PK Software (OLD Blog) - see http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/

Reminder... My blog has moved to http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/

Paul Kohler — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:15:55 GMT

Just a reminder, I am still getting a lot of hits on this one....

Blog moved to: http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/

:-)

Blog has moved - but not far!

Paul Kohler — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:10:58 GMT

My blog has moved... to http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/ and the RSS feed is now http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/syndication.axd

Slight upgrade to Mini SQL Query

Paul Kohler — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:30:11 GMT

Last week I slipped an update in to Mini SQL Query - version 0.9.37.
Just minor fixes, updates, a quick start help page and I added a "Templates" tool window plugin...

Beta Release of Mini SQL Query

Paul Kohler — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 02:43:45 GMT

Mini SQL Query is one of those tools that I have had in my self coded toolbox for a long time now. Last year I almost released it to the public but a few things happened and the release sadly didn't. My apologies to those that were waiting, I had plenty of emails in the months to follow asking where the editor was!

Well, I finally uploaded the beta - see http://www.pksoftware.net/MiniSqlQuery/

Mini SQL Query hitting an MSSQL database.

Make sure you register so that when fixes or major releases are made you know – there is also the Mini SQL Query product RSS feed). Keep in mind its in no way intended as a replacement for Microsoft's "SQL Server Management Studio". I use it for making quick queries or updates to my databases. I find it particularly good for managing a remotely hosted database. I don't use it for modeling databases etc but I do plan on making a bunch of plugins to help with quickly putting together a NetTiers focused database model.

Mini SQL Query hitting an MS Access database with a table window floating.

The application itself it an exercise in minimalist coding. I made use of open source libraries such as the ICSharpTextEditor giving lots of edit functionality with little effort. I used Weifen Luo’s docking library which has been great (I need to track down the correct links etc will post later). The design employs a service model with commands which keeps code nicely separated and easily extendable (see the API docs on making plugins if you have the geekish urge to!) The testing is done with a combination of stubs and mocks (I use Rhino Mocks, just love the style...)

The whole application was actually coded with Microsoft Visual C# Express Edition. I wanted to see what a hobby developer IDE could come up with.

Some notes...

Multiple Connection Types

One of the main features is the fact that you can connect to pretty much any database so long as you know the Provider type and connection string. I have only had MSSQL and Access databases to test against so far but I might try and ressurect my Oracle instance just to check out the schema details.

Probaby the main usability thing to keep in mind is that if you change the provider type and/or the connection string you should hit the 'Refresh Database Connection' button/menu item. The 'Database Inspector' gets reloaded at this point too.

Database Inspector

The inspector window shows basic details that are taken from the DBConnection.GetSchema output. I have noticed that some of the types for the access databases are not actually defined and so come though as a number with a question mark (e.g. 130? with is actually a variable string) .

Settings Persistance

There is none! I have not worried about it to date but that will turn up in time.

Let me know what you think, PK :-)

An MVC Project Template for Visual Web Developer 2008 Express

Paul Kohler — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 03:09:14 GMT

I was working with the new MS MVC framework but with express, I used Lazycoders post as a helper to what lead to this template. I have put together a simple C# project template for Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition. Just dump it into your

"(my docs)\Visual Studio 2008\Templates\ProjectTemplates\Visual Web Developer"

folder and choose “new website” etc (may need to restart the IDE to pick up the files).

It puts together the basic structure using the "App_Code" restriction in the express edition of the IDE (well, and some others...)

There is also a simple “view page” item template, drop this into

"(my docs)\Visual Studio 2008\Templates\ItemTemplates\Visual Web Developer"

I did not worry about the controller (simgle page + simple change etc)...

Merry Christmas! PK :-)

Files:

WebDevMvcAspNetSite.zip (8.73 KB) (C# project template)
MvcViewPage.zip (2.27 KB) (C# item template)

Tip - Use failing Unit Tests to mark your TODO Items

Paul Kohler — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 09:40:05 GMT

It's common practice for developers to make small "TODO" notes in code as they work for themselves or others to clarify at some time...

// TODO: confirm this business requirement...
// TODO: make this better!
// TODO: bread, butter, eggs and milk...

Issues can arise when the TODO's are not taken care of for whatever reason or get lost in the mayhem of meeting deadlines. A worst case scenario could arise when there is a production defect for an obscure situation and the maintenance programmer finds something like this:

// TODO: Not sure if there are any more response codes for this one, check before release.

Opps! Now that's expensive.
Now I am not saying this is good or bad (!) practice - but what I have started to do within my team is create either a failing or ignored unit test (depending on the importance) marking what would normally be an innocent "TODO" item. The unit test stays in the build as either a fail or ignore and does not drop off the radar.

[Test]
public void Need_to_confirm_foo()
{
Assert.Fail();
}

Or...

[Test]
[Ignore("Confirmation required from the business")]
public void A_foo_only_has_a_bla()
{
}

It's much harder to miss a bunch of ignored or failing unit tests before that production release than some well hidden TODO comments!

