Hamcrest matchers for Python
| |docs| |status| |coverage| | |version| |downloads| |wheel| |supported-versions| |supported-implementations|
.. |docs| image:: https://readthedocs.org/projects/pyhamcrest/badge/?version=latest :target: https://pyhamcrest.readthedocs.io/en/latest/?badge=latest :alt: Documentation Status
.. |status| image:: https://github.com/hamcrest/PyHamcrest/workflows/CI/badge.svg :alt: CI Build Status :target: https://github.com/hamcrest/PyHamcrest/actions?query=workflow%3ACI
.. |coverage| image:: https://codecov.io/github/hamcrest/PyHamcrest/coverage.svg?branch=master :alt: Coverage Status :target: https://codecov.io/github/hamcrest/PyHamcrest?branch=master
.. |version| image:: http://img.shields.io/pypi/v/PyHamcrest.svg?style=flat :alt: PyPI Package latest release :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyHamcrest
.. |downloads| image:: http://img.shields.io/pypi/dm/PyHamcrest.svg?style=flat :alt: PyPI Package monthly downloads :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyHamcrest
.. |wheel| image:: https://pypip.in/wheel/PyHamcrest/badge.svg?style=flat :alt: PyPI Wheel :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyHamcrest
.. |supported-versions| image:: https://pypip.in/py_versions/PyHamcrest/badge.svg?style=flat :alt: Supported versions :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyHamcrest
.. |supported-implementations| image:: https://pypip.in/implementation/PyHamcrest/badge.svg?style=flat :alt: Supported implementations :target: https://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyHamcrest
PyHamcrest is a framework for writing matcher objects, allowing you to declaratively define "match" rules. There are a number of situations where matchers are invaluable, such as UI validation, or data filtering, but it is in the area of writing flexible tests that matchers are most commonly used. This tutorial shows you how to use PyHamcrest for unit testing.
When writing tests it is sometimes difficult to get the balance right between overspecifying the test (and making it brittle to changes), and not specifying enough (making the test less valuable since it continues to pass even when the thing being tested is broken). Having a tool that allows you to pick out precisely the aspect under test and describe the values it should have, to a controlled level of precision, helps greatly in writing tests that are "just right." Such tests fail when the behavior of the aspect under test deviates from the expected behavior, yet continue to pass when minor, unrelated changes to the behaviour are made.
Hamcrest can be installed using the usual Python packaging tools. It depends on distribute, but as long as you have a network connection when you install, the installation process will take care of that for you.
We'll start by writing a very simple PyUnit test, but instead of using PyUnit's
assertEqualmethod, we'll use PyHamcrest's
assert_thatconstruct and the standard set of matchers:
.. code:: python
from hamcrest import * import unittest
class BiscuitTest(unittest.TestCase): def testEquals(self): theBiscuit = Biscuit("Ginger") myBiscuit = Biscuit("Ginger") assertthat(theBiscuit, equalto(myBiscuit))
if name == "main": unittest.main()
The
assert_thatfunction is a stylized sentence for making a test assertion. In this example, the subject of the assertion is the object
theBiscuit, which is the first method parameter. The second method parameter is a matcher for
Biscuitobjects, here a matcher that checks one object is equal to another using the Python
==operator. The test passes since the
Biscuitclass defines an
__eq__method.
If you have more than one assertion in your test you can include an identifier for the tested value in the assertion:
.. code:: python
assertthat(theBiscuit.getChocolateChipCount(), equalto(10), "chocolate chips") assertthat(theBiscuit.getHazelnutCount(), equalto(3), "hazelnuts")
As a convenience, assert_that can also be used to verify a boolean condition:
.. code:: python
assert_that(theBiscuit.isCooked(), "cooked")
This is equivalent to the
assert_method of unittest.TestCase, but because it's a standalone function, it offers greater flexibility in test writing.
PyHamcrest comes with a library of useful matchers:
Object
equal_to- match equal object
has_length- match
len()
has_property- match value of property with given name
has_properties- match an object that has all of the given properties.
