Question

Django has a very handy test client/dummy web browser that one can use in test cases to verify the correctness of HTTP responses (e.g., status codes, context/model data). It does not require you to have the web server running, as it deals directly with the framework to simulate the calls.

I’d really love an nUnit (or similar) equivalent that we can slip right into our test suites. We’re working in MVC3 and 4, and want to check things like successful 301 redirects, that model validation is correct, and that ViewModel data is correct in the views.

What’s the best solution for this?

Answer 1

ViewModel Data should be easy to check with the following:

    public T GetViewModelFromResult<T>(ActionResult result) where T : class
    {
        Assert.IsInstanceOf<ViewResult>(result);
        var model = ((ViewResult)result).Model;
        Assert.IsInstanceOf<T>(model);
        return model as T;
    }

    [Test]
    public void TheModelHasTheOrder()
    {
        var controller = new MyController();
        var result = controller.MyActionMethod();
        var model = GetViewModelFromResult<MyModel>();

        Assert.That(model, Is.SameAs(???));
    }

As for the model validation, if you are using the out of the box .net property attributes like [Required] etc, you can be pretty sure they will work fine, and won’t need testing.