Unit and Functional Testing

The Test module contains macros and functions related to testing. A default handler is provided to run the tests, and a custom one can be provided by the user by using the registerhandler() function.

Overview

To use the default handler, the macro @test() can be used directly:

# Julia code
julia> @test 1 == 1

julia> @test 1 == 0
ERROR: test failed: :((1==0))
 in default_handler at test.jl:20
 in do_test at test.jl:37

julia> @test error("This is what happens when a test fails")
ERROR: test error during :(error("This is what happens when a test fails"))
This is what happens when a test fails
 in error at error.jl:21
 in anonymous at test.jl:62
 in do_test at test.jl:35

As seen in the examples above, failures or errors will print the abstract syntax tree of the expression in question.

Another macro is provided to check if the given expression throws an error, @test_throws():

julia> @test_throws error("An error")

julia> @test_throws 1 == 1
ERROR: test failed: :((1==1))
 in default_handler at test.jl:20
 in do_test_throws at test.jl:46

julia> @test_throws 1 != 1
ERROR: test failed: :((1!=1))
 in default_handler at test.jl:20
 in do_test_throws at test.jl:46

As floating point comparisons can be imprecise, two additional macros exist taking in account small numerical errors:

julia> @test_approx_eq 1. 0.999999999
ERROR: assertion failed: |1.0 - 0.999999999| < 2.220446049250313e-12
  1.0 = 1.0
  0.999999999 = 0.999999999
 in test_approx_eq at test.jl:75
 in test_approx_eq at test.jl:80

julia> @test_approx_eq 1. 0.9999999999999

julia> @test_approx_eq_eps 1. 0.999 e-2

julia> @test_approx_eq_eps 1. 0.999 e-3
ERROR: assertion failed: |1.0 - 0.999| < -0.2817181715409549
  1.0 = 1.0
  0.999 = 0.999
 in test_approx_eq at test.jl:75

Handlers

A handler is a function defined for three kinds of arguments: Success, Failure, Error:

# The definition of the default handler
default_handler(r::Success) = nothing
default_handler(r::Failure) = error("test failed: $(r.expr)")
default_handler(r::Error)   = rethrow(r)

A different handler can be used for a block (with withhandler()):

julia> handler(r::Success) = println("Success on $(r.expr)")
# methods for generic function handler
handler(r::Success) at none:1

julia> handler(r::Failure) = error("Error on custom handler: $(r.expr)")
# methods for generic function handler
handler(r::Success) at none:1
handler(r::Failure) at none:1

julia> handler(r::Error)   = rethrow(r)
# methods for generic function handler
handler(r::Success) at none:1
handler(r::Failure) at none:1
handler(r::Error) at none:1

julia> withhandler(handler) do
         @test 1 == 1
         @test 1 != 1
       end
Success on :((1==1))
ERROR: Error on custom handler: :((1!=1))
 in handler at none:1
 in do_test at test.jl:38
 in anonymous at no file:3
 in withhandler at test.jl:57

or globally redefined (with registerhandler()):

julia> registerhandler(handler)
# methods for generic function handler
handler(r::Success) at none:1
handler(r::Failure) at none:1
handler(r::Error) at none:1

julia> @test 1 == 1
Success on :((1==1))

Macros

@test(ex)

Test the expression ex and calls the current handler to handle the result.

@test_throws(ex)

Test the expression ex and calls the current handler to handle the result in the following manner:

• If the test doesn’t throw an error, the Failure case is called.
• If the test throws an error, the Success case is called.

@test_approx_eq(a, b)

Test two floating point numbers a and b for equality taking in account small numerical errors.

@test_approx_eq_eps(a, b, tol)

Test two floating point numbers a and b for equality taking in account a margin of tolerance given by tol.

Functions

registerhandler(handler)

Change the handler function used globally to handler.

withhandler(f, handler)

Run the function f using the handler as the handler.