There are a few cases where code contains human readable messages. Examples are log entries and exception messages. These kinds of messages typically are sentences like “there was a problem communicating with the server, please try again later.” It is usually important to check that log messages are written and exceptions are raised in tests. One of the approaches for these tests is to check that the exact message was written or raised. These kind of messages are subject to change to make them clearer to users which makes tests that check for the exact content of the messages prone to fail whenever the wording is adjusted. In this post we will explore some alternative approaches to writing these kind of tests that are less prone to false failures.
Continue reading “Checking for specific messages in tests”Should this code be in the test or a fixture?
There is some overlap between what could go into the setup phase of a test or into a fixture. There are a few reason why certain pieces of setup code are better suited to a fixture and also why other code might be better off in the test itself. This post explores a few examples to help illustrate how you can decide where to put the setup code to minimise the maintenance cost and maximise the value of the test suit.
Continue reading “Should this code be in the test or a fixture?”Is This Code Worth Testing?
Many of us face this question on a daily basis. In many cases, the answer is yes. In certain cases, the answer is no or somewhere in between. It is important to weigh the benefits against the cost, and consider the extent to which code should be tested. A code coverage tool may report a line of code as covered, but that does not guarantee it has been thoroughly tested. Another consideration is the kinds of tests we write to begin with. For example, should a private function have tests? Or should it be covered by the tests of a public function that makes use of it? Should a function be covered by integration tests or end to end tests? We will explore these questions by examining several examples of code and determine whether and which types of tests are worth writing.
Continue reading “Is This Code Worth Testing?”flake8-docstrings-complete Now Checks for Duplicate Descriptions
Version v1.1.0 of flake8-docstrings-complete has added new rules that ensure you only document each argument, raised exception and class attribute once:
DCO025: function/ method has one or more arguments described in the docstring multiple times.DCO056: function/ method has one or more exceptions described in the docstring multiple times.DCO065: class has one or more attributes described in the docstring multiple times.
Navigating Mocks in Python: Strategies for Safe and Efficient Mock Usage
Do you spend a lot of time on maintaining your mocks? Has your test suite passed and your code failed to run in production? This could be a result of using mocks too aggressively or not utilising safety features provided by Python’s mock library. In this post, we will explore the benefits and potential risks of using mocks, discuss strategies for designing high-level interfaces that are safe to mock, and examine a linter tool that ensures safe mock usage. Let’s begin by examining the potential risks associated with using mocks.
Continue reading “Navigating Mocks in Python: Strategies for Safe and Efficient Mock Usage”How ChatGPT Can Enhance Your Coding
Tired of sifting through cluttered websites to figure out that git command? In this post I try out ChatGPT, a preview release by OpenAI. Not only does it provide help with git commands, I also found it useful for various tasks such as remembering how to use Python’s functools.reduce function, enhancing documentation, creating clear docstrings, optimising functions, and even finding edge case tests. Join me in discovering how AI can boost productivity!
Writing Great Docstrings in Python
Have you ever tried to understand a new project by looking at the source code only to find that the code isn’t clear on its own and is lacking documentation, such as docstrings? I have had that experience a few times which slowed down being able to fix bugs and add new features and frequently also meant that the code wasn’t well structured. In this post we’ll look at best practices for documenting in code and its numerous benefits such as helping you be clear on what you actually need to code and reminding yourself and others about how the code works when you come back from an extended holiday. We will also look at a linter that checks your docstrings to make sure they are complete. Your future self will then never be frustrated about a lack of documentation in code again!
Continue reading “Writing Great Docstrings in Python”Enforce All GitHub Actions Status Checks to Pass in PRs
I have been using GitHub actions for a while and they are great! With them you can define your CI/CD along your code and review any changes to CI/CD through your normal PR processes. I’m intending to write more about great workflows and best practices, especially for Python packages, although that will be in a future post. This post addresses a pain point I have had and you may have had as well. Specifically, in PRs, it is possible on GitHub to enforce things like approvals from reviewers before being able to merge. GitHub also has a setting to require status checks to pass before being able to merge, although you have to define exactly which status checks you want to pass. I usually find the names of my status checks change a lot, especially if I’m using matrix strategies for multiple Python versions or package versions. Below we discuss a simple technique to reduce how often you have to update the required status checks!
Continue reading “Enforce All GitHub Actions Status Checks to Pass in PRs”Giving and Receiving Great Feedback through PRs
Do you struggle with PRs? Have you ever had to change code even though you disagreed with the change just to land the PR? Have you ever given feedback that would have improved the code only to get into a comment war? We’ll discuss how to give and receive feedback to extract maximum value from it and avoid all the communication problems that come with PRs. We’ll start with some thoughts about what PRs are intended to achieve and then first discuss how to give feedback that will be well received and result in improvements to the code followed by how to extract maximum value from feedback you receive without agreeing to suboptimal changes. Finally, we will look at a checklist for giving and receiving feedback you can use as you go through reviews both as an author and reviewer.
Continue reading “Giving and Receiving Great Feedback through PRs”Writing Great Test Documentation
Have you ever needed to understand a new project and started reading the tests only to find that you have no idea what the tests are doing? Writing great test documentation as you are writing tests will improve your tests and help you and others reading the tests later. We will first look at why test documentation is important both when writing tests and for future readers and then look at a framework that helps give some structure to your test documentation. Next, we will look at a showcase of the flake8-test-docs tool that automates test documentation checks to ensure your documentation is great! Finally, we briefly discuss how this framework would apply in more advanced cases, such as when you are using fixtures or parametrising tests.
David Andersson 