RPR-Unit testing

Testing R code

(Code testing in R with the testthat package)

 

Abstract:

This unit discusses how to put tests in R into practice with the testthat package.

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Objectives: This unit will ... ... introduce the testthat package; ... teach how to write tests; ... demonstrate best practice to organize your tests.

Outcomes: After working through this unit you ... ... can write your own tests; ... can organize your tests in files and a testing directory to simplify running them.

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Deliverables:

Time management: Before you begin, estimate how long it will take you to complete this unit. Then, record in your course journal: the number of hours you estimated, the number of hours you worked on the unit, and the amount of time that passed between start and completion of this unit.

Journal: Document your progress in your Course Journal. Some tasks may ask you to include specific items in your journal. Don't overlook these.

Insights: If you find something particularly noteworthy about this unit, make a note in your insights! page.

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Prerequisites:
This unit builds on material covered in the following prerequisite units:

• FND-CSC-Test_driven_development (Test Driven Development)

 

 

 

Evaluation

Evaluation: NA

This unit is not evaluated for course marks.

Contents

Task:

 

• Open RStudio and load the ABC-units R project. If you have loaded it before, choose File → Recent projects → ABC-Units. If you have not loaded it before, follow the instructions in the RPR-Introduction unit.
• Choose Tools → Version Control → Pull Branches to fetch the most recent version of the project from its GitHub repository with all changes and bug fixes included.
• Type init() if requested.
• Open the file RPR-Unit_testing.R and follow the instructions.

 

Note: take care that you understand all of the code in the script. Evaluation in this course is cumulative and you may be asked to explain any part of code.

 

Further reading, links and resources

testthat package reference pdf (on CRAN)

• Kent C. Dodds on unit testing vs. integration testing (blog post)

Notes

 

About ...
 
Author:

Boris Steipe <boris.steipe@utoronto.ca>

Created:

2017-08-05

Modified:

2020-09-24

Version:

1.1

Version history:

• 1.1 2020 Maintenance
• 1.0 New contents
• 0.1 First stub

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