How to set up LocalDb for unit tests in Visual Studio 2012 and Entity Framework 5

Question

We have a Visual Studio 2012 ASP.NET MVC project using Entity Framework 5.

There are some unit tests that depend on a database. Setting up the app.config file in the

Answer 1

I would use:

// Declare this property - this is set by MSTest
public TestContext TestContext { get; set; }

// In test initialization - note the signature should be exactly this
// A static void method with one argument of type TestContext 
[ClassInitialize]
public static void SetUp(TestContext context)
{
   AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetData("DataDirectory", Path.Combine(context.TestDeploymentDir, string.Empty));
}

You could get problems using AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, instead use: context.TestDeploymentDir

Answer 2

Try:

AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetData(
  "DataDirectory", Path.Combine(AppDomain.CurrentDomain.BaseDirectory, ""));

This will Create Db File on /bin/Debug/yourdbname.mdf

Answer 3

I suggest to use this code (based on the answer of Jupaol):

[ClassInitialize]
public static void SetUp(TestContext context)
{
    AppDomain.CurrentDomain.SetData(
        "DataDirectory", 
        context.TestDeploymentDir);
}

Usually this will create your database inside TestResults\<test run>\Out\ folder of your solution.

Answer 4

Keep in mind that for a test project:

AttachDBFilename=|DataDirectory|

means it will look in your output /bin/debug folder for a unit test as opposed to the App_Data folder in your web/production/whatever app.

You need to do two things 1. Move the database file OUT OF your App_Data folder to your root of your test app. 2. Highlight your database so you get your properties window in Visual Studio. Set the build action to "Content" so it will get copied to your output folder when you run the project.

Voila.

Answer 5

I found your question while searching for answer to the problem. Using EntityFramework with nUnit in a separate project, I had to change the App.config

looked like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <configSections>
    <!-- For more information on Entity Framework configuration, visit http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=237468 -->
    <section name="entityFramework" type="System.Data.Entity.Internal.ConfigFile.EntityFrameworkSection, EntityFramework, Version=6.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" requirePermission="false" />
  </configSections>
  <entityFramework>
    <defaultConnectionFactory type="System.Data.Entity.Infrastructure.LocalDbConnectionFactory, EntityFramework">
      <parameters>
        <parameter value="v11.0" />
      </parameters>
    </defaultConnectionFactory>
    <providers>
      <provider invariantName="System.Data.SqlClient" type="System.Data.Entity.SqlServer.SqlProviderServices, EntityFramework.SqlServer" />
    </providers>
  </entityFramework>
</configuration>