Crafting Test-Driven Software with Python

Get to grips with essential concepts and step-by-step explanations to apply TDD practices to your Python projects while keeping your test suite under control

Key Features

• Build robust Python applications using TDD and BDD methodologies
• Test Python web applications using WebTest and web frameworks
• Leverage PyTest to implement stringent testing mechanisms to ensure fault-tolerant applications

Book Description

Test-driven development (TDD) is a set of best practices that helps developers to build more scalable software and is used to increase the robustness of software by using automatic tests. This book shows you how to apply TDD practices effectively in Python projects.

You’ll begin by learning about built-in unit tests and Mocks before covering rich frameworks like PyTest and web-based libraries such as WebTest and Robot Framework, discovering how Python allows you to embrace all modern testing practices with ease. Moving on, you’ll find out how to design tests and balance them with new feature development and learn how to create a complete test suite with PyTest. The book helps you adopt a hands-on approach to implementing TDD and associated methodologies that will have you up and running and make you more productive in no time. With the help of step-by-step explanations of essential concepts and practical examples, you’ll explore automatic tests and TDD best practices and get to grips with the methodologies and tools available in Python for creating effective and robust applications.

By the end of this Python book, you will be able to write reliable test suites in Python to ensure the long-term resilience of your application using the range of libraries offered by Python for testing and development.

What you will learn

• Find out how tests can make your life easier as a developer and discover related best practices
• Explore PyTest, the most widespread testing framework for Python
• Get to grips with the most common PyTest plugins, including coverage, flaky, xdist, and picked
• Write functional tests for WSGI web applications with WebTest
• Run end-to-end tests for web applications using Robot Framework
• Understand what test-driven development means and why it is important
• Discover how to use the range of tools available in Python
• Build reliable and robust applications

Who this book is for

This book is for Python developers looking to get started with test-driven development and developers who want to learn about the testing tools available in Python. Developers who want to create web applications with Python and plan to implement TDD methodology with PyTest will find this book useful. Basic knowledge of Python programming is required.

Table of Contents

1. Getting Started with Software Testing
2. Test Doubles with a Chat Application
3. Test-Driven Development while Creating a TODO List
4. Scaling the Test Suite
5. Introduction to PyTest
6. Dynamic and Parametric Tests and Fixtures
7. Fitness Function with a Contact Book Application
8. PyTest Essential Plugins
9. Managing Test Environments with Tox
10. Testing Documentation and Property-Based Testing
11. Testing for the Web: WSGI versus HTTP
12. End-to-End Testing with the Robot Framework

About the Author

Alessandro Molina has been a Python developer since 2001, and has always been interested in Python as a web development platform. He has worked as a CTO and a team leader of Python teams for the past 10 years and is currently the core developer of the TurboGears2 web framework and the maintainer of the Beaker caching/session framework. He authored the DEPOT file storage framework and the DukPy JavaScript interpreter for Python and has collaborated on various Python projects related to web development, such as FormEncode, ToscaWidgets, and the Ming MongoDB ORM.