Microsoft to Release the Source Code for the .NET Framework Libraries

Paul Kohler — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:22:05 GMT

Scott Guthrie talks about Microsoft releasing the .Net framework source code later this year.
A very good move by Microsoft I think :-)

http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/10/03/releasing-the-source-code-for-the-net-framework-libraries.aspx

Behaviour Driven Unit Test Design Tool Updated

Paul Kohler — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 10:49:31 GMT

Make that version 1.0.0.3!

I did not quite get this feature into the previous version and just posted the updates in case I got busy.

The big (and very useful) change for build 3 is that you can "paste" unit test code into the tool and the phrases will be extracted - if they use underscores and the code is C# (sorry, minor bug, I'll fix that shortly!) In practice I have found the underscore styke far more readable.

For example, if you have the following unit test code, copy it to the clipboard...

namespace Tests
{
    [TestFixture]
    public class PersonEntityTests
    {
        [SetUp]
        public void TestSetUp()
        {
            // ...
        }

        [Test]
        public void A_method_will_be_extracted_from_the_clipboard()
        {
            // asserts etc
        }
    }
}

...and use the new "Paste beaviours from clipboard" menu option (or ALT+F5) and you get the method name extracted.

The full round trip. Whe you want to continue working on a unit test class you can use this feature to get the current context of the testing... have fun! PK :-)

http://www.pksoftware.net/BehaviourToUnitTest/

Quick note - now at v1.0.0.2 - the main changes are:

The use of the ICSharp.TextEditor for better editing
The defaults are C# with the underscore style
A few more word substitutions by default

Enjoy!

New Tool - Behaviour to Unit Test

Paul Kohler — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 09:43:04 GMT

I have uploaded a small development tool that I put together recently, its called "Behaviour to Unit Test". Basically it converts code functionality from plain sentences (or stories) into unit test stub code. You could also think of it as a cure for TDD writers block!

For an example of the usage, use the Generation -> Fill out example menu option and hit Convert. Basically it takes a set of plain language behaviours for an object such as "person":

Check that the default values of all string properties are empty
The ToString method renders the first and last names
If the date of birth is null, calculate age will return -1
If the date of birth is not null, calculate age will return a value

...and converts them into something like:

using System;
using NUnit.Framework;
using NUnit.Framework.SyntaxHelpers;

namespace Tests
{
    [TestFixture]
    public class PersonEntityTests
    {
        private PersonEntity person;

        [SetUp]
        public void TestSetUp()
        {
            person = new PersonEntity();
        }

        [Test]
        [Ignore("Currently only a unit test stub")]
        public void CheckThatTheDefaultValuesOfAllStringPropertiesAreEmpty()
        {
        }

        [Test]
        [Ignore("Currently only a unit test stub")]
        public void TheToStringMethodRendersTheFirstAndLastNames()
        {
        }

        [Test]
        [Ignore("Currently only a unit test stub")]
        public void IfTheDateOfBirthIsNullCalculateAgeWillReturnMinus1()
        {
        }

        [Test]
        [Ignore("Currently only a unit test stub")]
        public void IfTheDateOfBirthIsNotNullCalculateAgeWillReturnAValue()
        {
        }
    }
}

There are C# and VB.NET templates for now. Check it out:

http://www.pksoftware.net/BehaviourToUnitTest/

My intention is to keep the tool small and simple. The main thing I want to add at the moment is some load/save functionality and drop in the ICSharp.TextEditor for more friendly editing...

A quick plug for Castle

Paul Kohler — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:21:35 GMT

This is just a quick heads up to say that I think the Castle Project rocks!

I have been using it allot of late especially Active Record. I'll blog more detail later but it's what I have been looking for all these years! Many time I have implemented simple subsets of the functionality that Castle provides to help get the job done. Castle wraps up all those funky framework fragments and more with a great "action pack" flavour to it in the form of Mono Rail (i.e. 'ruby on rails' for .Net)

Very cool ;-)

An NUnitForms Note for the Form Shown Event

Paul Kohler — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 09:30:07 GMT

Just a quick note that could drive you completely mad if you were not aware...

If you are using NUnitForms for testing your GUI and have code in the forms "Shown" event, it will not run unless you follow the Form.Show call with Application.DoEvents(), see sample code below

This example is just a Label (label1) dumped on a Form with the Load and Shown events updating the label with the respective event text:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;

namespace NUnitFormsDemo1
{
    public partial class ShownTestForm : Form
    {
        public ShownTestForm()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void ShownTestForm_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            label1.Text = "Load";
        }

        private void ShownTestForm_Shown(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            label1.Text = "Shown";
        }
    }
}

Here is some sample NUnitForms test code, the first test asserts that after the Form.Show call the label text is "Load" and the second test shows that the label text is "Shown".

