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Windows Forms Testing

This document describes our approach to testing.

Building tests

Tests are automatically built when running .\build since all test projects are referenced in Winforms.sln at the repository root.

Unit Tests

Running unit tests

Unit testing from the command line

To execute unit tests, run .\build -test

If all the tests are successful, you should see something like this:

  Running tests: E:\src\repos\github\winforms\artifacts\bin\System.Windows.Forms.Tests\Debug\net6.0\System.Windows.Forms.Tests.dll [net6.0|x64]
  Tests succeeded: E:\src\repos\github\winforms\artifacts\bin\System.Windows.Forms.Tests\Debug\net6.0\System.Windows.Forms.Tests.dll [net6.0|x64]

Build succeeded.
    0 Warning(s)
    0 Error(s)

Troubleshooting command-line unit test errors

When testing from the command line, a failed test should look something like this:

Running tests: E:\src\repos\github\winforms\artifacts\bin\System.Windows.Forms.Tests\Debug\net6.0\System.Windows.Forms.Tests.dll [net6.0|x64]
XUnit : error : Tests failed: E:\src\repos\github\winforms\artifacts\TestResults\Debug\System.Windows.Forms.Tests_net6.0_x64.html [net6.0|x64] [E:\src\repos\github\winforms\src\System.Windows.Forms\tests\UnitTests\System.Windows.Forms.Tests.csproj]
XUnit : error : Tests failed: E:\src\repos\github\winforms\artifacts\TestResults\Debug\System.Windows.Forms.Tests_net6.0_x64.html [net6.0|x64] [E:\src\repos\github\winforms\src\System.Windows.Forms\tests\UnitTests\System.Windows.Forms.Tests.csproj]

Build FAILED.
  • The test summary can be found under artifacts\log
  • To see the actual test(s) that failed, along with their error message(s), open the .html file that is displayed in the error message (which is always under artifacts\TestResults)

Unit testing from Visual Studio

To test from Visual Studio, start Visual Studio via .\start-vs.cmd, and test how you normally would (using the Test Explorer, for example)

Troubleshooting Visual Studio unit test errors

  • When testing from Visual Studio, test errors show up as normal in the Test Explorer.
  • To troubleshoot, debug the selected test and set breakpoints as you normally would.
  • For common issues when running tests through Visual Studio, see Testing in Visual Studio

Adding new unit tests

Tests are built and executed by file name convention

  • Every WinForms binary has its own folder under src in the repository root (src\System.Windows.Forms, for example)
  • Each of those folders has a tests folder under it (src\System.Windows.Forms\tests, for example)
  • Each tests folder contains an xUnit test project (System.Windows.Forms.Tests.csproj)
    • These test projects automatically build when running .\build
    • The tests from these projects automatically execute when running .\build -test.
      It is also possible to execute individual tests via dotnet test --filter <filter expression> command by switching to the desired test project directory first.

Therefore, you just need to put your tests in the right place in order for them to run

  • Browse to the tests folder for the binary you are testing.
  • There should be one file per class being tested, and the file name should match the class name followed by a "Tests" suffix.
    • For example, if I wanted to test the Button class in System.Windows.Forms.dll, I would look for a ButtonTests.cs under src\System.Windows.Forms\tests.
    • For example, if I wanted to test the Button.ButtonAccessibleObject class in System.Windows.Forms.dll, I would look for a Button.ButtonAccessibleObjectTests.cs under src\System.Windows.Forms\tests.
  • If the file exists, add your tests there. If it doesn't exist, feel free to create it.
    • Note that you don't have to modify the csproj at all. Since the project is a Microsoft.NET.Sdk project, all source files next to it are automatically included.

Unit Test best practices

Naming

  • Test files names should match the class they are testing followed by a "Tests" suffix.
    • For example, tests for the Button class should be in ButtonTests.cs.
    • For example, tests for the Button.ButtonAccessibleObject class should be in Button.ButtonAccessibleObjectTests.cs.
  • Test names should start with the class they are testing.
    • For example, all tests for the Button class should start with "Button".
  • Test names should end with a description of what the test does - this is very useful when viewing test results, and when browsing in the test explorer. As far as naming conventions are concerned we don't mandate a specific one, as long as a test name clearly communicates its purpose.
    • For example, Button_AutoSizeModeGetSet or MyButton_Click_should_throw_ArgumentNullException.

