Integration Testing of Entity Framework Applications

By Michael Perry
Entity Framework is the best way to create a data access layer in .NET. This course will show you how to test that data access layer, whether you are using EF6 or EF Core.
Play course overview
Course info
Level
Intermediate
Updated
May 11, 2017
Duration
2h 22m
Table of contents
Course Overview
Course Overview 1m
The Importance of Testing the Data Access Layer
Introduction 2m Data is Key 4m How Tests Support Change 2m Unit Testing vs. Integration Testing 2m Integration Tests Catch What Unit Tests Miss 2m Building a Good Integration Test Suite 1m
Deploying a Database to the Test Environment
The Test Environment 2m Challenges with Integration Testing 3m Project Structure 6m Initialize LocalDB 7m Be Resilient 2m EF Core 6m Continuous Integration 1m Configure the Build Server 5m Notifications 2m Summary 1m
Isolating Integration Tests
Dependencies Between Integration Tests 2m What's New in Globalmantics 2m Integration Test Plan 2m Transactions in EF6 4m Transactions in EF Core 3m Unique Data 1m Testing with GUIDs 2m Summary 1m
When and How to Unit Test
Strategy for Unit Testing 2m Domain Driven Design Review 5m Avoid Anemic Domain Models 5m Testing the Domain Model 3m Modifying Data in a Test 5m Covering Code with Both Unit Tests and Integration Tests 3m Highway.Data 5m Preparing Services for Highway.Data 5m Configuring Highway.Data 3m Initializing Test Data with Highway.Data 3m Limitations of Highway.Data 2m EF Core In-memory Database Provider 2m Unit Testing with EF Core 4m Initializing Test Data with EF Core 4m Summary 2m
Structuring a Readable Test
Problems with Copy/paste Testing 3m Move Initialization into Given Methods 2m Collect Prerequisites into Test Context 2m Localize API Calls to Simplify Refactoring 1m Clarify Intent with When Methods 2m Use Default Parameters to Customize Intent 2m Hide Implementation Details to Make Intent Obvious 1m Move Given and When Methods to Test Context 2m Define a Hierarchy of Test Contexts 4m Why Not Use Test Fields? 2m Better Integration Tests 2m
Description
Course info
Level
Intermediate
Updated
May 11, 2017
Duration
2h 22m
Description

Having a good integration test suite is your greatest asset. In this course, Integration Testing of Entity Framework Applications, you'll learn that a good integration test suite is the best way to ensure the quality of your Entity Framework application. First, you'll set up a Continuous Integration server to rebuild a database and run all integration tests on every checkin. Next, you'll keep your test readable and resilient to change, so that they help you implement new features rather than hold you back. Finally, you'll find the balance between unit tests and integration tests so that you use the best technique in every case. After this course, you'll know that by investing in a quality test suite you'll increase both velocity and quality.

About the author
Michael Perry
About the author

Mathematician and software developer, Michael L Perry applies formal proof to creating reliable software. He has developed a method starting from the works of the greats (Meyer, Rumbaugh, Knuth), and embodied it in his open-source frameworks (Update Controls and Correspondence).

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Section Introduction Transcripts
Section Introduction Transcripts

Course Overview
Hello, this is Michael L. Perry, and welcome to Integration Testing of Entity Framework Applications. I lead a team out of the Dallas office of Improving and Agile Consultancy, that builds web applications using entity framework. We've found that a good integration test suite is our greatest asset. I'd like to show you exactly how we built it, and how an integration test suite can give your team more confidence. You may have heard advice that you should spend more time on unit tests than integration tests, that unit tests would be less costly, less prone to breaking, and provide more value. In truth, we have found that the opposite is true. While we do invest in unit test, we've found that our integration test suite gives us a bigger return on our testing investment. In this course, I'll show you how integration tests pay off, and exactly how we went about constructing them. The major areas that we'll cover are continuous integration, test isolation, domain driven design, and readability. When you're done, you will have the skills to build a valuable integration test suite for your EF6, or EF Core application, but this course is not an introduction to entity framework. Before you begin, you should understand code First, fluent configuration, and migrations. Now hopefully you'll join me and follow along with my team as we build integration tests for entity framework applications, at Pluralsight.

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THEY'LL HURDLE IT