using System;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using NUnit.Framework;
using NUnit.Extensions.Forms;

namespace NUnitFormsDemo1.UnitTests
{
    [TestFixture]
    public class TestFormShownIssue : NUnitFormTest
    {
        [Test]
        public void TestFormShow()
        {
            ShownTestForm frm = new ShownTestForm();
            LabelTester label1Tester = new LabelTester("label1");
            frm.Show();
            Assert.AreEqual("Load", label1Tester.Text);
        }

        [Test]
        public void TestFormShowWithDoEvents()
        {
            ShownTestForm frm = new ShownTestForm();
            LabelTester label1Tester = new LabelTester("label1");
            frm.Show();
            Application.DoEvents(); // allows the 'Shown' event to fire
            Assert.AreEqual("Shown", label1Tester.Text);
        }
    }
}

I will take an educated guess that this is due to the GUI message pump etc.

In general if I come across this any of this type of unexpected behavior with NUnitForms I will try a DoEvents before tearing my hair out.

Free Useful PNG Images for Windows and Web Applications - famfamfam.com

Paul Kohler — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:05:56 GMT

I have had some questions regarding the icons (or rather images) that I use in my applications (such as the 'pending' Mini SQL Query tool)...

They are by Mark James - he has a bunch of great free stuff available at:
http://famfamfam.com/ - more so the "Silk" set at http://famfamfam.com/lab/icons/silk/

The images are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.

Run a Windows Forms application as the Windows User - Integrated Security

Paul Kohler — Thu, 17 May 2007 13:32:42 GMT

This is the line of code that I keep forgetting...

AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy(PrincipalPolicy.WindowsPrincipal);

Use it in (for example) the Program.Main function when the application starts up and the threads currrent principal is now the windows user. So...

Thread.CurrentPrincipal.Identity.IsAuthenticated

Will now be true and you can make use of the Identity.Name property etc.

Self reminder over...

More Notes...

If for example you need to perform unit tests as a windows user (to access the username or hit a resource) you can make use of the AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy method in the test fixture setup/teardown methods - see example below. I put the UnauthenticatedPrincipal setting in the teardown so that subsequent tests do not have their principal modified by accident...

using System;
using System.Security.Principal;
using System.Threading;
using NUnit.Framework;

namespace Tests.SetPrincipalPolicyExample
{
    [TestFixture]
    public class TestSomethingUsingCurrentWindowsPrincipal
    {
        /// <summary>Called once before all tests are run.</summary>
        [TestFixtureSetUp()]
        public void TestFixtureSetUp()
        {
            AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy(PrincipalPolicy.WindowsPrincipal);
        }

        /// <summary>Called once after all tests have run.</summary>
        [TestFixtureTearDown()]
        public void TestFixtureTearDown()
        {
            AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy(PrincipalPolicy.UnauthenticatedPrincipal);
        }

        [Test]
        public void VerifySomething()
        {
            string expectedUsername = Thread.CurrentPrincipal.Identity.Name;
            // more testing stuff
        }
    }
}

Pending Release of Mini SQL Query

Paul Kohler — Mon, 14 May 2007 02:38:15 GMT

NOTE - Mini SQL Query has been released now - see http://www.pksoftware.net/blog/2008/02/01/Beta+Release+Of+Mini+SQL+Query.aspx.

This is not a product release, but a notice of release (!) for my latest pet project, "Mini SQL Query".

What is Mini SQL Query?...

"Mini SQL Query from PK Software is a minimalist SQL query tool for multiple providers (MSSQL, Oracle, OLEDB, MS Access files etc). The goal of the Mini SQL Query tool is to allow a developer or trouble-shooter to quickly diagnose issues or make changes to a database using a tool with a small footprint, that is fast, expandable and easy to use."

Some Features:

Multiple database type connections (e.g. MSSQL, Oracle, Access etc)
Syntax Highlighting
Object Inspector (Browse the tables, columns etc for the connection)
Easy to utilize Plug-In system that has access to all the applications internals

Sample Screenshot - The Mini SQL Query tool in use against the Northwind Sample DB:

I call it "mini" because I wanted to keep it simple and fast. I uses a straight forward but powerful plugin architecture that makes adding menu or toolbar options as simple as adding a reference in a DLL project and implementing a few functions from the IPlugIn interface. I will be pushing out a few posts about the service and command style of coding soon due to its implicit focus on issues such as dependency injection (DIP) and (dare I say it) service-oriented architecture (and no I am not talking about web services!) These techniques in turn improve code quality, testing and in turn maintenance (and again in turn our sanity as programmers...)

I will publish a core product and then make other plugins available for download.

Plugin Example 1...

Here is a simple example - display connection...

