Related
I have a console program written in Python. It asks the user questions using the command:
some_input = input('Answer the question:', ...)
How would I test a function containing a call to input using pytest?
I wouldn't want to force a tester to input text many many times only to finish one test run.
As The Compiler suggested, pytest has a new monkeypatch fixture for this. A monkeypatch object can alter an attribute in a class or a value in a dictionary, and then restore its original value at the end of the test.
In this case, the built-in input function is a value of python's __builtins__ dictionary, so we can alter it like so:
def test_something_that_involves_user_input(monkeypatch):
# monkeypatch the "input" function, so that it returns "Mark".
# This simulates the user entering "Mark" in the terminal:
monkeypatch.setattr('builtins.input', lambda _: "Mark")
# go about using input() like you normally would:
i = input("What is your name?")
assert i == "Mark"
You should probably mock the built-in input function, you can use the teardown functionality provided by pytest to revert back to the original input function after each test.
import module # The module which contains the call to input
class TestClass:
def test_function_1(self):
# Override the Python built-in input method
module.input = lambda: 'some_input'
# Call the function you would like to test (which uses input)
output = module.function()
assert output == 'expected_output'
def test_function_2(self):
module.input = lambda: 'some_other_input'
output = module.function()
assert output == 'another_expected_output'
def teardown_method(self, method):
# This method is being called after each test case, and it will revert input back to original function
module.input = input
A more elegant solution would be to use the mock module together with a with statement. This way you don't need to use teardown and the patched method will only live within the with scope.
import mock
import module
def test_function():
with mock.patch.object(__builtins__, 'input', lambda: 'some_input'):
assert module.function() == 'expected_output'
You can replace sys.stdin with some custom Text IO, like input from a file or an in-memory StringIO buffer:
import sys
class Test:
def test_function(self):
sys.stdin = open("preprogrammed_inputs.txt")
module.call_function()
def setup_method(self):
self.orig_stdin = sys.stdin
def teardown_method(self):
sys.stdin = self.orig_stdin
this is more robust than only patching input(), as that won't be sufficient if the module uses any other methods of consuming text from stdin.
This can also be done quite elegantly with a custom context manager
import sys
from contextlib import contextmanager
#contextmanager
def replace_stdin(target):
orig = sys.stdin
sys.stdin = target
yield
sys.stdin = orig
And then just use it like this for example:
with replace_stdin(StringIO("some preprogrammed input")):
module.call_function()
This can be done with mock.patch and with blocks in python3.
import pytest
import mock
import builtins
"""
The function to test (would usually be loaded
from a module outside this file).
"""
def user_prompt():
ans = input('Enter a number: ')
try:
float(ans)
except:
import sys
sys.exit('NaN')
return 'Your number is {}'.format(ans)
"""
This test will mock input of '19'
"""
def test_user_prompt_ok():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, 'input', lambda _: '19'):
assert user_prompt() == 'Your number is 19'
The line to note is mock.patch.object(builtins, 'input', lambda _: '19'):, which overrides the input with the lambda function. Our lambda function takes in a throw-away variable _ because input takes in an argument.
Here's how you could test the fail case, where user_input calls sys.exit. The trick here is to get pytest to look for that exception with pytest.raises(SystemExit).
"""
This test will mock input of 'nineteen'
"""
def test_user_prompt_exit():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, 'input', lambda _: 'nineteen'):
with pytest.raises(SystemExit):
user_prompt()
You should be able to get this test running by copy and pasting the above code into a file tests/test_.py and running pytest from the parent dir.
Since I need the input() call to pause and check my hardware status LEDs, I had to deal with the situation without mocking. I used the -s flag.
python -m pytest -s test_LEDs.py
The -s flag essentially means: shortcut for --capture=no.
You can do it with mock.patch as follows.
First, in your code, create a dummy function for the calls to input:
def __get_input(text):
return input(text)
In your test functions:
import my_module
from mock import patch
#patch('my_module.__get_input', return_value='y')
def test_what_happens_when_answering_yes(self, mock):
"""
Test what happens when user input is 'y'
"""
# whatever your test function does
For example if you have a loop checking that the only valid answers are in ['y', 'Y', 'n', 'N'] you can test that nothing happens when entering a different value instead.
In this case we assume a SystemExit is raised when answering 'N':
#patch('my_module.__get_input')
def test_invalid_answer_remains_in_loop(self, mock):
"""
Test nothing's broken when answer is not ['Y', 'y', 'N', 'n']
"""
with self.assertRaises(SystemExit):
mock.side_effect = ['k', 'l', 'yeah', 'N']
# call to our function asking for input
I don't have enough points to comment, but this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/55033710/10420225
doesn't work if you just copy/pasta.
