Symfony2 Day 9: The Functional Tests in Jobeet

* This article is part of the original Jobeet Tutorial, created by Fabien Potencier, for Symfony 1.4.

Table of Contents

Functional tests in jobeet

Functional tests are a great tool to test your application from end to end: from the request made by a browser to the response sent by the server. They test all the layers of an application: the routing, the model, the actions and the templates. They are very similar to what you probably already do manually: each time you add or modify an action, you need to go to the browser and check that everything works as expected by clicking on links and checking elements on the rendered page. In other words, you run a scenario corresponding to the use case you have just implemented.

As the process is manual, it is tedious and error prone. Each time you change something in your code, you must step through all the scenarios to ensure that you did not break something. That’s insane. Functional tests in symfony provide a way to easily describe scenarios. Each scenario can then be played automatically over and over again by simulating the experience a user has in a browser. Like unit tests, they give you the confidence to code in peace.

Functional tests have a very specific workflow:

Make a request;
Test the response;
Click on a link or submit a form;
Test the response;
Rinse and repeat;

Our First Functional Test

Functional tests are simple PHP files that typically live in the Tests/Controller directory of your bundle. If you want to test the pages handled by your CategoryController class, start by creating a new CategoryControllerTest class that extends a special WebTestCase class:

namespace IbwJobeetBundleTestsController;

use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleTestWebTestCase;
use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleConsoleApplication;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleOutputNullOutput;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleInputArrayInput;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandDropDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandCreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandProxyCreateSchemaDoctrineCommand;

class CategoryControllerTest extends WebTestCase
{
    private $em;
    private $application;

    public function setUp()
    {
        static::$kernel = static::createKernel();
        static::$kernel->boot();

        $this->application = new Application(static::$kernel);

        // drop the database
        $command = new DropDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:drop',
            '--force' => true
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // we have to close the connection after dropping the database so we don't get "No database selected" error
        $connection = $this->application->getKernel()->getContainer()->get('doctrine')->getConnection();
        if ($connection->isConnected()) {
            $connection->close();
        }

        // create the database
        $command = new CreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // create schema
        $command = new CreateSchemaDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:schema:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // get the Entity Manager
        $this->em = static::$kernel->getContainer()
            ->get('doctrine')
            ->getManager();

        // load fixtures
        $client = static::createClient();
        $loader = new SymfonyBridgeDoctrineDataFixturesContainerAwareLoader($client->getContainer());
        $loader->loadFromDirectory(static::$kernel->locateResource('@IbwJobeetBundle/DataFixtures/ORM'));
        $purger = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesPurgerORMPurger($this->em);
        $executor = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesExecutorORMExecutor($this->em, $purger);
        $executor->execute($loader->getFixtures());
    }

    public function testShow()
    {
        $client = static::createClient();

        $crawler = $client->request('GET', '/category/index');
        $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerCategoryController::showAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));
        $this->assertTrue(200 === $client->getResponse()->getStatusCode());
    }
}

To learn more about crawler, read the Symfony documentation here.

Running Functional Tests

As for unit tests, launching functional tests can be done by executing the phpunit command:

phpunit -c app/ src/Ibw/JobeetBundle/Tests/Controller/CategoryControllerTest

This test will fail because the tested url, /category/index, is not a valid url in Jobeet:

PHPUnit 3.7.22 by Sebastian Bergmann.

Configuration read from /var/www/jobeet/app/phpunit.xml.dist

F

Time: 2 seconds, Memory: 25.25Mb

There was 1 failure:

1) IbwJobeetBundleTestsControllerCategoryControllerTest::testShow
Failed asserting that false is true.

Writing Functional Tests

Writing functional tests is like playing a scenario in a browser. We already have written all the scenarios we need to test as part of the day 2 stories.