Below is the example C# plugin code that displays the current connection string in the editor window.

namespace MiniSqlQuery.Plugin.Example
{
    /// <summary>
    /// This example command inserts the current connection string details into the editor text.
    /// </summary>
    public class DisplayConnectionCommand : CommandBase
    {
        public DisplayConnectionCommand(IServiceContainer services)
            : base(services, "Display Connection Example")
        {
        }
        public override void Execute()
        {
            IEditor editorService = this.ServiceManager.CurrentEditor;
            editorService.Query = string.Format(
                "-- Connection: {0}\r\n\r\n{1}",
                this.ServiceManager.DatabaseConfigurationManager.ConnectionString,
                editorService.Query);
        }
    }
}

Running the menu command:

Simple I know but I wanted to show the command execution approach using services.

Plugin Example 2...

OK - not that exciting! Here is another example where a business object is generated from the result set...

Public Class MakeBusinessObjectFromResultsCommand
    Inherits CommandBase

    Sub New(ByVal services As IServiceContainer)
        MyBase.New(services, "Make BO from Results")
    End Sub

    Public Overrides Sub Execute()
        Dim editor As IEditor = Me.ServiceManager.CurrentEditor

        If Not editor.Result Is Nothing AndAlso _
         editor.Result.Tables.Count > 0 Then
            ' create some simple code gen using the results
            editor.Messages = GenerateClass(editor.Result.Tables(0))
        Else
            editor.Messages = "No results to generate code from."
        End If

    End Sub

    ''' <summary>
    ''' Given a DataTable (<paramref name="dt"/>), a basic VB.NET class is generated.
    ''' </summary>
    ''' <param name="dt">A DataTabel to generate a class from.</param>
    ''' <returns></returns>
    ''' <remarks></remarks>
    Private Function GenerateClass(ByVal dt As DataTable) As String
        Dim code As New Text.StringBuilder()
        Dim fieldName As String
        Dim typeName As String

        code.AppendFormat("Public Class {0}{1}", dt.TableName, vbCrLf)
        code.AppendLine()
        code.AppendFormat(" Public Sub New{0}", vbCrLf)
        code.AppendFormat(" End Sub{0}", vbCrLf)
        code.AppendLine()
        For Each column As DataColumn In dt.Columns
            fieldName = "_" + column.ColumnName
            typeName = column.DataType.FullName
            code.AppendFormat(" Private {0} As {1}{2}", fieldName, column.DataType.FullName, vbCrLf)
            code.AppendLine()
            code.AppendFormat(" Public Property {0}() As {1}{2}", column.ColumnName, typeName, vbCrLf)
            code.AppendFormat(" Get{0}", vbCrLf)
            code.AppendFormat(" Return {0}{1}", fieldName, vbCrLf)
            code.AppendFormat(" End Get{0}", vbCrLf)
            code.AppendFormat(" Set(ByVal value As {0}){1}", typeName, vbCrLf)
            code.AppendFormat(" {0} = value{1}", fieldName, vbCrLf)
            code.AppendFormat(" End Set{0}", vbCrLf)
            code.AppendFormat(" End Property{0}", vbCrLf)
            code.AppendLine()
        Next

        code.AppendFormat("End Class")

        Return code.ToString()
    End Function

End Class

Running this command against the "select * from customers" query produces the following:

Public Class Table

    Public Sub New()
    End Sub

    Private _CustomerID As System.String

    Public Property CustomerID() As System.String
        Get
            Return _CustomerID
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _CustomerID = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _CompanyName As System.String

    Public Property CompanyName() As System.String
        Get
            Return _CompanyName
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _CompanyName = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _ContactName As System.String

    Public Property ContactName() As System.String
        Get
            Return _ContactName
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _ContactName = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _ContactTitle As System.String

    Public Property ContactTitle() As System.String
        Get
            Return _ContactTitle
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _ContactTitle = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _Address As System.String

    Public Property Address() As System.String
        Get
            Return _Address
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _Address = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _City As System.String

    Public Property City() As System.String
        Get
            Return _City
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _City = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _Region As System.String

    Public Property Region() As System.String
        Get
            Return _Region
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _Region = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _PostalCode As System.String

    Public Property PostalCode() As System.String
        Get
            Return _PostalCode
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _PostalCode = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _Country As System.String

    Public Property Country() As System.String
        Get
            Return _Country
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _Country = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _Phone As System.String

    Public Property Phone() As System.String
        Get
            Return _Phone
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _Phone = value
        End Set
    End Property

    Private _Fax As System.String

    Public Property Fax() As System.String
        Get
            Return _Fax
        End Get
        Set(ByVal value As System.String)
            _Fax = value
        End Set
    End Property

End Class

Motivation

My main motivation was the lack of speed I experience (no matter how fast my dev box) in using the "default" tools for SQL development. No way of customizing things easily further frustrated me. With a tool such as Mini SQL Query I can quickly add extras as I need them. For example, one plugin I plan of adding is focused on Access databases, I want to be able to write a query in an editor and push the .Net code to execute that query straight into my development project.

I will but publishing a first cut within the next couple of weeks and from there get some feedback etc.

