How to create tests when you are using Sugar ORM (version 5) in an Android app

Let’s say that in your Android application, you are using Sugar ORM in your data source class, which does the CRUD to your local database.

import com.example.domain.MyDataSource;
import com.example.domain.MyEntity;
import com.example.data.MyDbModel;

import io.reactivex.Completable;

public class MyRepository implements MyDataSource {

    public Completable save(MyEntity myEntity) {
        return Completable.fromAction(() -> {
            MyDbModel myDbModel = new MyDbModel(myEntity.id());
            SugarRecord.save(myDbModel);
        });
    }

    public Single<MyEntity> get(UUID id) {
        return Single.fromCallable(() -> {
            // TODO: Select.from(MyDbModel.class)...
        });
    }

}

… And you want to make tests for you save() method (some call this integration tests, instead of unit tests, because these tests touch the database).

You have to add the SugarOrm.init() in your setup method and the SugarOrm.terminate() in your cleanup method, like in the code below.

import android.app.Activity;
import io.reactivex.observers.TestObserver;
import org.robolectric.RobolectricTestRunner;

...

@RunWith(RobolectricTestRunner.class)
@Config(constants = BuildConfig.class, 
sdk = Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT, manifest=Config.NONE)
public class MyRepositoryIntegrationTests {

    @Before
    public void setup() {
        SugarOrm.init(Robolectric.buildActivity(Activity.class)
                .create()
                .resume()
                .get());
    }

    @After
    public void cleanup() {
        SugarOrm.terminate();
    }

    @Test
    public void saveTest() throws Exception {
        // arrange
        TestObserver saveObserver = new TestObserver();
        UUID newId = UUID.randomUUID();
        MyEntity myEntity = new MyEntity(newId);
        MyRepository repository = new MyRepository();

        // act
        repository.save(myEntity).subscribe(saveObserver);

        // assert
        saveObserver.assertComplete();
        saveObserver.assertNoErrors();

        TestObserver<MyEntity> getObserver = new TestObserver<>();
        repository.get(newId).subscribe(getObserver);

        getObserver.assertComplete();
        getObserver.assertNoErrors();
        getObserver.assertValueCount(1);
        getObserver.assertValue(entity -> entity.id().equals(newId));
    }

    ...

}

You can also choose to put the SugarORM init() and terminate() in a base integration tests class like the one below:

@RunWith(RobolectricTestRunner.class)
@Config(constants = BuildConfig.class, 
sdk = Build.VERSION_CODES.KITKAT, manifest=Config.NONE)
public abstract class BaseDataIntegrationTests {

    @Before
    public void setupFromBase() {
        SugarOrm.init(Robolectric.buildActivity(Activity.class)
                .create()
                .resume()
                .get());
    }

    @After
    public void cleanupFromBase() {
        SugarOrm.terminate();
    }
}

(Be sure that the name of your setup method in this base class is different from the name of the setup methods in your child classes, because if they are the same, the setup method of the base class will be overriden, and so the SugarOrm.init() will never be invoked.)

… Then make all your database integration tests inherit from it.

public class MyRepositoryIntegrationTests 
    extends BaseDataIntegrationTests {
    ...
}

Of course, I understand that these kinds of tests are useless if all you are doing in your repository.save() method is call the SugarRecord.save() method. The Sugar ORM people already tested their work, I believe. We do not need to retest them.

These kinds of tests will be useful if, for example, you have to test that your save() throws a particular Exception if a specific thing occurs in save() method; or you have to do other things, such as save your data to a server, and things like that…

And I also understand that in an enterprise kind of application, the repositories are not supposed to have a save() method.

But I’m hoping that this tutorial will help someone who needs to test something that uses Sugar ORM.

Happy coding!!!

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