Test & Code

A farewell to a fun 10 years.Also, I should have tested it better. :)In the audio I got the numbers wrong. Doh!This is episode 238, not 237. Oh well.I'll still be around, of course, at:pythontest.com - where I write about developing software with testspythonbytes.fm - Python news and headlines, delivered directly to your earbudsThanks for all the fun over the last 10 years.I wish you the best.

In this episode, host Brian Okken and guest Adam Johnson explore essential Git features, highlighted by Adam's updated book, "Boost Your Git DX." Key topics include "cherry picking" for selective commits"git stash" for managing in-progress work"git diff", and specifically its `--name-only` flag, which provides a streamlined method for developers to identify which files have changed, which can be used to determine which tests need to be run"git bisect" for efficiently pinpointing bugs. This conversation offers valuable strategies for developers at any skill level to enhance their Git proficiency and optimize their coding workflows.Links:Boost Your Git DX - Adam's book

pytest-metadata is described as a plugin for pytest that provides access to test session metadata. That is such a humble description for such a massively useful plugin. If you're already using pytest-html, you have pytest-metadata already installed, as pytest-metadata is one of the dependencies for pytest-html.However, pytest-metadata is very useful even on its own.Links:pytest-metadata - The plugin we're talking about in this episodepytest-base-url - Adds the base URL to the metadata.pytest-html - Displays the metadata at the start of each report. See S2:E6: pytest-html - a plugin that generates HTML reports for test resultspytest-reporter-html1 - Presents metadata as part of the report.pytest-selenium - Adds the driver, capabilities, and remote server to the metadata.If you've got other plugins that work well with pytest-metadata, please let me know.

AI is helping people write code. Tests are one of those things that some people don't like to write. Can AI play a role in creating automated software tests? Well, yes. But it's a nuanced yes. Anthony Shaw comes on the show to discuss the topic and try to get AI to write some test for my very own cards project.We discuss:The promise of AI writing your tests for youDownsides to not writing tests yourselfBad ways to generate testsGood ways to ask AI for help in writing testsTricks to get better results while using copilot and other AI toolsLinks:The cards projectA video version of this discussion: Should AI write tests?

pytest-repeat is a pytest plugin that makes it easy to repeat a single test, or multiple tests, a specific number of times. Note: This was an April Fools attempt, so the statement ..."Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work with Python 3.14, even though there is no rational reason why it shouldn't work." ... is NOT true.Listen to the NEXT episode to get an explanationLinks:pytest-repeatNext episode: pytest-repeat - works fine on Python 3.14

Markdown reports as either text or markdown tables.Two fun plugins discussed.Links:pytest-md-reportpytest-mdTop pytest Plugins

pytest-mock is currently the #3 pytest plugin. pytest-mock is a wrapper around unittest.mock.In this episode:Why the pytest-mock plugin is awesomeWhat is mocking, patching, and monkey patchingWhat, if any, is the difference between mock, fake, spy, stub. Why we might need these in testingSome history of mock in Python and how mock became unittest.mockFrom unittest.mockpatch.objectpatch.object with autospecusing these as context managerspytest-mock:The mocker fixture Cleanup in teardownUsing mocker.patch, mocker.spy, and mocker.stubWhy it's awesome and why you might want to use it over straight unittest.mockLinks:top pytest plugins listpytest-mock documentationunittest.mockPodcast episode discussing unittest.mock with Michael Foordmonkeypatch

This episode kicks off a series on pytest plugins.In this episode:Introduction to pytest pluginsThe pytest.org pytest plugin listFinding pytest related packages on PyPIThe Top pytest plugins list on pythontest.comExploring popular pluginsLearning from plugin examplesLinks:Top pytest plugins listpytest.org plugin listTop PyPI PackagesAnd links to plugins mentioned in the show can be found at pythontest.com/top-pytest-plugins

In this episode we're talking about importing part of a package into another part of the same package.We'll look at: `from . import module` and `from .module import something`and also: `import package` to access the external API from with the package.Why would we use `import package` if `from . import api` would work fine?

PyCon US is just around the corner. I've asked Rob Ludwick to come on the show to discuss how to get the most out of your PyCon experience. There's a lot to do. A lot of activities to juggle, including actual juggling, which is where we start the conversation.Even if you never get a chance to go to PyCon, I hope this interview helps you get a feel for the welcoming aspect of the Python community.I recorded this interview as an episode for one of my other podcasts, Python People. But I think it's got some great pre-conference advice, so I'm sharing it here on Python Test as well.We talk about: - Juggling at PyCon- How to get the most out of PyCon - Watching talks - Hallway track - Open spaces - Lightening talks - Expo hall / vendor space - Poster sessions - Job fair - A welcoming community - Tutorials - Sprints - But mostly about the people of Python and PyCon."Python enables smart people to work faster" - Rob Ludwick

Nicole is a software engineer and writer, and recently wrote about the trade-offs we make when deciding which tests to write and how much testing is enough.We talk about:Balancing schedule vs testingHow much testing is the right about of testingShould code coverage be measured and trackedGood refactoring can reduce code coverageIs it worth testing error conditions?Are rare error codes ok to just monitor?API drift and autospecMitigating riskDeciding what to test and what not to testFocus testing on key money-making features If there's a bug in this part of the code, how much business impact is there?Performance testing needs to approximately match real world workloadsCost of a service breaking vs the cost of creating, maintaining, and running testsKeeping test suites quick to minimize getting distractedLinks:Too much of a good thing: the trade-off we make with tests Load testing is hard, and the tools are... not great. But why?Yet Another Rust Resource (YARR!)Goodhart's law - "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure"

Charlie Marsh and team are using Rust to make Python tooling faster.Ruff can take the place of Flake8, isort, and Black, and so much more.uv can take the place of pip, pip-tools, and virtualenvAstral is Charlie's venture backed company, and what they have with `ruff` and `uv` is just the start.Since uv is the newest tool, there's quite a bit of the discussion diving into uv.Links:ruffAstraluv

If you haven't tried running automated tests, especially with pytest, in VS Code recently, you should take another look.The Python for VS Code interface for testing, especially for pytest, has changed recently. On this episode we discuss the change with the software engineer working on the pytest changes, Eleanor Boyd, and the product manager, Courtney Webster. Links from the episode:Blog post announcing the rewrite Code repo for questions, comments, issues etc