[AS3] Flex Unit 4
I just wired up the latest version of Flex Unit 4 and it is impressive to say the least. For the last week or so, I've been messing around with the version that ships with Flash Builder 4, but I wanted to get up with the latest because of all of the awesome goodies it comes with.
The thing I am really excited about is the new metadata-driven model. It's almost as convenient to use as JUnit (but it still has a few things to improve upon). Finally, we're able to have annotated test cases and test suites and thus are not forced to extend a class or implement an interface. All test-related configuration is done at runtime by the framework and via introspection. A great article that got me started can be found here on InsideRIA.
The framework seems incredibly intelligent. You can even specify if you expect a method to throw an error with a simple metadata parameter. If the test method does not throw that error, it is considered a failed test. I haven't found anything about the actual framework that I don't like. It is a huge improvement over previous versions of Flex Unit and a good step toward standardizing unit testing across platforms.
One cool thing that I found inside of Flash Builder 4 is how easy it makes it to run Flex Unit tests. By right clicking on an Actionscript/MXML file, you can choose to "Execute FlexUnit Tests...", which I really like. The downside to this is that Flash Builder 4 currently prefers an older version of Flex Unit, and encourages you to manually extend a class and follow test naming conventions etc. The upside to running Flex Unit tests inside of Flash Builder 4 is that it will actually show your test results within Eclipse.
This alone is a feature that's been missing for an extremely long time. Being able to run unit tests within your IDE is a huge productivity boost. Having to manually launch a SWF that displays its test results within itself is at least a few extra steps that bog down one's workflow. Unfortunately, since I'm using Flex Unit 4 rather than the Flex Unit that ships with Flash Builder 4, I have to launch my tests and compile them separately, but at least we're now moving in the right direction. Once you understand the flow of working with a LocalConnection, passing data from Flash to, let's say, Java, really isn't that hard. All you need is to master the AMF encoding, and the LocalConnection protocol, both of which have been done. Then, you connect both ends together, pass some nice data objects about test results back and forth, and when the tests are done, call flash.system.System.exit(0) to kill the Flash Player instance.
All of this could be done relatively easy through the use of an Ant task, making the tests completely automated. I prefer building my applications with Ant, since I can use Ant on any platform and at any time and get the same results. Making a project portable is what separates it from the pack. It's easy to throw together a sloppy project that will only compile in a very specific configuration and setup, but with the right planning, you can have a nice project which builds in Ant, anywhere.
Anyway, I digress. Flex Unit 4 is definitely worth checking out. Go out there and start messing with it!Technorati Tags: as3, flex, flash, unit testing, testing, ant
The thing I am really excited about is the new metadata-driven model. It's almost as convenient to use as JUnit (but it still has a few things to improve upon). Finally, we're able to have annotated test cases and test suites and thus are not forced to extend a class or implement an interface. All test-related configuration is done at runtime by the framework and via introspection. A great article that got me started can be found here on InsideRIA.
The framework seems incredibly intelligent. You can even specify if you expect a method to throw an error with a simple metadata parameter. If the test method does not throw that error, it is considered a failed test. I haven't found anything about the actual framework that I don't like. It is a huge improvement over previous versions of Flex Unit and a good step toward standardizing unit testing across platforms.
One cool thing that I found inside of Flash Builder 4 is how easy it makes it to run Flex Unit tests. By right clicking on an Actionscript/MXML file, you can choose to "Execute FlexUnit Tests...", which I really like. The downside to this is that Flash Builder 4 currently prefers an older version of Flex Unit, and encourages you to manually extend a class and follow test naming conventions etc. The upside to running Flex Unit tests inside of Flash Builder 4 is that it will actually show your test results within Eclipse.
This alone is a feature that's been missing for an extremely long time. Being able to run unit tests within your IDE is a huge productivity boost. Having to manually launch a SWF that displays its test results within itself is at least a few extra steps that bog down one's workflow. Unfortunately, since I'm using Flex Unit 4 rather than the Flex Unit that ships with Flash Builder 4, I have to launch my tests and compile them separately, but at least we're now moving in the right direction. Once you understand the flow of working with a LocalConnection, passing data from Flash to, let's say, Java, really isn't that hard. All you need is to master the AMF encoding, and the LocalConnection protocol, both of which have been done. Then, you connect both ends together, pass some nice data objects about test results back and forth, and when the tests are done, call flash.system.System.exit(0) to kill the Flash Player instance.
All of this could be done relatively easy through the use of an Ant task, making the tests completely automated. I prefer building my applications with Ant, since I can use Ant on any platform and at any time and get the same results. Making a project portable is what separates it from the pack. It's easy to throw together a sloppy project that will only compile in a very specific configuration and setup, but with the right planning, you can have a nice project which builds in Ant, anywhere.
Anyway, I digress. Flex Unit 4 is definitely worth checking out. Go out there and start messing with it!Technorati Tags: as3, flex, flash, unit testing, testing, ant
posted by TK at
7:57 PM
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