First, let’s test the Jobeet homepage by editing the JobControllerTest class. Replace the code with the following one:

EXPIRED JOBS ARE NOT LISTED

namespace IbwJobeetBundleTestsController;

use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleTestWebTestCase;
use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleConsoleApplication;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleOutputNullOutput;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleInputArrayInput;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandDropDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandCreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandProxyCreateSchemaDoctrineCommand;

class JobControllerTest extends WebTestCase
{
    private $em;
    private $application;

    public function setUp()
    {
        static::$kernel = static::createKernel();
        static::$kernel->boot();

        $this->application = new Application(static::$kernel);

        // drop the database
        $command = new DropDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:drop',
            '--force' => true
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // we have to close the connection after dropping the database so we don't get "No database selected" error
        $connection = $this->application->getKernel()->getContainer()->get('doctrine')->getConnection();
        if ($connection->isConnected()) {
            $connection->close();
        }

        // create the database
        $command = new CreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // create schema
        $command = new CreateSchemaDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:schema:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // get the Entity Manager
        $this->em = static::$kernel->getContainer()
            ->get('doctrine')
            ->getManager();

        // load fixtures
        $client = static::createClient();
        $loader = new SymfonyBridgeDoctrineDataFixturesContainerAwareLoader($client->getContainer());
        $loader->loadFromDirectory(static::$kernel->locateResource('@IbwJobeetBundle/DataFixtures/ORM'));
        $purger = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesPurgerORMPurger($this->em);
        $executor = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesExecutorORMExecutor($this->em, $purger);
        $executor->execute($loader->getFixtures());
    }

    public function testIndex()
    {
        $client = static::createClient();
        $crawler = $client->request('GET', '/');

        $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerJobController::indexAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));
        $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.jobs td.position:contains("Expired")')->count() == 0);
    }
}

To verify the exclusion of expired jobs from the homepage, we check that the CSS selector .jobs td.position:contains("Expired") does not match anywhere in the response HTML content (remember that in the fixtures, the only expired job we have contains “Expired” in the position).

ONLY N JOBS ARE LISTED FOR A CATEGORY

Add the following code at the end of your testIndex() function. To get the custom parameter defined in app/config/config.yml in our functional test, we will use the kernel:

public function testIndex()
{
    //...
    $kernel = static::createKernel();
    $kernel->boot();
    $max_jobs_on_homepage = $kernel->getContainer()->getParameter('max_jobs_on_homepage');
    $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_programming tr')->count() <= $max_jobs_on_homepage );
}

For this test to work we will need to add the corresponding CSS class to each category in the Job/index.html.twig file (so we can select each category and count the jobs listed) :

<!-- ... -->

    {% for category in categories %}
        <div class="category_{{ category.slug }}">
           <div class="category">
<!-- ... -->

A CATEGORY HAS A LINK TO THE CATEGORY PAGE ONLY IF TOO MANY JOBS

public function testIndex()
{
    //...
    $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_design .more_jobs')->count() == 0);
    $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_programming .more_jobs')->count() == 1);
}

In these tests, we check that there is no “more jobs” link for the design category (.category_design .more_jobs does not exist), and that there is a “more jobs” link for the programming category (.category_programming .more_jobs does exist).

JOBS ARE SORTED BY DATE

To test if jobs are actually sorted by date, we need to check that the first job listed on the homepage is the one we expect. This can be done by checking that the URL contains the expected primary key. As the primary key can change between runs, we need to get the Doctrine object from the database first.

public function testIndex()
{    
    // ...
    $em = $kernel->getContainer()->get('doctrine.orm.entity_manager');

    $query = $em->createQuery('SELECT j from IbwJobeetBundle:Job j LEFT JOIN j.category c WHERE c.slug = :slug AND j.expires_at > :date ORDER BY j.created_at DESC');
    $query->setParameter('slug', 'programming');
    $query->setParameter('date', date('Y-m-d H:i:s', time()));
    $query->setMaxResults(1);
    $job = $query->getSingleResult();

    $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_programming tr')->first()->filter(sprintf('a[href*="/%d/"]', $job->getId()))->count() == 1);
}

Even if the test works in this very moment, we need to refactor the code a bit, as getting the first job of the programming category can be reused elsewhere in our tests. We won’t move the code to the Model layer as the code is test specific. Instead, we will move the code to the getMostRecentProgrammingJob function in our test class:

// ...

    public function getMostRecentProgrammingJob()
    {
        $kernel = static::createKernel();
        $kernel->boot();
        $em = $kernel->getContainer()->get('doctrine.orm.entity_manager');

        $query = $em->createQuery('SELECT j from IbwJobeetBundle:Job j LEFT JOIN j.category c WHERE c.slug = :slug AND j.expires_at > :date ORDER BY j.created_at DESC');
        $query->setParameter('slug', 'programming');
        $query->setParameter('date', date('Y-m-d H:i:s', time()));
        $query->setMaxResults(1);

        return $query->getSingleResult();
    }

// ...

You can now replace the previous test code by the following one:

// ...

$this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_programming tr')->first()->filter(sprintf('a[href*="/%d/"]', $this->getMostRecentProgrammingJob()->getId()))->count() == 1);

//...

EACH JOB ON THE HOMEPAGE IS CLICKABLE

To test the job link on the homepage, we simulate a click on the “Web Developer” text. As there are many of them on the page, we have explicitly to ask the browser to click on the first one.

Each request parameter is then tested to ensure that the routing has done its job correctly.

public function testIndex() 
{
    // ...

    $job = $this->getMostRecentProgrammingJob();
    $link = $crawler->selectLink('Web Developer')->first()->link();
    $crawler = $client->click($link);
    $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerJobController::showAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));
    $this->assertEquals($job->getCompanySlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('company'));
    $this->assertEquals($job->getLocationSlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('location'));
    $this->assertEquals($job->getPositionSlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('position'));
    $this->assertEquals($job->getId(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('id'));
}

// ...

LEARN BY THE EXAMPLE

In this section, you have all the code needed to test the job and category pages. Read the code carefully as you may learn some new neat tricks:

namespace IbwJobeetBundleTestsController;

use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleTestWebTestCase;
use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleConsoleApplication;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleOutputNullOutput;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleInputArrayInput;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandDropDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandCreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandProxyCreateSchemaDoctrineCommand;

class JobControllerTest extends WebTestCase
{
    private $em;
    private $application;

    public function setUp()
    {
        static::$kernel = static::createKernel();
        static::$kernel->boot();

        $this->application = new Application(static::$kernel);

        // drop the database
        $command = new DropDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:drop',
            '--force' => true
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // we have to close the connection after dropping the database so we don't get "No database selected" error
        $connection = $this->application->getKernel()->getContainer()->get('doctrine')->getConnection();
        if ($connection->isConnected()) {
            $connection->close();
        }

        // create the database
        $command = new CreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // create schema
        $command = new CreateSchemaDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:schema:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // get the Entity Manager
        $this->em = static::$kernel->getContainer()
            ->get('doctrine')
            ->getManager();

        // load fixtures
        $client = static::createClient();
        $loader = new SymfonyBridgeDoctrineDataFixturesContainerAwareLoader($client->getContainer());
        $loader->loadFromDirectory(static::$kernel->locateResource('@IbwJobeetBundle/DataFixtures/ORM'));
        $purger = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesPurgerORMPurger($this->em);
        $executor = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesExecutorORMExecutor($this->em, $purger);
        $executor->execute($loader->getFixtures());
    }

    public function getMostRecentProgrammingJob()
    {
        $kernel = static::createKernel();
        $kernel->boot();
        $em = $kernel->getContainer()->get('doctrine.orm.entity_manager');

        $query = $em->createQuery('SELECT j from IbwJobeetBundle:Job j LEFT JOIN j.category c WHERE c.slug = :slug AND j.expires_at > :date ORDER BY j.created_at DESC');
        $query->setParameter('slug', 'programming');
        $query->setParameter('date', date('Y-m-d H:i:s', time()));
        $query->setMaxResults(1);

        return $query->getSingleResult();
    }

    public function getExpiredJob()
    {
        $kernel = static::createKernel();
        $kernel->boot();
        $em = $kernel->getContainer()->get('doctrine.orm.entity_manager');

