I have used a wide range of unit testing frameworks over the years. With each one there is a collection of good and bad aspects. One of the more destructive "bad" aspects is the difficulty of setting up a framework. The longer and harder it is to use, the less likely a developer is to use a testing framework.
A number of years ago I ran across a short online page that described something so simple I couldn't believe it worked. At this page the author makes a small set of macros into a unit test framework that can be used in any C/C++ code base. It doesn't do a lot of things, but what it does really well is allow a developer to setup a set of unit tests in minutes that just works. No external requirements and it is only 4 lines of code.
Over time I found I wanted a little more granuality in the number of tests run. I have added a subtest count so we know how many types of tests and how many individual tests have been run. This provides me with a bit of feedback on how I'm doing in generating tests, and also strokes my ego when I see that number go up (more tests are a good thing, right? :-).
I have included a sample test file, but it is very simple to use it. Create a test source file that does the following:
#include "minunit.h"- Create two global variables in the scope of the test file (I know, but this case is worth it).
int tests_run;int subtests_run;
- Create a function to run all of the test sets from. This can be called from main.
- Create functions of tests and call them with
mu_run_testfrom the function above.- Each test uses an
mu_assert.- The first parameter is the string to return on a failure.
- The second parameter is the test that must be true to pass.
- Each test uses an
- Compile the test. You can include this into your build system anyway you want.
The original page didn't have a license, just a release of the code in the text. I have choosen a simple BSD license to try and stay in line with the author's original intent.