Part One
For Python3, import mock doesn't work.
You need import unittest.mock and call it as unittest.mock.patch.object(), or from unittest import mock mock.patch.object()...
If using Python3.3+ the above should "just work". If using Python3.3- you need to pip install mock. See this answer for more info: https://stackoverflow.com/a/11501626/10420225
Part Two
Also, if you want to make this example more realistic, i.e. importing the function from outside the file and using it, there's more assembly required.
This is general directory structure we'll use
root/
src/prompt_user.py
tests/test_prompt_user.py
If function in external file
# /root/src/prompt_user.py
def user_prompt():
ans = input("Enter a number: ")
try:
float(ans)
except:
import sys
sys.exit("NaN")
return "Your number is {}".format(ans)
# /root/tests/test_prompt_user.py
import pytest
from unittest import mock
import builtins
from prompt_user import user_prompt
def test_user_prompt_ok():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, "input", lambda _: "19"):
assert user_prompt() == "Your number is 19"
If function in a class in external file
# /root/src/prompt_user.py
class Prompt:
def user_prompt(self):
ans = input("Enter a number: ")
try:
float(ans)
except:
import sys
sys.exit("NaN")
return "Your number is {}".format(ans)
# /root/tests/test_prompt_user.py
import pytest
from unittest import mock
import builtins
from mocking_test import Prompt
def test_user_prompt_ok():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, "input", lambda _: "19"):
assert Prompt.user_prompt(Prompt) == "Your number is 19"
Hopefully this helps people a bit more. I find these very simple examples almost useless because it leaves a lot out for real world use cases.
Edit: If you run into pytest import issues when running from external files, I would recommend looking over this answer: PATH issue with pytest 'ImportError: No module named YadaYadaYada'
A different alternative that does not require using a lambda function and provides more control during the tests is to use the mock decorator from the standard unittest module.
It also has the additional advantage of patching just where the object (i.e. input) is looked up, which is the recommended strategy.
# path/to/test/module.py
def my_func():
some_input = input('Answer the question:')
return some_input
# tests/my_tests.py
from unittest import mock
from path.to.test.module import my_func
#mock.patch("path.to.test.module.input")
def test_something_that_involves_user_input(mock_input):
mock_input.return_value = "This is my answer!"
assert my_func() == "This is my answer!"
mock_input.assert_called_once() # Optionally check one and only one call
The simplest way that works without mocking and easily in doctest for lightweight testing, is just making the input_function a parameter to your function and passing in this FakeInput class with the appropriate list of inputs that you want:
class FakeInput:
def __init__(self, input):
self.input = input
self.index = 0
def __call__(self):
line = self.input[self.index % len(self.input)]
self.index += 1
return line
Here is an example usage to test some functions using the input function:
import doctest
class FakeInput:
def __init__(self, input):
self.input = input
self.index = 0
def __call__(self):
line = self.input[self.index % len(self.input)]
self.index += 1
return line
def add_one_to_input(input_func=input):
"""
>>> add_one_to_input(FakeInput(['1']))
2
"""
return int(input_func()) + 1
def add_inputs(input_func=input):
"""
>>> add_inputs(FakeInput(['1', '5']))
6
"""
return int(input_func()) + int(input_func())
def return_ten_inputs(input_func=input):
"""
>>> return_ten_inputs(FakeInput(['1', '5', '7']))
[1, 5, 7, 1, 5, 7, 1, 5, 7, 1]
"""
return [int(input_func()) for _ in range(10)]
def print_4_inputs(input_func=input):
"""
>>> print_4_inputs(FakeInput(['1', '5', '7']))
1
5
7
1
"""
for i in range(4):
print(input_func())
if __name__ == '__main__':
doctest.testmod()
This also makes your functions more general so you can easily change them to take input from a file rather than the keyboard.
You can also use environment variables in your test code. For example if you want to give path as argument you can read env variable and set default value if it's missing.
import os
...
input = os.getenv('INPUT', default='inputDefault/')
Then start with default argument
pytest ./mytest.py
or with custom argument
INPUT=newInput/ pytest ./mytest.py
I want to import a python script in to another script.
$ cat py1.py
test=("hi", "hello")
print test[0]
$ cat py2.py
from py1 import test
print test
If I execute py2.py:
$ python py2.py
hi
('hi', 'hello')
Can I anyway mute the first print which is coming from the from py1 import test?
