veyepar: Testing the "Edges": Email, Database, and Network Services (Tutorial)

Author(s):	Randy Syring
Location	Rudder Tower 701
Date	oct Fri 03	Days Raw Files
Start	13:00	First Raw Start	error-in-template
Duration	00:180:00	Offset	None
End	16:00	Last Raw End
Chapters
Total cuts_time	None min.

http://www.pytexas.org/2014/talks/53/
raw-playlist raw-mp4-playlist encoded-files-playlist public mp4 svg png

assets release.pdf Testing_the_Edges_Email_Database_and_Network_Services_Tutorial.json
logs
Admin: episode episode list cut list raw files day marks day marks day image_files

State:

Locked:

clear this to unlock

Locked by:

user/process that locked.

Start:

initially scheduled time from master, adjusted to match reality

Duration:

length in hh:mm:ss

Name:

Video Title (shows in video search results)

Emails:

email(s) of the presenter(s)

Released:

has someone authorised pubication

Normalise:

Channelcopy:

m=mono, 01=copy left to right, 10=right to left, 00=ignore.

Thumbnail:

filename.png

Description:

markdown

When it comes to testing, the "edges" of the application are often the hardest.  How do I test if my application has sent an email reliably?  Should I setup an email server?  How about a third-party API, should I use their testing environment or try to monkey patch the socket connection?

How about databases?  Do I use a real db server, mock objects, or fixtures for testing?  How do I prevent cross-test data contamination?  What about testing database migrations?

In this tutorial, we will build a demo application called the "PYPI Bandwidth Calculator."  It will have the following features:

- the main feature of the application will be to calculate the bandwidth used by packages on PYPI
- web and/or CLI interface depending on experience & desire of the student
- user will enter the name of a PYPI package and the app will display the bandwidth that package has used
- package size & download number will be retrieved from PYPI JSON interface
- the bandwidth will be cached in a local database, expires every 5 minutes
- an email will be sent to the administrators/developers if PYPI is down or throws an error
- if students have time, more advanced features can be added to the app

The main point of the tutorial will be to give the student experience testing the "edge" cases of an application.  In particular, the app as described above will provide opportunity to gain experience in testing:

- web or CLI user interfaces
- third-party API services, including error handling and unexpected responses
- database interactions
- time-based interactions

Comment:

production notes