        $query = $em->createQuery('SELECT j from IbwJobeetBundle:Job j WHERE j.expires_at < :date');             
        $query->setParameter('date', date('Y-m-d H:i:s', time()));
        $query->setMaxResults(1);

        return $query->getSingleResult();
    }

    public function testIndex()
    {
        // get the custom parameters from app config.yml
        $kernel = static::createKernel();
        $kernel->boot();
        $max_jobs_on_homepage = $kernel->getContainer()->getParameter('max_jobs_on_homepage');

        $client = static::createClient();

        $crawler = $client->request('GET', '/');
        $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerJobController::indexAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));

        // expired jobs are not listed
        $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.jobs td.position:contains("Expired")')->count() == 0);

        // only $max_jobs_on_homepage jobs are listed for a category
        $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_programming tr')->count()<= $max_jobs_on_homepage); 
        $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_design .more_jobs')->count() == 0);
        $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_programming .more_jobs')->count() == 1);

        // jobs are sorted by date
        $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.category_programming tr')->first()->filter(sprintf('a[href*="/%d/"]', $this->getMostRecentProgrammingJob()->getId()))->count() == 1);

        // each job on the homepage is clickable and give detailed information
        $job = $this->getMostRecentProgrammingJob();
        $link = $crawler->selectLink('Web Developer')->first()->link();
        $crawler = $client->click($link);
        $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerJobController::showAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));
        $this->assertEquals($job->getCompanySlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('company'));
        $this->assertEquals($job->getLocationSlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('location'));
        $this->assertEquals($job->getPositionSlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('position'));
        $this->assertEquals($job->getId(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('id'));

        // a non-existent job forwards the user to a 404
        $crawler = $client->request('GET', '/job/foo-inc/milano-italy/0/painter');
        $this->assertTrue(404 === $client->getResponse()->getStatusCode());

        // an expired job page forwards the user to a 404
        $crawler = $client->request('GET', sprintf('/job/sensio-labs/paris-france/%d/web-developer', $this->getExpiredJob()->getId()));
        $this->assertTrue(404 === $client->getResponse()->getStatusCode());
    }
}

namespace IbwJobeetBundleTestsController;

use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleTestWebTestCase;
use SymfonyBundleFrameworkBundleConsoleApplication;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleOutputNullOutput;
use SymfonyComponentConsoleInputArrayInput;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandDropDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandCreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand;
use DoctrineBundleDoctrineBundleCommandProxyCreateSchemaDoctrineCommand;

class CategoryControllerTest extends WebTestCase
{
    private $em;
    private $application;
    public function setUp()
    {
        static::$kernel = static::createKernel();
        static::$kernel->boot();

        $this->application = new Application(static::$kernel);

        // drop the database
        $command = new DropDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:drop',
            '--force' => true
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // we have to close the connection after dropping the database so we don't get "No database selected" error
        $connection = $this->application->getKernel()->getContainer()->get('doctrine')->getConnection();
        if ($connection->isConnected()) {
            $connection->close();
        }

        // create the database
        $command = new CreateDatabaseDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:database:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // create schema
        $command = new CreateSchemaDoctrineCommand();
        $this->application->add($command);
        $input = new ArrayInput(array(
            'command' => 'doctrine:schema:create',
        ));
        $command->run($input, new NullOutput());

        // get the Entity Manager
        $this->em = static::$kernel->getContainer()
            ->get('doctrine')
            ->getManager();

        // load fixtures
        $client = static::createClient();
        $loader = new SymfonyBridgeDoctrineDataFixturesContainerAwareLoader($client->getContainer());
        $loader->loadFromDirectory(static::$kernel->locateResource('@IbwJobeetBundle/DataFixtures/ORM'));
        $purger = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesPurgerORMPurger($this->em);
        $executor = new DoctrineCommonDataFixturesExecutorORMExecutor($this->em, $purger);
        $executor->execute($loader->getFixtures());
    }

    public function testShow()
    {
        $kernel = static::createKernel();
        $kernel->boot();

