Workshop 17: The Absolute Beginner’s Guide to JUnit in the Classroom
Friday March 7, 2014, 7:00pm-10:00pm, SIGCSE 2014, Atlanta, GA
Workshop #17 Abstract
Software testing has become popular in introductory courses, but many educators are unfamiliar with how to write software tests or how they might be used in the classroom. This workshop provides a practical introduction to JUnit for educators. JUnit is the Java testing framework that is most commonly used in the classroom. Participants will learn how to write and run JUnit test cases; how-to&rquo;s for common classroom uses (as a behavioral addition to an assignment specification, as part of manual grading, as part of automated grading, as a student-written activity, etc.); and common solutions to tricky classroom problems (testing standard input/output, randomness, main programs, assignments with lots of design freedom, assertions, and code that calls exit()).
SIGCSE 2014, Atlanta, NC
Fri Mar 7, 2014, 7:00pm-10:00pm
Intended audience
This workshop is intended for CS educators who want to write software tests or who want students to write tests for their own assignments. No prior experience with testing is required. Java fluency is expected. Basic knowledge of Eclipse is preferred, but not required. The examples presented will focus on CS1- and CS2-level Java assignments.
Background material
You might find the following materials useful and interesting as they provide a background on why TDD and Unit testing.
What is Test-driven Development?: Read a brief overview of what TDD is.
What is JUnit?: A lightning overview of this testing framework.
Set up your IDE for using JUnit: You can install support for JUnit in your IDE of choice. We have instructions on how to do so for BlueJ, jGrasp, NetBeans, and Eclipse. If you prefer to use the command line, that's fine too. We will be using JUnit 4.x in our examples.
JUnit Discussion Forum: we have an on-line forum set up (use Facebook Connect to login, or create an account) on the Web-CAT web site for you to ask questions, discuss ideas, and share with each other; feel free to use it before, during, and after the workshop.
Agenda
The goal is to give participants a solid introduction to using JUnit in the classroom. The workshop will be discussion-oriented and driven primarily by live examples. As examples are demonstrated, participants can ask questions as they arise and answers or alternatives can be illustrated in real time. The agenda we will follow includes:
Part I. Intro to JUnit Tests
- A quick introduction to concepts of unit testing and an overview of JUnit and how it works; the difference between JUnit 3 and JUnit 4.
- Discussion of basic steps to create unit tests with JUnit.
Part II. Beginner's Strategy
- A basic guide to strategies you should use when you start out testing.
- Keeping tests focused.
- Assert methods (claims) you can use to express your behavioral expectations.
Part III. JUnit tips
- testing standard input/output behaviors
- testing main() programs instead of individual methods
- testing code that calls exit()
- testing graphical user interfaces
Part IV. Adding JUnit to assignments
- An overview of common problems that instructors run into when writing software tests, and how they can be addressed.
- Wrap-up: open discussion of testing issues. Participants can discuss their own experiences, and ask questions about classroom experience or how specific assignment issues can best be tested or handled (10 minutes).