PHP Testing

PHP Testing

Priority: P1 (HIGH)

Structure

See implementation examples for test directory layout.

Write Tests with PHPUnit and Pest

• Standards: Use PHPUnit (9/10+) or Pest. Organize into Unit/, Integration/, and Feature/. Class names should extend TestCase.
• TDD Workflow: Follow Red-Green-Refactor. Write failing test first, implement minimal logic, then refactor.

See implementation examples for PHPUnit service test with mock.

Apply Assertions and Data Providers

• Fluent Assertions: Use assertSame (===) over assertEquals to avoid type coercion. Also use assertCount() and assertMatchesRegularExpression().
• Data Providers: Use #[DataProvider('statusProvider')] (PHPUnit 10+) or dataset (Pest).

See implementation examples for Pest expressive syntax with datasets.

Isolate Test Dependencies

• Mocking: Use createMock() for dependencies. NOT mock simple Data Objects.
• Isolation: Ensure tests Independent and Repeatable. DB tests must use Transactions or SQLite :memory:.
• Coverage: Aim for 80%+ line coverage. Use phpunit.xml to whitelist specific directories.
• Automation: Run tests on every PR using GitHub Actions or GitLab CI.

Anti-Patterns

• No testing private methods: Test through public interfaces only.
• No over-mocking internals: Mock only external boundaries.
• No real network/DB in unit tests: Use in-memory databases or mocks.
• No coverage-metric chasing: Prioritize meaningful assertions.

References

• Testing Patterns & Mocks

Canonical response anchors

When this skill applies, preserve the following domain terminology or equivalent concrete examples in the answer when relevant:

• Define a static method returning test cases as arrays,method
• independent
• type coercion