I can't comment the print in py1, since it is being used somewhere else.
py1.py use an if __name__=="__main__":
So like your py1.py would look like:
def main():
test=("hi", "hello")
print test[0]
if __name__=="__main__":
main()
This will allow you to still use py1.py normally, but when you import it, it won't run the main() function unless you call it.
This explains what's going on
Simply open the /dev/null device and overwrite the sys.stdout variable to that value when you need it to be quiet.
import os
import sys
old_stdout = sys.stdout
sys.stdout = open(os.devnull, "w")
from py1 import test
sys.stdout = old_stdout
print test
You might want to consider changing the other script to still print when its run 'in the other place' - if you're running py1 as a shell command, try to make sure all "executable statements" in a file are inside a block.
if __name__ == "__main__":
print test
(see What does if __name__ == "__main__": do?)
This would fix the underlying issue without having you do weird things (which would be redirecting the standard out, and then putting it back etc), or opening the file and executing line by line on an if block.
You could implement this functionality with methods:
py1.py
test=("hi", "hello")
def print_test():
print(test)
def print_first_index():
print(test[0])
py2.py
import py1
py1.print_test()
As MooingRawr pointed out, this would require you to change whichever classes use py1.py to import it and call the py1.print_first_index() function which may not be to your liking.
I have a console program written in Python. It asks the user questions using the command:
some_input = input('Answer the question:', ...)
How would I test a function containing a call to input using pytest?
I wouldn't want to force a tester to input text many many times only to finish one test run.
As The Compiler suggested, pytest has a new monkeypatch fixture for this. A monkeypatch object can alter an attribute in a class or a value in a dictionary, and then restore its original value at the end of the test.
In this case, the built-in input function is a value of python's __builtins__ dictionary, so we can alter it like so:
def test_something_that_involves_user_input(monkeypatch):
# monkeypatch the "input" function, so that it returns "Mark".
# This simulates the user entering "Mark" in the terminal:
monkeypatch.setattr('builtins.input', lambda _: "Mark")
# go about using input() like you normally would:
i = input("What is your name?")
assert i == "Mark"
You should probably mock the built-in input function, you can use the teardown functionality provided by pytest to revert back to the original input function after each test.
import module # The module which contains the call to input
class TestClass:
def test_function_1(self):
# Override the Python built-in input method
module.input = lambda: 'some_input'
# Call the function you would like to test (which uses input)
output = module.function()
assert output == 'expected_output'
def test_function_2(self):
module.input = lambda: 'some_other_input'
output = module.function()
assert output == 'another_expected_output'
def teardown_method(self, method):
# This method is being called after each test case, and it will revert input back to original function
module.input = input
A more elegant solution would be to use the mock module together with a with statement. This way you don't need to use teardown and the patched method will only live within the with scope.
import mock
import module
def test_function():
with mock.patch.object(__builtins__, 'input', lambda: 'some_input'):
assert module.function() == 'expected_output'
You can replace sys.stdin with some custom Text IO, like input from a file or an in-memory StringIO buffer:
import sys
class Test:
def test_function(self):
sys.stdin = open("preprogrammed_inputs.txt")
module.call_function()
def setup_method(self):
self.orig_stdin = sys.stdin
def teardown_method(self):
sys.stdin = self.orig_stdin
this is more robust than only patching input(), as that won't be sufficient if the module uses any other methods of consuming text from stdin.
This can also be done quite elegantly with a custom context manager
import sys
from contextlib import contextmanager
#contextmanager
def replace_stdin(target):
orig = sys.stdin
sys.stdin = target
yield
sys.stdin = orig
And then just use it like this for example:
with replace_stdin(StringIO("some preprogrammed input")):
module.call_function()
This can be done with mock.patch and with blocks in python3.
import pytest
import mock
import builtins
"""
The function to test (would usually be loaded
from a module outside this file).
"""
def user_prompt():
ans = input('Enter a number: ')
try:
float(ans)
except:
import sys
sys.exit('NaN')
return 'Your number is {}'.format(ans)
"""
This test will mock input of '19'
"""
def test_user_prompt_ok():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, 'input', lambda _: '19'):
assert user_prompt() == 'Your number is 19'
The line to note is mock.patch.object(builtins, 'input', lambda _: '19'):, which overrides the input with the lambda function. Our lambda function takes in a throw-away variable _ because input takes in an argument.
Here's how you could test the fail case, where user_input calls sys.exit. The trick here is to get pytest to look for that exception with pytest.raises(SystemExit).
"""
This test will mock input of 'nineteen'
"""
def test_user_prompt_exit():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, 'input', lambda _: 'nineteen'):
with pytest.raises(SystemExit):
user_prompt()
You should be able to get this test running by copy and pasting the above code into a file tests/test_.py and running pytest from the parent dir.