has_string- match
str()
instance_of- match object type
none,
not_none- match
None, or not
None
same_instance- match same object
calling, raises- wrap a method call and assert that it raises an exception
Number
close_to- match number close to a given value
greater_than,
greater_than_or_equal_to,
less_than,
less_than_or_equal_to- match numeric ordering
Text
contains_string- match part of a string
ends_with- match the end of a string
equal_to_ignoring_case- match the complete string but ignore case
equal_to_ignoring_whitespace- match the complete string but ignore extra whitespace
matches_regexp- match a regular expression in a string
starts_with- match the beginning of a string
string_contains_in_order- match parts of a string, in relative order
Logical
all_of-
andtogether all matchers
any_of-
ortogether all matchers
anything- match anything, useful in composite matchers when you don't care about a particular value
is_not,
not_- negate the matcher
Sequence
contains- exactly match the entire sequence
contains_inanyorder- match the entire sequence, but in any order
has_item- match if given item appears in the sequence
has_items- match if all given items appear in the sequence, in any order
is_in- match if item appears in the given sequence
only_contains- match if sequence's items appear in given list
empty- match if the sequence is empty
Dictionary
has_entries- match dictionary with list of key-value pairs
has_entry- match dictionary containing a key-value pair
has_key- match dictionary with a key
has_value- match dictionary with a value
Decorator
calling- wrap a callable in a deferred object, for subsequent matching on calling behaviour
raises- Ensure that a deferred callable raises as expected
described_as- give the matcher a custom failure description
is_- decorator to improve readability - see
Syntactic sugarbelow
The arguments for many of these matchers accept not just a matching value, but another matcher, so matchers can be composed for greater flexibility. For example,
only_contains(less_than(5))will match any sequence where every item is less than 5.
PyHamcrest strives to make your tests as readable as possible. For example, the
is_matcher is a wrapper that doesn't add any extra behavior to the underlying matcher. The following assertions are all equivalent:
.. code:: python
assertthat(theBiscuit, equalto(myBiscuit)) assertthat(theBiscuit, is(equalto(myBiscuit))) assertthat(theBiscuit, is_(myBiscuit))
The last form is allowed since
is_(value)wraps most non-matcher arguments with
equal_to. But if the argument is a type, it is wrapped with
instance_of, so the following are also equivalent:
.. code:: python
assertthat(theBiscuit, instanceof(Biscuit)) assertthat(theBiscuit, is(instanceof(Biscuit))) assertthat(theBiscuit, is_(Biscuit))
Note that PyHamcrest's
is_matcher is unrelated to Python's
isoperator. The matcher for object identity is
same_instance.
PyHamcrest comes bundled with lots of useful matchers, but you'll probably find that you need to create your own from time to time to fit your testing needs. This commonly occurs when you find a fragment of code that tests the same set of properties over and over again (and in different tests), and you want to bundle the fragment into a single assertion. By writing your own matcher you'll eliminate code duplication and make your tests more readable!
Let's write our own matcher for testing if a calendar date falls on a Saturday. This is the test we want to write:
.. code:: python
def testDateIsOnASaturday(self): d = datetime.date(2008, 4, 26) assertthat(d, is(onasaturday()))
And here's the implementation:
.. code:: python
from hamcrest.core.base_matcher import BaseMatcher from hamcrest.core.helpers.hasmethod import hasmethod
class IsGivenDayOfWeek(BaseMatcher): def init(self, day): self.day = day # Monday is 0, Sunday is 6
def _matches(self, item): if not hasmethod(item, "weekday"): return False return item.weekday() == self.daydef describe_to(self, description): day_as_string = [ "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday", "Sunday", ] description.append_text("calendar date falling on ").append_text( day_as_string[self.day] )
def onasaturday(): return IsGivenDayOfWeek(5)
For our Matcher implementation we implement the
_matchesmethod - which calls the
weekdaymethod after confirming that the argument (which may not be a date) has such a method - and the
describe_tomethod - which is used to produce a failure message when a test fails. Here's an example of how the failure message looks:
.. code:: python
assertthat(datetime.date(2008, 4, 6), is(onasaturday()))
fails with the message::
AssertionError: Expected: is calendar date falling on Saturday got: <2008-04-06>
Let's say this matcher is saved in a module named
isgivendayofweek. We could use it in our test by importing the factory function
on_a_saturday:
.. code:: python
from hamcrest import * import unittest from isgivendayofweek import onasaturday
class DateTest(unittest.TestCase): def testDateIsOnASaturday(self): d = datetime.date(2008, 4, 26) assertthat(d, is(onasaturday()))
if name == "main": unittest.main()
Even though the
on_a_saturdayfunction creates a new matcher each time it is called, you should not assume this is the only usage pattern for your matcher. Therefore you should make sure your matcher is stateless, so a single instance can be reused between matches.
.. _Documentation: https://pyhamcrest.readthedocs.io/ .. _Package: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/PyHamcrest .. _Sources: https://github.com/hamcrest/PyHamcrest .. _Hamcrest: http://hamcrest.org