c'est la vie

C Unit Testing Framework

Welcome to c'est la vie (abbreviated as CLV), a unit testing framework for C.

This framework is made to emphasize the importance of unit testing to beginner programmers who are using C. I personally believe learning how to perform test-driven development is an invaluable skill as a programmer, and hence this framework was created.

This framework adopts a plug-and-play mindset when it comes to testing, believing that it should not require a lot of effort to begin writing tests. CLV aims to kickstart the testing process, so that you can immediately get back to producing more and safer code.

DISCLAIMER: This framework can really only be useful if you have written your C code in a modular way. This means your functions to be tested should be decoupled from your file that contains the main function of your binary.

Installation & Dependencies

1. First, ensure that the following dependencies are satisfied:
   • A C compiler (gcc, clang)
   • git
   • make
2. Clone this repository (or install a release).

git clone https://github.com/44mira/clv
cd clv

3. (OPTIONAL) Build clv from source.

go build clv.go     # requires go

4. (OPTIONAL) Add the clv binary to your system PATH.

Usage

1. Run clv init (or the path to the clv binary) in your project's root folder. This should create a directory named tests/ containing the library files for CLV.

NOTE: clv init will overwrite directories.

2. Create test files in this directory for your usecase. These files should end in a _test.c or _test.cpp suffix.
   • Alternatively, you can use clv create <test_name> [... <test_name>] to create a test from a base template.
     • Brackets in this notation signify that clv create can create multiple test files with the same command.
   • Missing this step will cause an error in building the tests.
3. You can now write your tests!
4. To run your tests, first compile them with make tests and then simply run the test binary found in your project root folder.

NOTE: make tests will temporarily create a build directory and then clean it up afterwards, removing it. This will overwrite any existing directory named build! If you do not want this behavior, you can edit it in the Makefile.

Example:

$ cd myProject
$ clv init
The tests/ directory has been created.

$ ls
my_code.c
my_code.h
tests/
Makefile

$ clv create smoke
The tests have been created.

$ ls tests/
clv.h
clv.c
clv_internals.h
smoke_test.c

#include "clv.h"
#include <stdio.h>
#include "../my_code.h"                 /* decoupled business functions */

int main() {
    SETUP;                              /* CLV requires that you add a SETUP and TEARDOWN at the end and beginning
                                           of your program lifetime. */

    ASSERT((5 == 5));                   /* Pass a condition to `ASSERT` and it will document the test result. */
    ASSERT_TRUE((5 == 5));              /* ASSERT can also be called as `ASSERT_TRUE` if you prefer a more explicit naming scheme. */

    TEST_LABEL("4 is not equal to 5");  /* You can attach an optional test label to your tests by calling this macro before the assert! */
    ASSERT_FALSE((4 != 5));             /* You can also use `ASSERT_FALSE` if you prefer it over ASSERT((!condition)) */

    TEST_LABEL("4 is an odd number");
    ASSERT(myIsOdd(4));                 

    TEARDOWN;
}

Make sure to edit the Makefile so that your C file gets linked!

Output:

$ make tests
...
$ ./test
//=TESTS===========================================\\
  OK   | TEST #01 LINE 8    
  OK   | TEST #02 LINE 10   
 FAIL  | TEST #03 LINE 16    | 4 is not equal to 5
 FAIL  | TEST #04 LINE 20    | 4 is an odd number
\\=TESTS===========================================//

API Reference

Check out the wiki!