ecu-tests/docs/13_unit_testing_guide.md

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Unit Testing Guide

This guide explains how the project's unit tests are organized, how to run them (with and without markers), how coverage is generated, and tips for writing effective tests.

Why unit tests?

  • Fast feedback without hardware
  • Validate contracts (config loader, frames, adapters, flashing scaffold)
  • Keep behavior stable as the framework evolves

Test layout

  • tests/unit/ — pure unit tests (no hardware, no external I/O)
    • test_config_loader.py — config precedence and defaults
    • test_linframe.pyLinFrame validation
    • test_babylin_adapter_mocked.py — BabyLIN adapter error paths with a mocked SDK wrapper
    • test_hex_flasher.py — flashing scaffold against a stub LIN interface
  • tests/plugin/ — plugin self-tests using pytester
    • test_conftest_plugin_artifacts.py — verifies JSON coverage and summary artifacts
  • tests/ — existing smoke/mock/hardware tests

Markers and selection

A unit marker is provided for easy selection:

  • By marker (recommended):
pytest -m unit -q
  • By path:
pytest tests\unit -q
  • Exclude hardware:
pytest -m "not hardware" -v

Coverage

Coverage is enabled by default via pytest.ini addopts:

  • --cov=ecu_framework --cov-report=term-missing

Youll see a summary with missing lines directly in the terminal. To disable coverage locally, override addopts on the command line:

pytest -q -o addopts=""

(Optional) To produce an HTML coverage report, you can add --cov-report=html and open htmlcov/index.html.

Writing unit tests

  • Prefer small, focused tests
  • For BabyLIN adapter logic, inject wrapper_module with the mock:
from ecu_framework.lin.babylin import BabyLinInterface
from vendor import mock_babylin_wrapper as mock_bl

lin = BabyLinInterface(wrapper_module=mock_bl)
lin.connect()
# exercise send/receive/request
  • To simulate specific SDK signatures, use a thin shim (see _MockBytesOnly in tests/test_babylin_wrapper_mock.py).
  • Include a docstring with Title/Description/Requirements/Steps/Expected Result so the reporting plugin can extract metadata (this also helps the HTML report).
  • When testing the plugin itself, use the pytester fixture to generate a temporary test run and validate artifacts exist and contain expected entries.

Typical commands (Windows PowerShell)

  • Run unit tests with coverage:
pytest -m unit -q
  • Run only plugin self-tests:
pytest tests\plugin -q
  • Run the specific plugin artifact test (verifies HTML/JUnit, summary, and coverage JSON under reports/):
python -m pytest tests\plugin\test_conftest_plugin_artifacts.py -q
  • Run all non-hardware tests with verbose output:
pytest -m "not hardware" -v
  • Open the HTML report:
start .\reports\report.html
  • Generate two separate reports (unit vs non-unit):
./scripts/run_two_reports.ps1

CI suggestions

  • Run -m unit and tests/plugin on every PR
  • Optionally run mock integration/smoke on PR
  • Run hardware test matrix on a nightly or on-demand basis (-m "hardware and babylin")
  • Publish artifacts from reports/: HTML/JUnit/coverage JSON/summary MD

Troubleshooting

  • Coverage not showing: ensure pytest-cov is installed (see requirements.txt) and pytest.ini addopts include --cov.
  • Import errors: activate the venv and reinstall requirements.
  • Plugin artifacts missing under pytester: verify tests write to reports/ (our plugin creates the folder automatically in pytest_configure).