bookmark_borderIntegration Testing your Asp .Net Core app with an in memory database

Parts:

  1. Integration testing your asp .net core app with an in memory database (this)
  2. Integration testing your asp .net core app dealing with anti request forgery csrf formdata and cookies

Revisions:

  • 14th august 2016 – updated for .net core 1.0
  • 29th april 2016 – first version covering RC1

Recently I am working with .Net (C#). And we’re working in .Net Core, which is awesome. (new stuff, wooh yeah!). I wanted to set up integration testing and it was tough to find resources to make it all happen. Which is pretty obvious considering how new some stuff is.

I found some articles scattered around this topic. But, there is not a full guide from “start till ‘full integration testing’ + in memory database”. So because of the lack of it, here is my take.

I couldn’t have made it this far without some notable resources (see below) and the answer to my Github question (with a friendly and very constructive response, thanks Asp.Net guys!).

Overview: What this blog post covers

  1. Setting everything up – your first integration test
  2. Run your tests against an in memory database + making sure the memory database has its tables set up.
  3. Then make it as fast as possible

Do note: An in memory database is NOT the same as your SQL Server. But if that is not bothering you (or not in these test cases), no worries there.

Step 1: First make it work – setting everything up

I assume you don’t have any integration test running yet. I am using xUnit. Read this well written article[#1] how to set up your integration test base. I summarise here quickly, but if you get stuck read the article. Then get back here.

Hook up your dependencies, here are mine (taken from

project.json

):
[json]

“dependencies”: {
… // my project dependencies
“FluentAssertions”: “4.2.1”,
“xunit”: “2.1.0”,
“xunit.runner.dnx”: “2.1.0-rc1-build204”,
“Microsoft.AspNetCore.TestHost”: “1.0.0”,
}

[/json]

Within your test class, define:


	public TestServer server { get; }

	public HttpClient client { get; }

Then in the constructor of your test class:

var builder = new WebHostBuilder().UseStartup<Startup>();

server = new TestServer(builder);

client = server.CreateClient();

Now also create a test case. Something along the lines of:


[Fact]
public async void TestVisitRoot() {
    var response = await client.GetAsync("/");
    response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
}

This is basically the example from original article, but stripped down (where applicable).

Try running the test case first. It should run the app as if you ran it normally and it would visit the homepage. It also connects to your real database, webservices and whatnot.

Congrats, you completed step one. On to the next. Where we will be…

Step 2: Replacing database with an in-memory SQLite database

I assume you use a SQL Server in your ‘real world’ scenario. For integration testing you want to have a predictable state before running the test. An empty database is pretty predictable (after you fill it up with test data ;-)).

Also an in-memory database saves you the hassle of dealing with files, permissions, removing (temp) files, etc.

In order to inject our in memory database, we need to override the

Startup

class. We need to create a seam in our class so we can write our test-specific (ie override) database setup code there.

We start by creating a class

TestStartup

which extends from

Startup

. Then we make sure we use

TestStartup

in our constructor in our test class:

var builder = new WebHostBuilder()
	.UseStartup<TestStartup>() // use our testStartup version

In your

Startup

class you need a method where you are setting up your database. You probably do this within a

Configure

or

ConfigureServices

method. Instead of wiring up the database within that method, extract that code in a separate method and call it

SetupDatabase

.

The code in that method might look a bit like this:

public virtual void SetUpDataBase(IServiceCollection services)
{
	services
		.AddEntityFramework()
		.AddSqlServer()
		.AddDbContext<YourDatabaseContext>(options =>
			options.UseSqlServer(
				Configuration["Data:DefaultConnection:ConnectionString"]
		));
}

Make sure you define this method as

virtual

. This allows us to override it within our

TestStartup

class.

