Pragmatic Unit Testing in C# with Nunit

This book is a slim one, just over 200 pages, and provides an easy introduction to writing unit tests. It explains the concept of unit testing, why they are beneficial, and carries on with how to write and manage tests. The reader is gently introduced to the code, and shown how a unit test can be written without a test framework. NUnit is then introduced and is used to automate most of the gritty details. There is a basic overview of mock objects, and a mention of the NMock tool. The book briefly mentions test-driven development, code coverage, UI tests, and refactoring, but does not go into them in any depth. Which is fine, since this is intended as a focused introduction to unit testing. For anyone new to unit testing in .NET, this book is worth a read. It does not go into much depth, but does the job as introductory material. If you are already comfortable with unit testing and NUnit, I can recommend The Art of Unit Testing: With Examples in .Net as a more advanced book.

The book is packed with practical advice on unit testing. Why should you do unit testing, what do you need to know to write good tests, how do you know if you're writing good tests, how can unit tests not only improve your code, but also your design, can unit tests doom a project (if not done right) --- you'll find answers to all of these questions and more. The authors also give numerous short code examples that help solidify the concepts. You'll also find extensive references and links to web-sites where appropriate. The authors' writing style is fluid. If you enjoy reading good technical books, you'll read this like a novel!

This is a great introduction to writing unit tests in C# with NUnit. The authors do a good job of explaining why unit tests should be created, how having unit tests are better than not having unit tests, and what exactly should be coded for in a unit test. The book is well-written, easy to follow, and includes helpful guidelines for things that might be confusing to developers. The real strength of this book is not the author's approach to writing unit tests, but rather they clearly illustrate what exactly should be tested in a unit test. The authors show how adhering to the guidelines they set forth results in unit tests that are well-written and fail at appropriate times. The authors then generalize this to some extent and provide an excellent discussion on the properties of a good unit test. My favorite section of the book was actually one of the appendices. In the first appendix, the authors go through a list of gotchas--both in writing unit tests in general and specific to unit tests in C#. This is a very short discussion (only 6 pages), but they identify some issues I've seen with poorly written unit tests. This is a great book as an introduction to writing unit tests. The authors clearly explain why unit tests should be written, they show clearly what should be tested in a unit test, and they describe some of the problems that have been avoided by writing intelligent unit tests.

I was using NUnit within an hour of reading this book. I found it very easy to read. It has helped me transition into a Test Driven Development frame of mind. Just using NUnit to write test fixtures for existing code reveals instantly where code should be refactored due to high level of dependency. I recommend this to every .NET developer.

The message of this book is: responsible developers unit test, and it's easy to do, so do it! If you're tired of reading 800 page books that should've been 200 pages, then you will find this book a refreshing change. It gets straight to the point, explaining in an easy-to-read style how to unit test .NET applications, including how to install & use the popular NUnit & NMock tools. It also explains how to design effective unit tests, and what to do in common problem situations (such as incomplete requirements). It is a great first book on unit testing for .NET, but since it is a pragmatic guide it does not cover the more esoteric, quirky issues you may run into. It also does not discuss or promote test-driven development techniques and theories. It is strictly a nuts & bolts discussion of .NET unit testing with NUnit & NMock, but if you need to be unit testing today (not next month), then this is the book to get.