Testing Pawn Code

Test Tools

sampctl provides some useful tools for quickly testing code while you work.

--watch

The watch flag on sampctl package build keeps sampctl running and watching .pwn/.inc files for changes. When it detects a change, it will re-compile the package.

You can also use this flag on sampctl package run which will do the above as well as restarting the server if the build is successful.

This means you just need to hit CTRL+S in your favourite editor and sampctl will automatically recompile your code and run unit tests or restart the server. This significantly speeds up development productivity.

See a demo from a screencast I did for some people on SA:MP discord: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/219788449

Runtime Modes

There are two runtime modes useful for testing: main and y_testing.

If your code uses y_testing unit testing code, this allows you to quickly see how many tests have passed and failed in a console window. Pair this with --watch and you have a purely automatic unit-test runner.

Unit Tests

This is standard in software development. Unit testing is, at the most basic level, testing individual functions and ensuring their output is what you expect.

This method of testing is great because when you make changes to your code in the future, you can check if there were any side effects to your changes that break the tests.

YSI provides the y_testing library for unit testing.

Demo Tests

Unit tests are good for some libraries but often you need to test things that require player interactions. This is where "Demo Tests" come from. The name comes from the idea that your tests can also be your demonstration to possible users of how your library works and what features it provides.

sampctl allows a user to run some code you write instantly, no server setup and no copying of files - all they need to do is execute sampctl package run --forceBuild --forceEnsure in the package directory. This is probably one of the most powerful tools sampctl provides.

This means your tests can also be a demo of your library. Written a tree-chopping library? Great! Make your test code spawn the player in a forest with some trees and a chainsaw and let the player cut down a tree. This can be your own test code while developing the library and it can serve as a demonstration for users.

To create these kinds of tests, simply treat your package entry script as a gamemode and write code as if you were using your library.