Testing with PHPUnit and Selenium

NetBeans IDE for PHP supports PHPUnit automated tests. Thanks to PHPUnit, NetBeans IDE provides code coverage for PHP, similar to the code coverage the IDE provides for Python and Ruby. Test output appears in the same feature-rich output window that the IDE's JUnit, Ruby, and Python test runners use.

NetBeans IDE also supports the Selenium portable test framework, in combination with PHPUnit. A Selenium plug-in is available from the Update Center. Installing this plugin adds a Selenium server to the IDE's registered servers and adds Selenium test options to the PHP menus.

Contents

• Installing PHPUnit
• Creating and Running PHPUnit Tests
• Test Results and IDE Output
• Code Coverage
• Using Project-Specific Configurations
• Running Tests on the Selenium Framework

To follow this tutorial, you need the following software and resources.

Installing PHPUnit

Use PEAR to install PHPUnit as described in the PHPUnit documentation. Install PHPUnit version 3.3.0 or later. No special setup is needed. After PHPUnit is installed, NetBeans can recognize it. Note that you need to have PEAR installed with your PHP engine. Also note that PHPUnit documentation says PHPUnit is usually installed to the local PEAR directory. They give a path of /usr/lib/php/PHPUnit, but on XAMPP for Windows it is XAMPP_HOME\php\PEAR\PHPUnit.

To check that NetBeans IDE recognizes your PHPUnit installation, open Tools > Options (On Mac, open NetBeans Prefererences) and look at the PHP window. The path to your PHPUnit script should appear in the PHPUnit Script field. If the script is not there, browse for it.

Creating and Running PHPUnit Tests

1. Create a PHP project named Calculator. In this project, create a file named calculator.php. In this file, type or paste the Calculator class from the Skeleton Generator chapter of the PHPUnit documentation.

   <?php
   class Calculator
   {
       public function add($a, $b)
       {
           return $a + $b;
       }
   }
   ?>

2. Add a comment block with the @assert annotation and some sample input and output. Note that one incorrect assertion is included in this example.

   <?php
   class Calculator
   {
       /**
        * @assert (0, 0) == 0
        * @assert (0, 1) == 1
        * @assert (1, 0) == 1
        * @assert (1, 1) == 2
        * @assert (1, 2) == 4
        */
       public function add($a, $b)
       {
           return $a + $b;
       }
   }
   ?>

3. In the Projects window, right-click the Calculator.php node and select Tools > Create PHPUnit Tests. Note that you can create tests for all files in a project in the context menu for the Source Files node.
   
4. The first time you create tests, a dialog opens asking you for the directory in which you want to store test files. In this example, the Browse function was used to create a tests directory.
   
5. The IDE generates a skeleton test class in a file called CalculatorTest.php, which appears in your Projects window and opens in the editor.
   

   Note that a test is created for each @assert annotation.

       /**
        * Generated from @assert (1, 1) == 2.
        */
       public function testAdd4()
       {
           $this->assertEquals(
             2,
             $this->object->add(1, 1)
           );
       }

6. You can test either an individual file or the entire project. To test the project, right-click the project's parent node and select Test, or press Alt-F6. To test the Calculator.php file, right-clict the file's node and select Test, or press Ctrl-F6. This example has only one class in one file, so the results are the same. The IDE runs the tests and displays the results in the Test Results window.
   

   A more verbose textual version of the results is displayed in the Output window.

   

Test Results and IDE Output

The results of PHPUnit tests are displayed in two of the IDE's windows, Test Results and Output. The Test Results window has a graphic pane and a short text pane. The Output window gives a more verbose textual version of the output. In this section, you explore the Test Results and Output windows in detail.

In the Test Results window, you get information about failed tests from these locations:

• Messages in the UI pane attached to the tree entry for the failed test
• Text in the right-side pane, including links to the lines of test code that failed
• Tooltip text that appears when you hover the cursor over a failed test in the UI pane

The Test Results window includes the following buttons on the left side:

• Rerun the test
• Toggle between showing results for all tests or only for failed tests
• Navigate between showing the next test result or the previous test result

The Output window shows the full output of the PHPUnit script. It can be useful when you cannot identify the cause of an error with the information in the Test Results window. Like Test Results, the Output window includes links to the test class line that failed. It also includes buttons on the left side for rerunning the test and for opening the PHP Options window.