Before we override the method, we need to make sure we have the appropiate SQLite dependency defined in our

project.json

. So add it. This should make the dependencies look like:

...  
"dependencies": {
    ...
    "FluentAssertions": "4.2.1",
    "xunit": "2.1.0",
    "xunit.runner.dnx": "2.1.0-rc1-build204",
    "Microsoft.AspNetCore.TestHost": "1.0.0",
    "Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.InMemory": "1.0.0",
    "Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Sqlite": "1.0.0",
  }

Now, in your

TestStartup

override method

SetupDatabase

and let it set up your SQLite in memory database:

public override void SetUpDataBase(IServiceCollection services)
{
	var connectionStringBuilder = new SqliteConnectionStringBuilder { DataSource = ":memory:" };
	var connectionString = connectionStringBuilder.ToString();
	var connection = new SqliteConnection(connectionString);

	services
		.AddEntityFrameworkSqlite()
		.AddDbContext<CmsDbContext>(
			options => options.UseSqlite(connection)
		);
}

Try running your app. See how it behaves.

You might run into problems where it complains about not having a database setup, or no tables being found. No worries, there are a few things left to do.

Ensure creation of database

At some place in your webapp you most likely create your

dbContext

, along the lines of:

//Create Database
using (var serviceScope = app.ApplicationServices.GetRequiredService<IServiceScopeFactory>()
	.CreateScope())
{
	var dbContext = serviceScope.ServiceProvider.GetService<YourDatabaseContext>();

	// run Migrations
	dbContext.Database.Migrate();
}

For making sure your in-memory database has a database setup (with tables, etc). In general you want to do this…:

//Create Database
using (var serviceScope = app.ApplicationServices.GetRequiredService<IServiceScopeFactory>()
	.CreateScope())
{
	var dbContext = serviceScope.ServiceProvider.GetService<CmsDbContext>();

	dbContext.Database.OpenConnection(); // see Resource #2 link why we do this
	dbContext.Database.EnsureCreated();

	// run Migrations
	dbContext.Database.Migrate();
}

Of course you want this only for integration tests. So don’t leave it like that. Again, create a seam. So you get:

// method in Startup.cs
public virtual void EnsureDatabaseCreated(YourDatabaseContext dbContext) {
	// run Migrations
	dbContext.Database.Migrate();
}

// within your Configure method:
using (var serviceScope = app.ApplicationServices.GetRequiredService<IServiceScopeFactory>()
	.CreateScope())
{
	var dbContext = serviceScope.ServiceProvider.GetService<YourDatabaseContext>();
	EnsureDatabaseCreated(dbContext);
}

And in your

TestStartup

you override it like so:

// method in TestStartup.cs
public override void EnsureDatabaseCreated(YourDatabaseContext dbContext) {
	dbContext.Database.OpenConnection(); // see Resource #2 link why we do this
	dbContext.Database.EnsureCreated();

	// now run the real thing
	base.Migrate(dbContext);
}

Same trick. Now re-run your test. It should work now. You could leave it like this. There are a few challanges up ahead, like dealing with cookies, anti-request forgery and so on. I might blog about those too.

Note: overriding like this might not be the only/best case after RC1, as there are changes that should make it way easier to add your own dependencies/setup that will be coming in RC2.

Now, the downside of integration tests is that b ooting them up is very slow compared to unit tests. So you want to do that only once (preferably) and then run all your tests. Yes, that also has downsides, your tests should be careful when sharing state throughout one webapp run. So make sure you keep your tests isolated.

Step 3: Speed up your integration tests! Use a TestFixture + xUnit collection

Inspired by another article[#3] and xUnit’s ability to use xUnit’s

CollectionDefinition

you can make sure your webapp is only booted once.

Sharing webapp between test cases using a TestFixture

This solves the problem: creating a web app for each test case.

