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Message:

Creating a Java test suite

Posted by Matt Gerrans on November 07, 2001 at 12:11 AM

There is JUnit which is a unit testing framework for Java. However, it is not all that simple and requires some time investment in itself.

Stay tuned to Artima; a light-weight TestKit is underway right now.

Finally, Jython, which is Python on Java, is a useful tool for testing classes, since you can (as with Python itself, or with IDLE in a windowing environment) interactively make calls and manipulate data. Learning the Python syntax is relatively easy and well worth knowing, but even if you don't want to spend too much time learning all of Python, I think you could still get some good use out of it as a test platform with just the very basics.

- mfg

> I am currently undertaking a project to develop a suite of test tools aimed at novice Java programming students (eg 1st year university students), which will not only help them to test their programs but will also encourage good testing practice and reveal results in a way which will help them to be understood. I'm using the reflection package to allow black-box testing, and need to find a way to implement white-box and structural testing (such as path testing).

> If anyone has any comments, suggestions etc or knows any algorithms which would be of any use it would be much appreciated.

> cheers

> - tom