Advanced PHPUnit

Are your tests slow because they hit the database or the file system? Do you have flaky tests that are green one moment and red the next, without anything having changed? Or are your tests so hard to understand that nobody dares to touch them?

This training teaches you proven strategies to systematically solve exactly these problems. You will learn how to isolate dependencies with PHPUnit, use test doubles correctly, and leverage code coverage as a tool rather than an end in itself.

• Test isolation: Why shared fixtures and missing isolation lead to flaky tests, and how to prevent it
• Testing collaborating objects: Verifying communication between objects with precision
• Using test doubles correctly: When a test stub is enough and when you actually need a mock object
• Taming I/O: Testing database access, file system operations, e-mail, and other side effects cleanly
• Code coverage as a compass: Interpreting reports correctly, setting meaningful targets, and understanding what coverage really tells you
• Identifying and fixing risky tests: What PHPUnit tells you about the quality of your tests
• Writing readable tests: Eliminating mystery guests, cryptic assertions, and other barriers to comprehension
• Speeding up slow test suites: Strategies for faster execution in real-world projects

This training is for developers who already use PHPUnit but are struggling with slow, flaky, or hard-to-maintain tests. If your test suite feels like it is holding you back rather than having your back, this is for you.

Prerequisites are practical experience with PHPUnit and knowledge of object-oriented programming in PHP. The necessary basics are taught in Test Automation with PHPUnit.

• Concrete solutions for the most common testing problems in real-world projects
• A clear understanding of test isolation, test doubles, and when to use which
• Strategies for using code coverage effectively and finding untested code with precision
• Faster, more stable, and more readable tests, and the knowledge to keep them that way