The first ever Olympiad of Misguided Geeks Contest

Paul Kohler — Fri, 04 May 2007 02:12:41 GMT

I don’t normally just post a link but this one caught my eye... From http://omg.worsethanfailure.com/

A blurb from the site:

The first ever Olympiad of Misguided Geeks contest at Worse Than Failure (or OMGWTF for short) is a new kind of programming contest. Readers are invited to be creative with devising a calculator with the craziest code they can write. One lucky and potentially insane winner will get either a brand new MacBook Pro or comparable Sony VAIO laptop.

Sounds really tempting!

Working with unsupported controls in NUnitForms

Paul Kohler — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:32:20 GMT

My blog has moved to:
http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/

This post now at:
http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/post/2007/03/Working-With-Unsupported-Controls-In-NUnitForms.aspx

Another sequel to the entry on "Getting Started with NUnitForms"
http://www.pksoftware.net/blog/2007/02/06/Getting+Started+With+NUnitForms.aspx
This post is focused on compiling the latest NUnitForms code from sourceforge.

I have seen/heard/had a few questions about testing windows forms controls that are not currently supported by NUnitForms (specifically ".Net 2.0 NUnitForms alpha 5 release" - http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=95656).

There are 2 answers...

Cut your own (see the "How to add Control Testers" section at http://nunitforms.sourceforge.net/docs.html), or
Get the latest source out of the subversion repository and use the generic tester class...

The subversion connection details are here: http://sourceforge.net/svn/?group_id=95656

You will need TortoiseSVN (http://tortoisesvn.net/) or similar to get the files.

Note that all related files for the build are also downloaded (nant, nunit, ncover and ndoc etc) so there won’t be any messing around trying to find the correct library dependencies (ahhh!) Of course, because of this the download is about 8.5mb...

Now... from here on in things could get a little messy. You could have problems with key containters, there may be a duplicate "ButtonTestser.cs" file... The list was getting a little long - the short answer to the "problems" were to compile the NUnitForms project after modifying the signing method of the 2 projects "NUnitForms" and "NUnitForms.ScreenCapture". You will also need to delete the AssemblyKeyName code references in the relevent AssemblyInfo.cs files.

Keep in mind that when you get the latest out of a code repository this sort of thing is not unexpected or "bad". Its a work in progress...

Now the latest build of the NUnitForms DLL will give you access to the generic control tester class. When you need to test a control that does not have its own tester class (e.g. ButtonTester) you can use the generic declaration and create your own tester class, e.g. for a picture box:

public class PictureBoxTester : ControlTester<PictureBox, PictureBoxTester>
{
// Now implement each overloaded constructor calling the base class
public PictureBoxTester() {}
public PictureBoxTester(string name, Form form) : base(name, form) {}
public PictureBoxTester(string name, string formName) : base(name, formName) {}
public PictureBoxTester(string name) : base(name) {}
public PictureBoxTester(ControlTester tester, int index) : base(tester, index) {}
}

Now in the tests you can create tester objects and access all the properties and perform clicks etc:

[Test]
public void ExamplePropertyCheckAndDoubleClickTest()
{
PictureBoxTester picTester = new PictureBoxTester("pictureBox1");
Assert.AreEqual(@"C:\dir\somePic.bmp", picTester.Properties.ImageLocation);
picTester.DoubleClick();
}

Easy as pie right?! Well sort of. But much easier than writing your own windows forms GUI testing framework!!

PK ;-)

Getting Started with NUnitForms - GUI Testing with Message Boxes

Paul Kohler — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 12:19:41 GMT

My blog has moved to:
http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/

This post now at:
http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/post/2007/02/Getting-Started-With-NUnitForms-GUI-Testing-With-Message-Boxes.aspx

A sequel to the entry on "Getting Started with NUnitForms"
http://www.pksoftware.net/blog/2007/02/06/Getting+Started+With+NUnitForms.aspx
This post is focused on handling the testing of message boxes in an application.

Another common test requirement that you will probably come across in the GUI world is the use of message boxes. To handle a message box with NUnitForms (i.e. simulate a user click or similar), use a "message box handler" method. Firstly set up the test to "expect" a message box and then supply the name of the method to handle the reaction:

[Test]
public void MessageBoxTest()
{
base.ExpectModal("Info", "MessageBoxTestHandler");
ButtonTester runButton = new ButtonTester("RunButton");
runButton.Click();
}

This tells the test sub-system that a message box is expected and the title should be "Info". Also supplied is the name of a handling method - in this case "MessageBoxTestHandler". This method should create a "MessageBoxTester" and (most likely) click the OK button:

public void MessageBoxTestHandler()
{
MessageBoxTester messageBox = new MessageBoxTester("No Item Selected");
messageBox.ClickOk();
}

Other useful methods of the MessageBoxTester class are "ClickCancel" and "SendCommand(cmd)" where "cmd" is an enum value of type MessageBoxTester.Command:

OK
Cancel
Abort
Retry
Ignore
Yes
No
Close
Help

For example:

public void MessageBoxTestHandler()
{
MessageBoxTester messageBox = new MessageBoxTester("Cancel, are you sure?");
messageBox.SendCommand(Command.Yes);
}

A practical application of this could be tests where for example if search criteria is not supplied a "no criteria" message box is displayed. Boundary checks in methods are common places for bugs to occur so make sure you perform the same boundary check on the GUI layer!