Code Coverage

Using Project-Specific Configurations

In the IDE, you can select the following custom configurations for your project:

• A bootstrap file
• An XML configuration file
• A test suite

To set a project-specific configuration, right-click the project's node or the project's Test Files node and select Properties. This opens the Properties dialog. Then select the PHPUnit category. A dialog opens in which you can select a custom bootstrap, XML configuration, or test suite file. If you are not familiar with the structure of these files, you can use NetBeans IDE to generate a skeleton for you.

The bootstrap option is required for projects that use a custom class loader, for example by implementing the __autoload() magic function. You also use the bootstrap option if you need to include a file in advance, such as a file that defines global constants used by multiple classes in your project.

The XML configuration file allows you to define options that you use in a command line call. There is a complete introduction in the PHPUnit manual. You can also use the XML configuration file to define php.ini settings and global vars for your test cases. You can set the bootstrap option in the XML configuration file too.

If you set a custom test suite, you run that suite whenever you select Run >Test Project. This is particularly useful when you wish to run only a subset of your tests, or if you want to use recently added features of PHPUnit that you have to add manually, such as Data Providers.

Note that you may of course define as many test suites as you want and run them separately by right-clicking the file in your project explorer and choosing "run".

To prevent confusion, NetBeans notifies you if you are using a custom Test Suite. The notification can be found in the Test Results and in the Output window.

Running Tests on the Selenium Framework

Selenium is a portable software testing framework for web applications. The tests can be written as HTML tables or coded in a number of popular programming languages and can be run directly in most modern web browsers. Selenium can be deployed on Windows, Linux, and Macintosh. For more details see the Selenium web site.

NetBeans IDE has a plugin that includes a Selenium server. With this plugin, you can run Selenium tests on PHP, Web Application, or Maven projects. To run Selenium tests on PHP, you need to install the Testing Selenium package to your PHP engine.

To run Selenium tests on PHP:

1. Open a command prompt and run the command pear install Testing_Selenium-beta. You need PHP_HOME/php/PEAR on your Path. If the command is successful, the prompt will display install ok: channel://pear.php.net/Testing_Selenium-0.4.3.
2. In the IDE, open Tools > Plugins and install the Selenium Module for PHP.
3. In the Projects window, right-click the project node for your Calculator project. Select New > Other. The New File wizard opens. Select Selenium and click Next.
   
4. The first time you create a Selenium test, a dialog opens asking you to set a directory for Selenium test files. This should be a separate directory from PHPUnit test files. Otherwise, the Selenium tests run every time you run unit tests. Running functional tests like Selenium usually takes more time than running unit tests, therefore you will probably not want to run these tests every time you run unit tests.
5. Accept the defaults in the Name and Location page and click Finish. The new Selenium test file opens in the editor and appears in the Projects window.
   
6. The Run Selenium Tests item is now added to the project's context menu. Click this item, and the Selenium test results display in the Test Results window, the same as PHPUnit tests.

More Exercises

• Add a second class to Calculator.php, such as a Calculator2 class that multiplies $a and $b. Delete and regenerate the tests.
• If you try the multi-part Creating a CRUD Application tutorial, create a Selenium test for the final project.

To send comments and suggestions, get support, and keep informed on the latest developments on the NetBeans IDE PHP development features, join the mailing list. This list is mirrored on the NetBeans IDE forums.

See Also

For more information about testing PHP in NetBeans IDE, see the following resources:

• NetBeans for PHP Blog: PHPUnit Support Added
• NetBeans for PHP Blog: UI for PHPUnit Support
• NetBeans for PHP Blog: Code Coverage for PHP -- Why Not?
• NetBeans for PHP Blog: Recent Improvements in PHPUnit Support
• NetBeans IDE Wiki: Selenium Plugin for PHP
• Debugging PHP Source Code in the NetBeans IDE
• JavaScript Debugger User's Guide

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