Decoration

  • All tests that deal with UI controls or types that require synchronization context must be decorated with WinFormsFact or WinFormsTheory attributes.
  • Other tests can be decorated with StaFact, StaTheory, Fact or Theory

Dispose created objects

  • All tests creating disposable objects (e.g. UI controls) must dispose them. Otherwise it could lead to memory leaks (bad but not terminal) and race conditions that could lead to deadlocked tests (terminal). 
      [WinFormsFact]
  public void ButtonBase_GetAutoSizeMode_Invoke_ReturnsExpected()
  {
      using SubButtonBase control = new();
      Assert.Equal(AutoSizeMode.GrowOnly, control.GetAutoSizeMode());
  }

Theory tests

Quite often there may be multiple tests that test exactly the same functionality but with different input parameters (e.g. null, "", " " for a string argument). In such cases instead of creating multiple tests it is preferred to have a theory test, which is in another words a data-driven test.

When writing theories note the following:

  1. theory test must be correctly decorated

  2. theories must avoid creating UI controls. E.g. instead of writing:

    public static IEnumerable<object[]> GetButton_TestData()
{
    yield return new object[] { new Button() };
    yield return new object[] { new Button() { Text = "bla" } };
}

[WinFormsTheory]
[MemberData(nameof(GetButton_TestData))]
public void Ctor_Control_DataGridViewCellStyle(Button button) { ... }

    prefer the following:

    public static IEnumerable<object[]> GetButton_TestData()
{
    yield return new object[] { string.Empty };
    yield return new object[] { "bla" };
}

[WinFormsTheory]
[MemberData(nameof(GetButton_TestData))]
public void Ctor_Control_DataGridViewCellStyle(string buttonText) 
{
    using Button button = new() { Text = buttonText };
    ...
}

  3. theories must not reuse disposable components.
    In situations where following the above recommendation could be impractical, it is maybe acceptable to create disposable controls for each theory data, e.g.:

    public static IEnumerable<object[]> GetButton_TestData()
{
    yield return new object[] { new Button(), new DataGridViewCellStyle() };
    yield return new object[] { new Button() { Text = "bla" }, new DataGridViewCellStyle() };
}

    xUnit tries its best to dispose of disposable objects. However objects must not be shared across theories, as it could lead to unknown state, e.g.

    // ** DO NOT DO THIS! **
public static IEnumerable<object[]> GetButton_TestData()
{
    Button button = new();
    yield return new object[] { button, new DataGridViewCellStyle() };
    yield return new object[] { button { Text = "bla" }, new DataGridViewCellStyle() }; // the button could already be disposed by the time this theory runs
}

Also be mindful of VS-specific behaviours: https://xunit.net/faq/theory-data-stability-in-vs

Strategy

Unit tests should be part of the same PR as code changes
  • Unit tests must be added for any change to public APIs.
  • We will accept unit tests for internal/private methods as well. Some non-public API can be accessed directly (e.g. internal), some via subclassing (e.g. virtual) or via the public surface. However there are plenty of instances where a non-public API can't be easily accessed or arranged for. In this cases we use TestAccessor pattern to arrange, act and assert.
Code Coverage
  • In Visual Studio Test Explorer, select all tests, right click and execute 'Analyze code coverage for selected tests' command. This will run all tests and give a summary of blocks covered in 'Code Coverage Results' window. The summary can be drilled down to method level.
  • Any code change accompanied with unit tests is expected to increase code coverage for the code modified.
Avoid duplicating tests just for different inputs
  • Use WinFormsTheory, StaTheory or Theory attributes for this, followed by either [InlineData] or [MemberData]. See existing tests for examples on how to use these attributes
  • The exception to this is if the code behavior is fundamentally different based on the inputs. For example, if a method throws an ArgumentException for invalid inputs, that should be a separate test.
One test (or test data) per code path please
  • The most common exception to this is when testing a property, most people test get/set together
Whenever possible, mock up dependencies to run tests in isolation
  • For example, if your method accepts an abstraction, use Moq to mock it up
  • Search for Mock in the existing tests for examples, and see Moq for details on how to use Moq.

Rendering Tests

We use Enhance Metafiles (or EMF for short) to validate rendering operations, i.e. assert that correct shapes were drawn with expected colours and brushes.

