Add daily email for 2023-11-27

Finding the best test base

src/content/daily-email/2023-11-27.md

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+---
+title: >
+  Finding the best test base
+pubDate: 2023-11-27
+permalink: >
+  archive/2023/11/27/finding-the-best-test-base
+tags:
+  - software-development
+  - automated-testing
+  - test-driven-development
+  - php
+  - drupal
+---
+
+As well as different base classes for types of tests - i.e. functional, kernel and unit - there are other test base classes within those that can be used to simplify things.
+
+For example, if we have this test:
+
+```php
+<?php
+
+namespace Drupal\Tests\example\Kernel;
+
+use Drupal\KernelTests\KernelTestBase;
+use Drupal\Tests\node\Traits\NodeCreationTrait;
+use Drupal\Tests\user\Traits\UserCreationTrait;
+
+class ExampleTest extends KernelTestBase {
+
+  use NodeCreationTrait;
+  use UserCreationTrait;
+
+  protected static $modules = [
+    'node',
+    'user',
+  ];
+
+  public function setUp(): void {
+    parent::setUp();
+
+    $this->installEntitySchema(entity_type_id: 'node');
+    $this->installEntitySchema(entity_type_id: 'user');
+  }
+
+  public function testExample(): void {
+    $user = $this->createUser();
+
+    $article = $this->createNode([
+      'title' => 'Test article',
+      'uid' => $user,
+    ]);
+
+    self::assertSame('1', $article->getOwnerId());
+  }
+
+}
+```
+
+Both creation traits must be imported, the `node` and `user` modules must be enabled, and the entity tables must be installed.
+
+When writing a lot of tests, this can result in duplication and more complex tests that take longer to write.
+
+This can be simplified using `EntityKernelTestBase` instead of `KernelTestBase`:
+
+```php
+<?php
+
+use Drupal\KernelTests\Core\Entity\EntityKernelTestBase;
+use Drupal\Tests\node\Traits\NodeCreationTrait;
+
+class ExampleTest extends EntityKernelTestBase {
+
+  use NodeCreationTrait;
+
+  protected static $modules = [
+    'node',
+  ];
+
+  public function testExample(): void {
+    $user = $this->createUser();
+
+    $article = $this->createNode([
+      'title' => 'Test article',
+      'uid' => $user,
+    ]);
+
+    self::assertSame('1', $article->getOwnerId());
+  }
+
+}
+```
+
+The class is simpler, fewer modules must be specified, and the entity schemas are automatically installed.
+
+As well as the core modules, some contrib modules also provide their own base test cases.
+
+If you're using the Webform module, you may want to use `WebformAccessTestBase` instead of the standard `UnitTestCase`.
+
+It's definitely worth spending some time looking at what base test cases are available and which are the best ones to use for your own tests.