Parameterizing Tests More Effectively

Introduction

Unit tests are either non-parameterized or parameterized:

• A non-parameterized test means that a single test case is associated with a single test method.
• A parameterized test means that multiple cases are associated with a test method. Furthermore, there are ways in which tests are parameterized.

Parameterization-specific attributes are attributes that enrich or enhance parametrization. There are six parameterization-specific attributes:

• Combinatorial
• Range
• Random
• Pairwise
• Sequential
• TestCaseSource

Each parameterization-specific attribute is covered below with other related attributes.

The Values attribute

The Values attribute is used with the Combinatorial, Range, Random, and Pairwise attributes. It is essentially an attribute that contains a list of various values. When used in conjunction with the other attributes, it supplies these attributes with the values defined in the values list. Its use is demonstrated in the subsections below.

The Combinatorial attribute

The Combinatorial attribute allows you to arrange all input data provided in the associated Values attribute according to various combinations. An example of this attribute usage is shown below:

[Test, Combinatorial]
public void MyTest([Values(1, 2, 3, 4)] int

...