Outputting data from unit test in Python

Question

If I\'m writing unit tests in python (using the unittest module), is it possible to output data from a failed test, so I can examine it to help deduce what caused the error?

Answer 1

You can use simple print statements, or any other way of writing to stdout. You can also invoke the Python debugger anywhere in your tests.

If you use nose to run your tests (which I recommend), it will collect the stdout for each test and only show it to you if the test failed, so you don't have to live with the cluttered output when the tests pass.

nose also has switches to automatically show variables mentioned in asserts, or to invoke the debugger on failed tests. For example -s (--nocapture) prevents the capture of stdout.

Answer 2

You can use logging module for that.

So in the unit test code, use:

import logging as log

def test_foo(self):
    log.debug("Some debug message.")
    log.info("Some info message.")
    log.warning("Some warning message.")
    log.error("Some error message.")

By default warnings and errors are outputted to /dev/stderr, so they should be visible on the console.

To customize logs (such as formatting), try the following sample:

# Set-up logger
if args.verbose or args.debug:
    logging.basicConfig( stream=sys.stdout )
    root = logging.getLogger()
    root.setLevel(logging.INFO if args.verbose else logging.DEBUG)
    ch = logging.StreamHandler(sys.stdout)
    ch.setLevel(logging.INFO if args.verbose else logging.DEBUG)
    ch.setFormatter(logging.Formatter('%(asctime)s %(levelname)s: %(name)s: %(message)s'))
    root.addHandler(ch)
else:
    logging.basicConfig(stream=sys.stderr)

Answer 3

We use the logging module for this.

For example:

import logging
class SomeTest( unittest.TestCase ):
    def testSomething( self ):
        log= logging.getLogger( "SomeTest.testSomething" )
        log.debug( "this= %r", self.this )
        log.debug( "that= %r", self.that )
        # etc.
        self.assertEquals( 3.14, pi )

if __name__ == "__main__":
    logging.basicConfig( stream=sys.stderr )
    logging.getLogger( "SomeTest.testSomething" ).setLevel( logging.DEBUG )
    unittest.main()

That allows us to turn on debugging for specific tests which we know are failing and for which we want additional debugging information.

My preferred method, however, isn't to spend a lot of time on debugging, but spend it writing more fine-grained tests to expose the problem.

Answer 4

Another option - start a debugger where the test fails.

Try running your tests with Testoob (it will run your unittest suite without changes), and you can use the '--debug' command line switch to open a debugger when a test fails.

Here's a terminal session on windows:

C:\work> testoob tests.py --debug
F
Debugging for failure in test: test_foo (tests.MyTests.test_foo)
> c:\python25\lib\unittest.py(334)failUnlessEqual()
-> (msg or '%r != %r' % (first, second))
(Pdb) up
> c:\work\tests.py(6)test_foo()
-> self.assertEqual(x, y)
(Pdb) l
  1     from unittest import TestCase
  2     class MyTests(TestCase):
  3       def test_foo(self):
  4         x = 1
  5         y = 2
  6  ->     self.assertEqual(x, y)
[EOF]
(Pdb)

Answer 5

Use logging:

import unittest
import logging
import inspect
import os

logging_level = logging.INFO

try:
    log_file = os.environ["LOG_FILE"]
except KeyError:
    log_file = None

def logger(stack=None):
    if not hasattr(logger, "initialized"):
        logging.basicConfig(filename=log_file, level=logging_level)
        logger.initialized = True
    if not stack:
        stack = inspect.stack()
    name = stack[1][3]
    try:
        name = stack[1][0].f_locals["self"].__class__.__name__ + "." + name
    except KeyError:
        pass
    return logging.getLogger(name)

def todo(msg):
    logger(inspect.stack()).warning("TODO: {}".format(msg))

def get_pi():
    logger().info("sorry, I know only three digits")
    return 3.14

class Test(unittest.TestCase):

    def testName(self):
        todo("use a better get_pi")
        pi = get_pi()
        logger().info("pi = {}".format(pi))
        todo("check more digits in pi")
        self.assertAlmostEqual(pi, 3.14)
        logger().debug("end of this test")
        pass

Usage:

# LOG_FILE=/tmp/log python3 -m unittest LoggerDemo
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1 test in 0.047s

OK
# cat /tmp/log
WARNING:Test.testName:TODO: use a better get_pi
INFO:get_pi:sorry, I know only three digits
INFO:Test.testName:pi = 3.14
WARNING:Test.testName:TODO: check more digits in pi

If you do not set LOG_FILE, logging will got to stderr.

Answer 6

The method I use is really simple. I just log it as a warning so it will actually show up.

import logging

class TestBar(unittest.TestCase):
    def runTest(self):

       #this line is important
       logging.basicConfig()
       log = logging.getLogger("LOG")

       for t1, t2 in testdata:
         f = Foo(t1)
         self.assertEqual(f.bar(t2), 2)
         log.warning(t1)