Since I need the input() call to pause and check my hardware status LEDs, I had to deal with the situation without mocking. I used the -s flag.
python -m pytest -s test_LEDs.py
The -s flag essentially means: shortcut for --capture=no.
You can do it with mock.patch as follows.
First, in your code, create a dummy function for the calls to input:
def __get_input(text):
return input(text)
In your test functions:
import my_module
from mock import patch
#patch('my_module.__get_input', return_value='y')
def test_what_happens_when_answering_yes(self, mock):
"""
Test what happens when user input is 'y'
"""
# whatever your test function does
For example if you have a loop checking that the only valid answers are in ['y', 'Y', 'n', 'N'] you can test that nothing happens when entering a different value instead.
In this case we assume a SystemExit is raised when answering 'N':
#patch('my_module.__get_input')
def test_invalid_answer_remains_in_loop(self, mock):
"""
Test nothing's broken when answer is not ['Y', 'y', 'N', 'n']
"""
with self.assertRaises(SystemExit):
mock.side_effect = ['k', 'l', 'yeah', 'N']
# call to our function asking for input
I don't have enough points to comment, but this answer: https://stackoverflow.com/a/55033710/10420225
doesn't work if you just copy/pasta.
Part One
For Python3, import mock doesn't work.
You need import unittest.mock and call it as unittest.mock.patch.object(), or from unittest import mock mock.patch.object()...
If using Python3.3+ the above should "just work". If using Python3.3- you need to pip install mock. See this answer for more info: https://stackoverflow.com/a/11501626/10420225
Part Two
Also, if you want to make this example more realistic, i.e. importing the function from outside the file and using it, there's more assembly required.
This is general directory structure we'll use
root/
src/prompt_user.py
tests/test_prompt_user.py
If function in external file
# /root/src/prompt_user.py
def user_prompt():
ans = input("Enter a number: ")
try:
float(ans)
except:
import sys
sys.exit("NaN")
return "Your number is {}".format(ans)
# /root/tests/test_prompt_user.py
import pytest
from unittest import mock
import builtins
from prompt_user import user_prompt
def test_user_prompt_ok():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, "input", lambda _: "19"):
assert user_prompt() == "Your number is 19"
If function in a class in external file
# /root/src/prompt_user.py
class Prompt:
def user_prompt(self):
ans = input("Enter a number: ")
try:
float(ans)
except:
import sys
sys.exit("NaN")
return "Your number is {}".format(ans)
# /root/tests/test_prompt_user.py
import pytest
from unittest import mock
import builtins
from mocking_test import Prompt
def test_user_prompt_ok():
with mock.patch.object(builtins, "input", lambda _: "19"):
assert Prompt.user_prompt(Prompt) == "Your number is 19"
Hopefully this helps people a bit more. I find these very simple examples almost useless because it leaves a lot out for real world use cases.
Edit: If you run into pytest import issues when running from external files, I would recommend looking over this answer: PATH issue with pytest 'ImportError: No module named YadaYadaYada'
A different alternative that does not require using a lambda function and provides more control during the tests is to use the mock decorator from the standard unittest module.
It also has the additional advantage of patching just where the object (i.e. input) is looked up, which is the recommended strategy.
# path/to/test/module.py
def my_func():
some_input = input('Answer the question:')
return some_input
# tests/my_tests.py
from unittest import mock
from path.to.test.module import my_func
#mock.patch("path.to.test.module.input")
def test_something_that_involves_user_input(mock_input):
mock_input.return_value = "This is my answer!"
assert my_func() == "This is my answer!"
mock_input.assert_called_once() # Optionally check one and only one call
The simplest way that works without mocking and easily in doctest for lightweight testing, is just making the input_function a parameter to your function and passing in this FakeInput class with the appropriate list of inputs that you want:
class FakeInput:
def __init__(self, input):
self.input = input
self.index = 0
def __call__(self):
line = self.input[self.index % len(self.input)]
self.index += 1
return line
Here is an example usage to test some functions using the input function:
import doctest
class FakeInput:
def __init__(self, input):
self.input = input
self.index = 0
def __call__(self):
line = self.input[self.index % len(self.input)]
self.index += 1
return line
def add_one_to_input(input_func=input):
"""
>>> add_one_to_input(FakeInput(['1']))
2
"""
return int(input_func()) + 1
def add_inputs(input_func=input):
"""
>>> add_inputs(FakeInput(['1', '5']))
6
"""
return int(input_func()) + int(input_func())
def return_ten_inputs(input_func=input):
"""
>>> return_ten_inputs(FakeInput(['1', '5', '7']))
[1, 5, 7, 1, 5, 7, 1, 5, 7, 1]
"""
return [int(input_func()) for _ in range(10)]
def print_4_inputs(input_func=input):
"""
>>> print_4_inputs(FakeInput(['1', '5', '7']))
1
5
7
1
"""
for i in range(4):
print(input_func())
if __name__ == '__main__':
doctest.testmod()
This also makes your functions more general so you can easily change them to take input from a file rather than the keyboard.