To do this, in short, create a new class. For instance

TestServerFixture

. Move your client/server setup in this class. So it looks like this:

public class TestServerFixture : IDisposable
{
	public TestServer server { get; }

	public HttpClient client { get; }

    public TestServerFixture()
    {
		// Arrange
		var builder = new WebHostBuilder()
			.UseEnvironment("Development")
			.UseStartup<TestStartup>();
			// anything else you might need?....

		server = new TestServer(builder);

		client = server.CreateClient();
	}

	public void Dispose()
    {
		server.Dispose();
		client.Dispose();
    }
}

Note the differences, the testFixture implements an

IDisposable

interface. Your setup which was in your test class constructor, has moved to the constructor of the fixture.

Now, to make things easier (as you will create more and more integration test classes), create an abstract test class, which will be setup to receive the

TestServerFixture

. Then you can extend from this abstract class in your concrete test classes.

The abstract class would look like this:

public abstract class AbstractIntegrationTest : IClassFixture<TestServerFixture>
{
	public readonly HttpClient client;
    public readonly TestServer server;


    // here we get our testServerFixture, also see above IClassFixture.
    protected AbstractIntegrationTest(TestServerFixture testServerFixture)
	{
		client = testServerFixture.client;
		server = testServerFixture.server;
	}
}

As you can see we use an IClassFixture. Which is used for shared context between test cases..

This little boilerplate code will now allow us to get our concrete test class to look like:

public class MyAwesomeIntegrationTest : AbstractIntegrationTest
{
	public MyAwesomeIntegrationTest(TestServerFixture testServerFixture) : base(testServerFixture)
	{
	}

 [Fact]
public async void TestVisitRoot() {
    var response = await client.GetAsync("/");
    response.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();
}

// etc more tests...
}

Sharing your webbapp between test classes using xUnit’s CollectionFixture

This solves the problem: creating a web app (using a TestFixture) for each test class.

So awesome you have multiple test classes and you notice that you boot up your webapp everytime. And you want to solve this for (some) classes. Well that is possible. For obvious pro’s and con’s which I won’t dive into. (beware of state! ;-))

Setting up a CollectionFixture is also explained here. But for completeness sake, let me rephrase:

First create a class that we will use to define a collection. Like so:

[CollectionDefinition("Integration tests collection")]
public class IntegrationTestsCollection
{
	// This class has no code, and is never created. Its purpose is simply
	// to be the place to apply [CollectionDefinition] and all the
	// ICollectionFixture<> interfaces.
}

Now above all test classes you want to include in the

Integration tests collection

, simply add this line above the class definition:

[Collection("Integration tests collection")]

Which makes, in our above example, it like this:

[Collection("Integration tests collection")]
public class MyAwesomeIntegrationTest : AbstractIntegrationTest
{
	public MyAwesomeIntegrationTest(TestServerFixture testServerFixture) : base(testServerFixture)
	{
	}

 // your tests here...
}

Now run your tests again and note you boot up your webapps for each collection only once. Hence if you put everything in one collection, your webapp will only boot once.

Conclusion

We can run integration tests. If we want we can run them against an in memory database. Using seams we can inject our own test setup code, which probably changes in RC2 or further. If we want to speed up our tests we can put them in one “Integration collection” and use a single TestFixture.

Resources:

1. Asp.net docs – Integration testing
2. SQlite in memory database create table does not work
3. Fast testing
4. My original question/ticket at Github

bookmark_borderDon’t tell me how – tell me your intent

Since I have founded my own company, I have worked for/with multiple companies. During those times I made a few observations I’d like to share. This is one observation.

TLDR: Give a team an intent and the team will give you the best path to that intent (goal). A much better path (how) than you could ever figure out yourself.

A lot of (it) organizations work in iterations (so called ‘Agile’). Often using a process (but not limited to) called Scrum.

Whatever you’d like to call the process, there is a need to build things. This need is often presented as a list and is (should be) ordered by priority. In Scrum this is called the Product Backlog. This list is often discussed in so called refinement sessions where the Product Backlog Items are being prepared for the next (coming) iteration.

One of the questions I’ve heard is: “how much work/effort would it cost to do [backlog item] ?”.

This is a very useful question, but also a dangerous one.