A typical "rendering" assertion test would looks something like this:

[WinFormsFact]
public void MyControl_Rendering()
{
    // 1. Create a control to validate rendering for.
    // 2. Add the control to a form, and make sure the form is created
    using Form form = new Form();
    using MyControl control = new() { ... };
    form.Controls.Add(control);
    Assert.NotEqual(IntPtr.Zero, form.Handle);

    // Create an Enhance Metafile into which we will render the control
    using EmfScope emf = new();
    DeviceContextState state = new DeviceContextState(emf);

    // Render the control
    control.PrintToMetafile(emf);

    // We can see the rendering steps by invoking this command:
    // string records = emf.RecordsToString();

    // Assert the rendering was as expected
    emf.Validate(
        state,
        ...
        );
}

Functional Tests

⚠️ There is a very blurry line between unit and functional tests in Windows Forms realm. A lot of our implementations depend on ambient contexts (such as Win32, COM, etc.). We classify tests as "functional" or "integration" that require process-wide settings (such as visual styles) or require user-like interactions (e.g. mouse gestures).

The general purpose functional test suite is the WinFormsControlsTest. There is an xUnit project that executes various commands against this binary.

Running functional tests

Functional testing from the command line

To execute functional tests, run .\build -integrationTest

You will see various windows open and close very quickly. If all the tests are successful, you should see something like this:

  Running tests: E:\src\repos\github\winforms\artifacts\bin\System.Windows.Forms.IntegrationTests\Debug\net6.0\System.Windows.Forms.IntegrationTests.dll [net6.0|x64]
  Tests succeeded: E:\src\repos\github\winforms\artifacts\bin\System.Windows.Forms.IntegrationTests\Debug\net6.0\System.Windows.Forms.IntegrationTests.dll [net6.0|x64]

Build succeeded.
    0 Warning(s)
    0 Error(s)

Troubleshooting command-line functional test errors

Since these run in xUnit, functional test errors can be examined in the same way as unit test failures.

Functional testing from Visual Studio

To test from Visual Studio, open Winforms.sln in Visual Studio and test how you normally would (using the Test Explorer, for example)

Troubleshooting Visual Studio functional test errors

  • When testing from Visual Studio, test errors show up as normal in the test explorer.
  • To troubleshoot, debug the selected test and set breakpoints as you normally would.

Adding new functional tests

Functional tests are built and executed by file name convention

  • Every WinForms binary has its own folder under src in the repository root (src\System.Windows.Forms, for example)
  • Each of those folders has a tests folder under it (src\System.Windows.Forms\tests, for example), each of which may contain an IntegrationTests folder
  • Each of these folders contains an IntegrationTest xUnit project (System.Windows.Forms.IntegrationTests.csproj)
    • These test projects automatically build when running .\build
    • The tests from these projects automatically execute when running .\build -integrationTest

Therefore, you just need to put your tests in the right place in order for them to run

  • Browse to the tests folder for the binary you are testing
  • There should be one file per class being tested, and the file name should match the class name.
    • For example, if I wanted to test the Button class in System.Windows.Forms.dll, I would look for a Button.cs under src\System.Windows.Forms\tests
  • If the file exists, add your tests there. If it doesn't exist, feel free to create it.
    • Note that you don't have to modify the csproj at all. Since the project is a Microsoft.NET.Sdk project, all source files next to it are automatically included

Testing for Accessibility

Our goal is to make writing accessible WinForms applications easy. Specifically, all default property values should yield accessible experience. To test that controls are accessible, find or add the changed control to AccessibilityTests application and run Accessibility Insights for Windows on it.

Running and debugging crashed tests

At times tests may fail in way that makes it difficult to debug (e.g., the test runner process crashes). In this case, it's good to replicate the issue locally and collect a memory dump to have a better understanding whether the issue is caused by the change in Windows Forms SDK, or, for example, by the .NET runtime.

  • Configure your workstation to automatically collect memory dumps following Collecting User-Mode Dumps guide guide.
  • Run .\start-code.cmd
  • In the VS Code terminal run the following commands to run the tests: 
    .\restore.cmd
pushd .\src\System.Windows.Forms\tests\UnitTests
dotnet test
  • Upon the test process crash, navigate to the collected memory dump and inspect it in WinDbg (or MSFT internal) (or another tool of your choice).

❕If you need to debug an x86-related issue, run tests with -a x86 argument, e.g., dotnet test -a x86, and then use the 32-bit version of WinDbg to open the dump.