Qafoo GmbH - passion for software quality
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:Author: 		Kore Nordmann
:Date:			Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:04:28 +0100
:Revision: 		4
:Copyright:		All rights reserved


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Shopware Academy: Functional Testing
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:Description:
    Implementing a strategy for automatic testing inside a pre-existing
    shop-system such as Shopware requires knowledge of the internals and a
    tailored approach. This post discusses approaches for Shopware and a
    workshop that Manuel is presenting at Shopware Academy.
:Keywords:
    PHP, Shopware, Symfony, Functional Testing, Shopware Academy
:Abstract:
    Implementing a strategy for automatic testing inside a pre-existing
    shop-system such as Shopware requires knowledge of the internals and a
    tailored approach. This post discusses approaches for Shopware and a
    workshop that Manuel is presenting at Shopware Academy.

Shopware is based on a custom framework that utilizes some Zend
Framework 1 and Symfony 2 components. Writing automatic tests within this
pre-existing infrastructure makes it neccessary to obtain a dedicated skillset
within this system. This applies to any othe rend-user software like Wordpress,
TYPO3, ezPublish or phpBB. 

.. note::
    Learn how to automate testing for Shopware plugins and applications
    by attending the `Shopware Academy`__ workshop by our trainer Manuel.

__ http://www.shopware.de/functional-testing-workshop-m-pichler/?sCategory=388 

To test the full stack, the software has to be installed on the development-
and the testsystem. The full stack includes all the required
configuration and database content. In the case of Shopware significant parts
of the configuration are saved in the database. Before writing the first tests
you have to automate the setup of your application including the configuration
for the database. This setup has to mirror your production system as close as
possible and you need to make sure that changes to the production setup are also
ported to your testing setup.

As a next step, you will need to find out how to write your first functional test.
There are two recommendable approaches:

1. Using a frontend testing tool such as `Mink`__. This is basically a
   programmatic API to control a browser, which supports both headless or real
   browser testing. Mink can be used through the popular testing tools
   `Behat`__ or `PHPUnit`__.

   This has the benefit that you don't need to understand most of the
   internals of Shopware and can just click through your shop application
   and test features. One drawback however is, that Shopwares ExtJS backend
   is so dynamic that it is not testable with this approach.

__ http://mink.behat.org
__ http://behat.org
__ http://www.phpunit.de

2. Replicating the functional testing strategy of Shopware by using
   the test infrastructure that already exists. To test the REST API and
   the internal APIs Shopware contains several `PHPUnit`__ testcases that
   help you setting up tests and isolating them from each other.

   The benefit here is that Shopware already includes this functionality
   and you can learn how it works and reuse it. The drawback is that
   not everything can be easily tested through these APIs. Sometimes it is
   tricky to set these tests up.

__ http://www.phpunit.de

In any case, writing the first test often requires a bit of setup and
knowledge, but quickly pays back when you can build on this knowledge to
automate many tests for your application.

If you are interested in strategies for testing Shopware plugins or
applications you should take a look at this `one-day workshop at the
Shopware Academy`__ presented by our trainer Manuel. The workshop will include
many theoretical and practical sessions, where you can learn to write
functional tests for Shopware.

__ http://www.shopware.de/functional-testing-workshop-m-pichler/?sCategory=388


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