Getting Started with NUnitForms

Paul Kohler — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:30:47 GMT

My blog has moved to:
http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/

This post now at:
http://www.pksoftware.net/devblog/post/2007/02/Getting-Started-With-NUnitForms.aspx

An introduction to NUnitForms with a basic example of automated Microsoft .Net Windows Forms Testing using NUnit. >

NUnitForms is a lesser known extension to the well known NUnit testing framework. See http://nunitforms.sourceforge.net/ for details and downloads. It is currently in the process of being upgraded from .Net Framework V1.1 to V2.0 and is only being distributed as an MSI with no source code (except via CVS as Adam pointed out below).

I have found it quite useful but the documentation was lacking and the learning curve a bit painful, hence this post! I will assume that you have NUnit and NUnitForms installed for the following code samples to run.

How can NUnitForms be used?

NUnitForms gives a developer the ability to approach forms development from a test first perspective, or to simply provide a reliable set of automated regression tests for a user interface. (For the record, I am not getting into concepts such as model-view-controller/presenter, interface coding or the like - all I am demonstrating is how to use NUnitForms for testing.)

NUnitForms replaces (or supplements) the traditional “GUI test harness” method commonly used for GUI development. Sometime the use of even a test harness is bypassed (because of time restrictions of course!) The problem with manual test harnesses are that the typically become a mess that only the original developer can even make sense of and, all the testing is done manually. NunitForms alleviates these issues by making things automated in the first place. I am not against the use of a manual GUI test harness - they still have their benefits - but compared to automated testing they lose out big time. A useful GUI test harness example that would be hard to test in an automated fashion is control resize behaviour and positioning.

How does it work?

Basically there is a lot of reflection and forms/controls parsing to locate controls and invoke the methods that are normally performed by the user, such as pushing a button. For example, a test uses NUnitForms code that fires the “OnClick” event for a button. You put together a series of these events simulating a user and you have an automated script. That’s putting it really simply!

A Simple Example

Get a new instance of VS.Net going. I created a basic form as below:

The textbox and button are named “NameTextbox” and “RunButon” respectively (more on that later).

Add a new project for the unit testing - add references to:

The windows application we are testing

NUnit

NUnitForms

System.Windows.Forms >

See sample solution setup below:

Now define a test fixture as normal (with the addition of the NUnit.Extensions.Forms using directive) but there are 2 main differences:

the fixture needs to inherit from “NUnitFormTest” and to get the test to work at all.

we need to override the “Setup” method. In this setup method we create an instance of the form and show it. >

Make sure you show it or you will go crazy trying to debug the problem (yes I forgot!) The setup method is called before each test so we start with a clean slate.

Now for a test. This is a dumb test, but remember we are looking at the concept!

When I push the “Run” button, I want whatever test is in the textbox to become the form title, sample test:

We need a TextBoxTester and a ButtonTester. This will give us access to the button and textbox on the form. Assign a value to the textbox and invoke a “click” on the button. Now for the test, we have a reference to the test form at the fixture level so we can get the form title from there.

using System;
using NUnit.Framework;
using NUnit.Extensions.Forms;

namespace NUnitFormsDemo1.UnitTests
{
    [TestFixture]
    public class SimpleFormTests : NUnitFormTest
    {
        SimpleForm _simpleForm;

        public override void Setup()
        {
            _simpleForm = new SimpleForm();
            _simpleForm.Show();
        }

        [Test]
        public void FillTextboxWithData()
        {
            TextBoxTester nameTextbox = new TextBoxTester("NameTextbox");
            ButtonTester runButton = new ButtonTester("RunButton");
            string expected = "From automated test.";

            Assert.AreEqual("Simple Form", _simpleForm.Text, "Initial value incorrect.");
            nameTextbox["Text"] = expected;
            runButton.Click();
            Assert.AreEqual(expected, _simpleForm.Text, "Title should be that textbox value.");
        }
    }
}

The test failed.

TestCase 'NUnitFormsDemo1.UnitTests.SimpleFormTests.FillTextboxWithData'
failed: Title should be that textbox value.
String lengths differ. Expected length=20, but was length=11.
Strings differ at index 0.
expected: <"From automated test.">
but was: <"Simple Form">

Now implement the code to pass the test. Here is the rocket science code back in the form:

private void RunButton_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
this.Text = NameTextbox.Text;
}

Hey - I can do that without NUnitForms!

That particular test yes - with some changes to the sample form itself. The controls would need to be exposed either via a property or similar and the button click can be simulated with the “PerformClick” method. However that calls for exposing controls via properties etc which means alot more coding and to be honest we are just scratching the surface of what NUnitForms can do. The use of NUnitForms allows us to avoid that sort of "coding simply to support testing".

