Java Extreme Programming Cookbook

Writing a Cactus Test

Problem

You want to use Cactus to test server-side code.

Solution

Extend the appropriate Cactus test-case class and implement one or more testXXX( ), beginXXX( ), and endXXX( ) methods.

Discussion

Cactus is a testing framework that extends JUnit to provide a way to execute tests against code running in a server. Specifically, Cactus allows for testing servlets, JSPs, and filters while running within a servlet container.

There are seven main steps to writing a Cactus test.

1. Import the JUnit and Cactus classes:

   import org.apache.cactus.*;
   import junit.framework.*;

2. Extend one of three Cactus test case classes:

   org.apache.cactus.ServletTestCase

   Extend this class when you want to write unit tests for your servlets. For example, if you need to test how a servlet handles HttpServletRequest, HttpServletResponse, HttpSession, ServletContext, or ServletConfig objects, write a ServletTestCase:

   public class TestMyServlet extends ServletTestCase {
   }

   org.apache.cactus.JspTestCase

   Extend this class when you want to write unit tests for your JSPs. For example, if you need to test a custom tag library or JspWriter, write a JspTestCase:

   public class TestMyJsp extends JspTestCase {
   }

   org.apache.cactus.FilterTestCase

   Extend this class when you want to write unit tests for your filters. For example, if you need to test that a FilterChain or FilterConfig object executes correctly, write a FilterTestCase:

   public class TestMyFilter extends FilterTestCase {
   }

3. Implement the JUnit setUp( ) and ...