Writing Tests

PrepAndExpectedTestCase is a turn-key prep/verify test case needing no parent class — dependency-inject it or instantiate it directly. Start here for most new tests.

For the full picture — composition (IDatabaseTester) vs. inheritance (DBTestCase and its subclasses), and how to choose between them — see Test Integration.

Preparing and Verifying Data

Datasets covers the dataset file formats (Flat XML, XML, CSV, YAML, Excel, and more) used for prep and expected data.

Data Comparisons covers verifying results: equality comparison, ValueComparer-based comparison for cases plain equality can’t handle (auto-incrementing ids, timestamps, tolerances), and collecting every difference instead of failing on the first.

Configuring dbUnit

Connections & Configuration covers IDatabaseConnection, DatabaseConfig properties/features, and CachingConnectionProvider for connection reuse across test methods.

Database Operations covers INSERT, CLEAN_INSERT, REFRESH, and the rest of the DatabaseOperation family used for test setup/teardown.

Filters covers restricting which tables, columns, or rows participate in an operation or comparison.

Running dbUnit Outside JUnit

Ant Task covers running dbUnit operations from an Ant build, including a full Canoo WebTest walkthrough.

Using a Specific Database

Database-Specific Guides covers vendor-specific data types, quirks, and configuration for each of dbUnit’s 9 supported databases.