diff --git a/Why-do-we-need-yet-another-C----Obj-C-Automated-Test-framework?.md b/Why-do-we-need-yet-another-C----Obj-C-Automated-Test-framework?.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fd556b0 --- /dev/null +++ b/Why-do-we-need-yet-another-C----Obj-C-Automated-Test-framework?.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +Good question. For C++ there are quite a few established frameworks, including (but not limited to), [[CppUnit|http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/cppunit/index.php?title=Main_Page]], [[Aeryn|https://launchpad.net/aeryn]], [[Cute|http://r2.ifs.hsr.ch/cute]], [[Fructose|http://fructose.sourceforge.net/]], [[Google Test|http://code.google.com/p/googletest/]], [[Boost.Test|http://www.boost.org/doc/libs/1_49_0/libs/test/doc/html/index.html]] and [[many more|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_unit_testing_frameworks#C.2B.2B]]. Even for Objective-C there are a few, including OCUnit - which now comes bundled with XCode. + +So what does CATCH bring to the party that differentiates it from these? Apart from a Catchy name, of course. + +## Key Features + +* Really easy to get started. Just download catch.hpp, #include it and you're away. +* No external dependencies. As long as you have the C++ standard library available. +* Write test cases as, self-registering, functions or methods. +* Divide test cases into sections, each of which is run in isolation (eliminates the need for fixtures!) +* Only one core assertion macro for comparisons. Standard C operators are used for the comparison - yet the full expression is decomposed and lhs and rhs values are logged. + +## Other core features + +* Failures can (optionally) break into the debugger on Windows and Mac. +* Tests are named hierarchically and can be run by matching the entire name or partially to provide one way of grouping tests. +* Test case function names are generated within the macro - you only need to provide a free-form test name (and description) +* Test cases can be described from a TDD or BDD mindset, with support for nested SECTIONs in the latter. +* Output is through reporter objects. basic textual and XML reporters are included. Custom reporters can easily be added. +* JUnit xml output is supported for integration with third-party tools, such as CI servers. +* Output can be to any stream. +* A default main() function is provided (in a header), but you can supply your own for complete control (e.g. integration into your own test runner GUI). +* A command line parser is provided and can still be used if you choose to provided your own main() function. +* Catch can test itself. +* Alternative assertion macro(s) report failures but don't abort the test case +* Floating point tolerance comparisons are built in using an expressive Approx() syntax. +* Internal and friendly macros are isolated so name clashes can be managed +* Support for Matchers (early stages) + +## Objective-C-specific features + +* Automatically detects if you are using it from an Objective-C project +* Works with and without ARC with no additional configuration +* Implement test fixtures using Obj-C classes too (like OCUnit) +* Additional built in matchers that work with Obj-C types (e.g. string matchers) + +See the [[tutorial]] to get more of a test of using CATCH in practice \ No newline at end of file