Unit Testing

Unit Testing and Visual Studio 2010

Unit testing is software verification and validation in which a programmer tests if individual units of source code are fit for use. A unit is the smallest testable part of an application. Ideally, each test case is independent from the others, and test harnesses can be used to assist testing a module in isolation. Unit tests are typically written and run by software developers to ensure that code meets its design and behaves as intended. Its implementation can vary from being very manual to being formalized as part of build automation. The goal of unit testing is to isolate each part of the program and show that the individual parts are correct. As a result unit tests find problems early in the development cycle.

The diagram below shows the various solutions provided by Visual studio 2010 to assist customers in Testing.




Most unit tests are simple class libraries written in your language of choice. They reference your production application’s projects or built assemblies, and also the unit test framework.

                
A unit test can be dined as a simple, quick to run, independent and self contained test.  The unit test should not cross boundaries of a unit and the tests should consistently pass giving a positive or negative result. It should not integrate with other units or User Interface, network resources or the file system. It should not consist of non-functional testing, be complex or look at end to end scenario.

Visual Studio 2010 provides out-of-the box support for unit testing right inside the development environment. Hence the tests can be run as soon as you finished the development with a few clicks.