PHPUnit Pocket Guide

PHPUnit2_Framework_Assert

Most test cases written for PHPUnit are derived indirectly from the class PHPUnit2_Framework_Assert, which contains methods for automatically checking values and reporting discrepancies. The methods are declared static, so you can write design-by-contract style assertions in your methods and have them reported through PHPUnit (Example 19).

Example 19. Design-by-contract style assertions

<?php
require_once 'PHPUnit2/Framework/Assert.php';

class Sample {
  public function aSampleMethod($object) {
    PHPUnit2_Framework_Assert::assertNotNull($object);
  }
}
$sample = new Sample;
$sample->aSampleMethod(NULL);
?>
Fatal error: Uncaught exception
  'PHPUnit2_Framework_AssertionFailedError'
with message 'expected: <NOT NULL> but was: <NULL>'

Most of the time, though, you'll be checking the assertions inside of tests.

There are two variants of each of the assertion methods: one takes a message to be displayed with the error as a parameter, and one does not. Example 20 demonstrates an assertion method with a message. The optional message is typically displayed when a failure is displayed, which can make debugging easier.

Example 20. Using assertions with messages

<?php
require_once 'PHPUnit2/Framework/TestCase.php';
class MessageTest extends PHPUnit2_Framework_TestCase {
  public function testMessage( ) {
    $this->assertTrue(FALSE, 'This is a custom message.');
  }
}
?>

The following example shows the output you get when you run the testMessage( ) test from Example 20, using assertions ...