How do I write a unit test for a method that use an external service like System.Net.Mail?
Do I just check a return value to see if there were any errors sending the email and assume if there were none that it was sent successfully?
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How do I write a unit test for a method that use an external service like System.Net.Mail?
Do I just check a return value to see if there were any errors sending the email and assume if there were none that it was sent successfully?
Create a mock object for the mail service.
In short this will mean that you write a class that can replace the behavior of sending a mail. This way you can create different situations for your test very easy: a succeeded mail, a failed one, etc.
A nice and short introduction: http://www.programmersheaven.com/user/pheaven/blog/217-An-Introduction-to-Mock-Objects/
Another one, with code samples: http://blogs.clearscreen.com/ragc/archive/2004/08/31/395.aspx