        // get the custom parameters from app/config.yml
        $max_jobs_on_category = $kernel->getContainer()->getParameter('max_jobs_on_category');
        $max_jobs_on_homepage = $kernel->getContainer()->getParameter('max_jobs_on_homepage');

        $client = static::createClient();

        $categories = $this->em->getRepository('IbwJobeetBundle:Category')->getWithJobs();

        // categories on homepage are clickable
        foreach($categories as $category) {
            $crawler = $client->request('GET', '/');

            $link = $crawler->selectLink($category->getName())->link();
            $crawler = $client->click($link);

            $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerCategoryController::showAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));
            $this->assertEquals($category->getSlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('slug'));

            $jobs_no = $this->em->getRepository('IbwJobeetBundle:Job')->countActiveJobs($category->getId()); 

            // categories with more than $max_jobs_on_homepage jobs also have a "more" link                 
            if($jobs_no > $max_jobs_on_homepage) {
                $crawler = $client->request('GET', '/');
                $link = $crawler->filter(".category_" . $category->getSlug() . " .more_jobs a")->link();
                $crawler = $client->click($link);

                $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerCategoryController::showAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));
                $this->assertEquals($category->getSlug(), $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('slug'));
            }

            $pages = ceil($jobs_no/$max_jobs_on_category);

            // only $max_jobs_on_category jobs are listed 
            $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.jobs tr')->count() <= $max_jobs_on_category);
            $this->assertRegExp("/" . $jobs_no . " jobs/", $crawler->filter('.pagination_desc')->text());

            if($pages > 1) {
                $this->assertRegExp("/page 1/" . $pages . "/", $crawler->filter('.pagination_desc')->text());

                for ($i = 2; $i <= $pages; $i++) {
                    $link = $crawler->selectLink($i)->link();
                    $crawler = $client->click($link);

                    $this->assertEquals('IbwJobeetBundleControllerCategoryController::showAction', $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('_controller'));
                    $this->assertEquals($i, $client->getRequest()->attributes->get('page'));
                    $this->assertTrue($crawler->filter('.jobs tr')->count() <= $max_jobs_on_category);
                    if($jobs_no >1) {
                        $this->assertRegExp("/" . $jobs_no . " jobs/", $crawler->filter('.pagination_desc')->text());
                    }
                    $this->assertRegExp("/page " . $i . "/" . $pages . "/", $crawler->filter('.pagination_desc')->text());
                }
            }     
        }
    }
}

That’s all for today! Tomorrow, we will learn all there is to know about forms.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Symfony2 Jobeet Day 9: The Functional Tests

Functional tests in jobeet

Our First Functional Test

Running Functional Tests

Writing Functional Tests

EXPIRED JOBS ARE NOT LISTED

ONLY N JOBS ARE LISTED FOR A CATEGORY

A CATEGORY HAS A LINK TO THE CATEGORY PAGE ONLY IF TOO MANY JOBS

JOBS ARE SORTED BY DATE

EACH JOB ON THE HOMEPAGE IS CLICKABLE

LEARN BY THE EXAMPLE

That’s all for today! Tomorrow, we will learn all there is to know about forms.

Boost Your Business. Reach Out Now!

Customer Support Services

BPO Services

Omnichannel

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Company

Symfony2 Jobeet Day 9: The Functional Tests

Functional tests in jobeet

Our First Functional Test

Running Functional Tests

Writing Functional Tests

EXPIRED JOBS ARE NOT LISTED

ONLY N JOBS ARE LISTED FOR A CATEGORY

A CATEGORY HAS A LINK TO THE CATEGORY PAGE ONLY IF TOO MANY JOBS

JOBS ARE SORTED BY DATE

EACH JOB ON THE HOMEPAGE IS CLICKABLE

LEARN BY THE EXAMPLE

That’s all for today! Tomorrow, we will learn all there is to know about forms.

Boost Your Business. Reach Out Now!

Customer Support Services

BPO Services

Omnichannel

Development Services

Technologies

Industries

Company

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