Exploring NUnit in Visual Studio 2019

NUnit is a wildly popular open source unit testing framework that is utilized by many in the .NET community. It provides a straight-forward method for developers to write and execute unit tests that helps keep their applications running smoothly. NUnit also comes with a variety of features that allow developers to easily and quickly run these tests. Here, we will discuss how to use NUnit in Visual Studio 2019.

Step 1: Install NUnit

The first necessary step to using NUnit in Visual Studio 2019 is to download and install the NUnit testing framework. This can be found on the official NUnit website and is necessary to proceed.

Step 2: Create a Visual Studio Project

After the installation of NUnit is complete, a Visual Studio project must be made to start writing and running NUnit test cases. To create a new project, navigate to the “File” menu, then hit “New” and select the “Project” option. From here, choose the “NUnit Test Project” template in Visual Studio Project templates. Name your project and select the desired target framework version.

Step 3: Add NUnit to the Project

To implement NUnit in your Visual Studio project, you must add its reference first. To achieve this, find the “References” folder in the Solution Explorer window, right-click it, and select “Manage NuGet packages”. In the “Browse” tab, look up NUnit and select the most recent version from the search results. Install it and your project will be ready to use NUnit.

Step 4: Write NUnit Test Cases

With the project set up and NUnit implemented, it is now time to write your NUnit test cases. These are written in C# and specified as methods. NUnit comes with different attributes such as the [Test] and [TestCase] so that you can specify them in your test cases. For instance, you may use the [Test] and [TestCase] attributes to define the test methods.

Here is an example of a simple NUnit test method:

[Test]
public void AdditionTest()
{
    int x = 1;
    int y = 2;
    int expected = 3;

    int result = x + y;

    Assert.AreEqual(expected, result);
}

The above code defines an NUnit test method with the [Test] attribute. It adds two numbers before comparing the result to the expected value with the use of the Assert.AreEqual() method.

Step 5: Run NUnit Tests

After finishing your NUnit test cases, you can run them by heading to the “Test” menu, then selecting “Run” and then click “All Tests”. This will run all the NUnit test methods in your project and show the results in the Test Explorer window.

Conclusion

Using NUnit in Visual Studio 2019 is an easy and uncomplicated task. By adhering to the above instructions, you can create, write, and run NUnit test cases for your .NET applications. A well-written test suite will give you the confidence to alter your software without worry about breaking anything. So, start using NUnit to write unit tests and ensure that your code works as expected.