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Integration Watch: When 100% code coverage is not enough


By Andrew Binstock
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February 15, 2009 —  (Page 1 of 2)
In my previous discussions of code coverage, I explained the reasons why 100% code coverage from tests is not a desirable goal. To recap, there is a lot of code that does not need to be tested, and writing code specifically to test it is simply a waste of time. For example, testing setters and getters is a recognized waste of time. Surely you have better things to do with your time.

Another common form of conceptually incorrect and equally wasteful testing is testing in a way that violates encapsulation, or more specifically, object integrity. Suppose that you have a linked list for holding tokens, and suppose that rather than wrapping the list in its own class, as you should, you just use the bare data structure as it’s provided by the library. Then, in your testing, you write a test that adds an item to the list and immediately retrieves it. Then it tests the two versions for equality.

What are you doing? You’re actually testing the data structure provided by the system library. You are not testing your code, but rather a pair of methods encapsulated inside a data structure in a different library. That is never right.

The desirability of 100% code coverage comes from an admirable but misdirected sense that unit testing the entire codebase improves the code’s reliability. This, however, is not the case. Simply because unit tests bring value in one setting does not mean that an excess of tests is a valuable thing.

However, for people inclined in this direction, there is a testing need that’s rarely discussed and rarely done, but which should gratify the desire to write tests: writing more than 100% coverage tests for certain methods.

Greater than 100% is an easily achievable goal. For example, attaining 100% branch coverage often means that a given line needs to be tested multiple ways, resulting in more than 100% line coverage for that line. One hundred percent branch coverage is a desirable goal. You definitely want to make sure that every path your logic can take has been tested. If you aim for 100% branch coverage, you’ll get very high line coverage and you’ll probably be close to the maximum of the test coverage you need.


Related Search Term(s): testing, Agitar

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