I hope that can get you started, more to come... PK :-)

Demo Source: NUnitFormsDemo1.zip (12.83 KB)

More Forms Testing:

Search Engine Positioner

Paul Kohler — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 13:13:41 GMT

Mads Kristensen has put together a really simple "Search Engine Positioner" application. Give it a domain name scope (e.g. "pksoftware.net" ;-) ) and 1 or more search terms and you can easily see where you are listed (not ranked).

http://madskristensen.dk/blog/Trackback.aspx?guid=aa8e2134-9268-48cf-abaf-3e8414375bef

PAD file distribution

Paul Kohler — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 00:41:51 GMT

The cool thing about getting a PAD file together is that once uploaded to a few site, other download sites get the new PAD files and list them on their search site. Another one I came accross is http://paddb.com/ListerDetails.aspx?id=16580 - from here you can actually see how many downlaod sites have accessed your PAD file.

(See previous post http://www.pksoftware.net/blog/2007/01/28/PAD+Files.aspx)

I have listed the Verse Popper here http://paddb.com/ListerDetails.aspx?id=16580 - it will be interresting to see the count increase...

PAD Files..?

Paul Kohler — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 10:22:33 GMT

I have not messed around with this too much but I have registered my PAD (Portable Application Description) file for the Verse Popper with www.asp-shareware.org... Looks like I have a bit more work to do but setting up a PAD file is easy and makes submitting your software to a "download site" very quick.

The actual Verse Popper PAD file is here:

http://www.pksoftware.net/VersePopper/pad_file.xml

The ASP Shareware rendering looks like this:

http://www.asp-shareware.org/pad/showinfo.asp?xmlfile=http://www.pksoftware.net/versepopper/PAD_FILE.xml

Bit ugly I thought!! I need to work out if there is any benifit to the end user seeing this or if its just so generic it puts them off...

Great Post on Orthogonal Code

Paul Kohler — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:26:48 GMT

Jeremy Miller has put together a great post on Orthogonal Code - I must admit, I used to code like that! Lucky we can learn and move on... well worth the read.

http://codebetter.com/blogs/jeremy.miller/archive/2007/01/08/Orthogonal-Code.aspx

Simple Rollback for Database Unit Testing

Paul Kohler — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 12:50:19 GMT

At some point in the unit testing game you will need to tackle the unpleasant task of actually coding and running unit tests on the data access code. This in itself can open a bit of a can of worms - the bigger the database, the more worms you need to deal with. If you want a quick solution to being able to run a bunch of data access tests that insert, update and delete data in tables - try putting a TransactionScope object at the test fixture level. If the scope is not committed the changes are not stored, perfect scenario for a group of unit tests.

Marcus Rosen prompted the idea and I have been using this technique against a local copy of an MSSQL database and have had no issues to date. It has simplified the development process in that data does not keep disappearing due to my unit tests clearing tables and inserting test items.

I have seen "Rollback" attributes around (such as http://weblogs.asp.net/rosherove/archive/2004/10/05/238201.aspx) but the above solution is a one liner and requires no new libraries, and integration etc.

I like a simple solution ;-)

MSDN TransacrionScope Help:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.transactions.transactionscope.aspx

An Agile Book

Paul Kohler — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:23:29 GMT

I came across this a while ago and forgot to post… James Shore is putting together what basically looks like a “how to get agile” guide. The book chapters are posted fairly frequently for review. Looks like a good read.

http://www.jamesshore.com/Agile-Book/

UI Testing and NUnitForms

Paul Kohler — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:32:32 GMT

Updated - See http://www.pksoftware.net/blog/2007/02/06/Getting+Started+With+NUnitForms.aspx

I have not had a huge look at this yet but a not so known spin off from NUnit:

http://nunitforms.sourceforge.net/

Unit testing geared towards .Net WinForms applications...

How Do I Use TestDriven.NET to Enhance TDD

Paul Kohler — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 12:45:24 GMT

With test driven, I take the "standard" TDD approach (something like):

write test (based on a use case etc)
build the app (will fail because code is not there etc)
implement code the code required to get the build compiling
run test (test will fail becasue the code stub does nothing useful)
implement code - run test and repeat until passed
refactor as required - run tests

Then apply then to Visual Studio 2005... The results of following this procedure need to be experienced to really understand the benefits if you are not farmiliar with TDD etc.

I also make use to a couple of manually created keyboard shortcuts, Ctl+ALT+T and Ctl+ALT+R which
execute TestDriven.NET's "Run Test(s)" and "Repeat Test Runs" context menu options respectively.