Business/Product Owner/Managers – Be careful what you ask for! – Example #1

Lets use a more concrete example:

[Backlog Item] says: “As [Organisatie X] I’d like to have a JSON implementation so that I can work with [party Y]”.

Considering the question we posed (“how much effort..” etc), the answer will be a quantity expressed in Story Points, hours or whatnot. This is valuable information, as a business owner you can make the translation (roughly) to the amount of money this feature will cost. You can then evaluate if this ‘is worth it’.

You have the answer to your question. But did you actually get that much further? What did you miss?

Business: Use your team’s brainpower! – express intent! (business value) – Example #2

Lets reformulate the Backlog item so we express intent first:

[Backlog Item] says: “to offer service X to our customer(s) we’d like to send order information to [party Y] so that we can deliver orders to our customers.”.

Ah, so the intent is to ship orders to a customer which (apparently) party Y is only able to deliver!

This is a totally different question.

So where does JSON come from? Is it really required to send orders? Could we perhaps export a CSV (which might be way easier to do?)? None of these possibilities are explored in the first example. Simply because the question was asked differently.

Business: Be careful how you ask things to be done on your product backlog.

Team: ask for the intent when you’re presented with an ‘implementation’ question

Of course, with Software Development not only ‘the business’ is playing a role. In fact, working Agile simply means that we’re working together. As long as there is an ‘it’ and ‘business’ as separate entities you will never get the full potential and effectiveness of your people. True collaboration means that all ‘entities’ (people!) within the organization are (should be) working together to make that organization as successful as possible, right?

If that’s not the case for you, just get to know each other better (grab a beer?) first. 🙂

So back to the Backlog item. Considering you get a question as in the first example. How do you get to the intent from there?

One of those ways is to ‘ask why 5 times’. If you take that to literally you might sound like a spoiled brat. (although there is some sense in asking why all the time).

A bit more practical would be to ask questions like:

  • what will [implementation] happen?
  • what do you need [implementation] for?
  • once [implementation] is finished, what will it be used for?

Usually this leads to the intent. As in: “once we have a JSON message, we can send it to [party Y] so they can process orders”. The ‘so that’ part is important. If it’s not clear, don’t be afraid to ask. You don’t ask them because you doubt the business or their competences. You want to be professional, not wasting money, and delivering the actual value.

Business value usually is represented in money. When it is not about money, it usually is tight to the company vision. If you don’t think this is the case, keep asking.

Sometimes there are exceptions. Lets say your product needs a payment provider. And the company has a certain agreement to use Buckaroo for payments. Then in that case you might get the “build buckaroo to process payments” story. Although ideally it is not the story you want. (Especially if it is critical and getting buckaroo to work takes ages, while you know some other payment provider can be implemented with a fraction of the effort).

Team: By exploring intent, you can answer the ‘true’ business need.

This eliminates ‘waste’ on several levels. Waste in time, technology and missed opportunities.

So what does this boil down to? – trust your team

So what does this all mean? That you as manager involve your developers sooner? Preferable before you need to build up services/couplings with 3rd parties? yes!

Before you get into contract negotiation with these parties? yes!

That the team tells you how to process payments? you bet!

That the team decides when to go live? Yup!

Let the team think of how to do cross selling? Or how to make your checkout flow easier? (so don’t hire an external party to deliver a ‘report’ in the team, so they can ‘fix’ it). yes!

Give the team autonomy. (= responsibility). Give the team an intent, and the team will do their best to fulfill that role.

You have to get used to it.

It is exciting.

But above all, it’s awesome in many ways!

Go forth and be great!

bookmark_borderMigrated from wordpress.com!

You might have noticed. I have migrated the website from wordpress.com onto my own domain. I have a few blogs (subjects) to come, regarding:

– Don’t tell me what you want – tell me your goal.
– I have been working in .Net Core (yes, .Net, not Java) and figured some stuff out regarding (integration) testing.
– And more…

Stay tuned!