You can also use environment variables in your test code. For example if you want to give path as argument you can read env variable and set default value if it's missing.
import os
...
input = os.getenv('INPUT', default='inputDefault/')
Then start with default argument
pytest ./mytest.py
or with custom argument
INPUT=newInput/ pytest ./mytest.py
So I've been having this issue for some time and can't find a solution.I have this run code which is pretty basic. I want to test for the expected output, "TEST" ,when I use side_effects to mock the input. The first time the input function is called I mock 'y' and then I mock '1' the second time it's called, which should then trigger the print statement. The problem is the output that is coming back is empty. I don't know whats going on, but when I run the main method manually and enter the inputs I get the expected output so I know the run code works as intended, but something funky is happening during the test.
here is my run code
def main():
newGame = input("")
if newGame == 'y':
print("1.Scallywag\n2.Crew\n3.Pirate")
difficulty = input("")
if difficulty == '1':
print("TEST")
main()
and here is my test code
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch
import io
import sys
from Run import main
class MyTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
#patch('builtins.input', side_effects=['y','1'])
def test_output(self,m):
saved_stdout = sys.stdout
try:
out = io.StringIO()
sys.stdout = out
main()
output = out.getvalue().strip()
self.assertIn("TEST", output)
finally:
sys.stdout = saved_stdout
if __name__ == "__main__":
unittest.main()
and here is the AssertionError i get back along with the trace back, take note that its expecting "" which shouldn't be the case.
F
======================================================================
FAIL: test_output (__main__.MyTestCase)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Python33\lib\unittest\mock.py", line 1087, in patched
return func(*args, **keywargs)
File "C:\Users\jsalce\Desktop\Testcases\Test.py", line 20, in test_output
self.assertIn("TEST", output)
AssertionError: 'TEST' not found in ''
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ran 1 test in 0.006s
FAILED (failures=1)
Thank you all in advance
You patch for input does not work as required because you are not giving it a function. Try this:
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch, MagicMock
import io
import sys
from Run import main
class MyTestCase(unittest.TestCase):
##patch('builtins.input', side_effects=['y','1'])
#patch('builtins.input', MagicMock(side_effect=['y','1']))
def test_output(self):
saved_stdout = sys.stdout
try:
out = io.StringIO()
sys.stdout = out
main()
output = out.getvalue().strip()
self.assertIn("TEST", output)
#I used equals to see if I am truly grabbing the stdout
#self.assertEquals("TEST", output)
finally:
sys.stdout = saved_stdout
if __name__ == "__main__":
unittest.main(verbosity=2)
And also, you do not need variable 'm' in your test_output signature.
Print("String", file=out)
Is what you're looking for, you'll need to pass out to main though.
Basically, the title.
I am trying to trace down where a spurious print happens in a large codebase, and I would like to break, or somehow get a stack trace whenever a print "happens." Any ideas?
For this particular case you can redirect stdout to a helper class that prints the output and its caller. You can also break on one of its methods.
Full example:
import sys
import inspect
class PrintSnooper:
def __init__(self, stdout):
self.stdout = stdout
def caller(self):
return inspect.stack()[2][3]
def write(self, s):
self.stdout.write("printed by %s: " % self.caller())
self.stdout.write(s)
self.stdout.write("\n")
def test():
print 'hello from test'
def main():
# redirect stdout to a helper class.
sys.stdout = PrintSnooper(sys.stdout)
print 'hello from main'
test()
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
Output:
printed by main: hello from main
printed by main:
printed by test: hello from test
printed by test:
You can also just print inspect.stack() if you need more thorough information.
The only thin I can think of would be to replace sys.stdout, for example with a streamwriter as returned by codecs.getwriter('utf8'). Then you can set a breakpoint on it's write method in pdb. Or replace it's write method with debugging code.
import codecs
import sys
writer = codecs.getwriter('utf-8')(sys.stdout) # sys.stdout.detach() in python3
old_write = writer.write
def write(data):
print >>sys.stderr, 'debug:', repr(data)
# or check data + pdb.set_trace()
old_write(data)
writer.write = write
sys.stdout = writer
print 'spam', 'eggs'