ColdBox application headlessly. The 'appMapping' points by default to 
*    the '/root' mapping created in the test folder Application.cfc.  Please note that this 
*    Application.cfc must mimic the real one in your root, including ORM settings if needed.
*
*    The 'execute()' method is used to execute a ColdBox event, with the following arguments
*    * event : the name of the event
*    * private : if the event is private or not
*    * prePostExempt : if the event needs to be exempt of pre post interceptors
*    * eventArguments : The struct of args to pass to the event
*    * renderResults : Render back the results of the event
*******************************************************************************/
component extends="coldbox.system.testing.BaseTestCase" appMapping="/"{

    /*********************************** LIFE CYCLE Methods ***********************************/

    function beforeAll(){
        super.beforeAll();
        // do your own stuff here
    }

    function afterAll(){
        // do your own stuff here
        super.afterAll();
    }

    /*********************************** BDD SUITES ***********************************/

    function run(){

        describe( "hello Suite", function(){

            beforeEach(function( currentSpec ){
                // Setup as a new ColdBox request for this suite, VERY IMPORTANT. ELSE EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE THE SAME REQUEST.
                setup();
            });

            it( "index", function(){
                var event = execute( event="hello.index", renderResults=true );
                // expectations go here.

                expect( event.getRenderedContent() ).toInclude( "values here" );

            });

            it( "echo", function(){
                var event = execute( event="hello.echo", renderResults=true );
                // expectations go here.
                expect( event.getRenderedContent() ).toInclude( "values here" );            
            });


        });

    }

}

Executing The Runner

To execute your application template tests and the generated tests just browse to the URL: http://127.0.0.1:{port}/tests/runner.cfm and you will get a full integration report:

Everything is already pre-wired for you and ready for you to do full life-cycle integration testing. Don't believe me? Try it out, go change your echo() action to the following code and re-run your test:

function echo(event,rc,prc){
    event.setFunkyView("hello/echo");
}

You will get an error now: component [coldbox.system.web.context.RequestContext] has no function with name [setFunkyView]. Fix it and re-run it. Ok, hold on to something..... You are now doing live integration testing my friend. Simple, but yet accomplishing.

CommandBox Runner

You can also execute the runner via CommandBox. So let's tell CommandBox where your runner is located, just change the {port} to your port assigned.

package set testbox.runner=http://127.0.0.1:{port}/tests/runner.cfm

Then use the testbox run command:

testbox run

You will then execute your tests and get a text report from it. If you want CommandBox to watch for changes and re-execute the tests, then start a watcher:

testbox watch

What's Next

We have a fully dedicated section on testing, please visit it for in-depth information.