Here is my TDD with TestDriven.NET and VS.Net 2005's handy smart menus and refactoring capabilities:

Create the class stub if its the first test for the class
(I find the compiler telling me that I am missing a class kind of superfluous, I still follow this process sometimes about 50-50)
Write test (based on a use case etc)
Before I build the application, I normally know which methods are missing so instead of performing failing build I use the smart menu to generate the stub for me (use the shortcut keys Shift+ALT+F10, then enter)
Run the test with Ctl+ALT+T (TestDriven.NET will perform a build as required, the test will - or should - fail because the code stub does nothing useful)
Use the "Escape" key to get out of the "Output" window after a test run.
Implement enough code to pass the test - run test and repeat until passed using Ctl+ALT+R to execute the "Repeat Test Runs" option.
Again, use the "Escape" key to get out of the "Output" window after a test run.
Refactor as required - run tests (Ctl+ALT+R)

Following this procedure helps me keep the focus on the requirements in a very efficient manner with minimal flicking between windows, initiating builds etc.

Testing Non-Public Code from External NUnit Testing Assemblies

Paul Kohler — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 12:42:08 GMT

Using the InternalsVisibleTo attribute to get access to another classes internal methods for testing.

Testing With NCover/NCoverExplorer Screencast

Paul Kohler — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 10:11:13 GMT

Jamie has put together a nice screencast of some of TestDriven.NET's new features, check it out:

http://weblogs.asp.net/nunitaddin/archive/2006/11/11/Testing-With-NCover_2F00_NCoverExplorer.aspx

Article - Extending ICSharpCode.TextEditor to support additional Syntax Highlighting

Paul Kohler — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 01:14:28 GMT

This is an article on extending the excellent ICShardCode TextEditor to support addition syntax highlighting styles. Its quite straight forward.

Extending ICSharpCode.TextEditor to support additional Syntax Highlighting

Articles Area

Paul Kohler — Sat, 18 Nov 2006 01:12:06 GMT

On my site I have an area for articles: http://www.pksoftware.net/Articles.aspx.

Blogs are good for getting information out there but I find they get messy quickly and finding stuff becomes a pain.

Stay Out of the Debugger!

Paul Kohler — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 09:46:13 GMT

When I first started trying out TDD and (more so when I started using the TestDriven.Net), I still spend a good chunk of my test development time stepping through the code line by line, checking the state of variable etc. It took me a while to kick the habit, but when you get stuck into TDD you won't be spending anywhere near as much time stepping through your code trying to work out what’s going wrong as you probably used to.
Why? Because the unit tests you write in an incremental fashion, build slowly on the last and in turn your confidence in the code is greater – you no longer feel the need to step through the code. When I run a test that fails now I can usually spot the issue relatively quickly without having to "step in". Those small TDD steps really pay off.
Don't get me wrong, I still step into my code when I get a curly one, but it's more the odd occasion now than the natural response.
Stay out of that debugger - it will save you a lot of time :-)

What happened to TestDriven.NET 1.0?

Paul Kohler — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 09:39:55 GMT

Why would anyone have a problem paying a (small amount) for a great piece of productivity software? Jamie Cansdale has been copping flack about making TestDriven.Net a commercial product...

NCoverExplorer v1.3.5 is out...

Paul Kohler — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 09:45:53 GMT

NCover Explorer is one of my "Must Have Apps"...

Must Have Apps

Paul Kohler — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 10:28:50 GMT

These are some of my most used applications...

Nice article - Provider Model Design Pattern and Specification

Mon, 24 Apr 2006 00:37:39 GMT

A good article on the provider pattern:

Provider Model Design Pattern and Specification, Part 1 on MSDN

Code snippets for C#

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 00:45:37 GMT

http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/codesnippets/default.aspx

The "switch" code snippet...

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 23:09:33 GMT

a "mini" snippit that actually does something cool ;-)

Visual Studio 2005 WinForms Designer can't handle User Controls that derive from Generic classes work around

Paul Kohler — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 22:10:43 GMT

The designer could not be shown for this file because none of the classes within it can be designed. The designer inspected the following classes in the file: DerivedControl --- The base class 'GenericControlBase' could not be loaded. Ensure the assembly has been referenced and that all projects have been built. I can understand – but it’s still a bit annoying! I have some windows forms user controls that inherit from a class that implements generics. Problem is the designer can’t reflect those classes and in turn spits out the wonderful error above.

Shared Source Common Language Infrastructure 2.0 Release

Fri, 24 Mar 2006 09:51:22 GMT

Interesting code for the super geeks amounst us. SSCLI for version 2 of the .Net framework.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8C09FD61-3F26-4555-AE17-3121B4F51D4D&displaylang=en

Creating .Net Assemblies on the fly - Using CodeDom

Sun, 26 Feb 2006 01:21:02 GMT

A tutorial on using Microsoft .Net's CodeDom technology to generate assemblies on the fly.

Unit Testing Code Coverage With NCover

Paul Kohler — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 10:01:08 GMT

I stumbled accross NCover Explorer a while ago...

A very "Visual Studio Add-Ins Every Developer Should Download Now" article

Paul Kohler — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 03:21:00 GMT

They really are the some very essential tools for VS...

Coding Area

Paul Kohler — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 02:21:16 GMT

This is where I will post code development related articles.