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Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift
Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift

Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift: Create fully-featured and highly functional iOS apps by writing tests first

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Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift

Chapter 2. Planning and Structuring Your Test-Driven iOS App

In the previous chapter, we learned how to write unit tests, and we saw an easy example of TDD. When starting TDD, writing unit tests is easy for most people. The hard part is to transfer the knowledge from writing the test to driving the development. What can be assumed? What should be done before one writes the first test? What should be tested to end up with a complete app?

As a developer, you are used to thinking in terms of code. When you see a feature on the requirement list for an app, your brain already starts to layout the code for this feature. And for recurring problems in iOS development (such as building table views), you most probably have already developed your own best practices.

In TDD, you should not think about the code while working on the test. The tests have to describe what the unit under test should do and not how it should do it. It should be possible to change the implementation without breaking...

Task list view

When starting the app, the user sees a list of to-do items. The items in the list consist of a title, an optional location, and the due date. New items can be added to the list by an add (+) button, which is shown in the navigation bar of the view. The task list view will look like this:

Task list view

User stories:

  • As a user, I want to see the list of to-do items when I open the app
  • As a user, I want to add to-do items to the list

In a to-do list app, the user will obviously need to be able to check items when they are finished. The checked items are shown below the unchecked items, and it is possible to uncheck them again. The app uses the delete button in the UI of UITableView to check and uncheck items. Checked items will be put at the end of the list in a section with the Finished header. The user can also delete all the items from the list by tapping the trash button. The UI for the to-do item list will look like this:

Task list view

User stories:

  • As a user, I want to check a to-do item to mark it...

Task detail view

The tasks detail view shows all the information that's stored for a to-do item. The information consists of a title, due date, location (name and address), and a description. If an address is given, a map with an address is shown. The detail view also allows checking the item as finished. The detail view looks like this:

Task detail view

User stories:

  • As a user, given that I have tapped a to-do item in the list, I want to see its details
  • As a user, I want to check a to-do item from its details view

Task input view

When the user selects the add (+) button in the list view, the task input view is shown. The user can add information for the task. Only the title is required. The Save button can only be selected when a title is given. It is not possible to add a task that is already in the list. The Cancel button dismisses the view. The task input view will look like this:

Task input view

User stories:

  • As a user, given that I have tapped the add (+) button in the item list, I want to see a form to put in the details (title, optional date, optional location name, optional address, and optional description) of a to-do item
  • As a user, I want to add a to-do item to the list of to-do items by tapping on the Save button

We will not implement the editing and deletion of tasks. But when you have worked through this book completely, it will be easy for you to add this feature yourself by writing the tests first.

Keep in mind that we will not test the look and design of the app. Unit tests cannot figure out if an app...

Structure of the app

The following diagram shows the structure of the app:

Structure of the app

The Table View Controller, the delegate and the data source

In iOS apps, data is often presented using a table view. Table views are highly optimized for performance; they are easy to use and to implement. We will use a table view for the list of to-do items.

A table view is usually represented by UITableViewController, which is also the data source and delegate for the table view. This often leads to a massive table View Controller because it is doing too much: presenting the view, navigating to other view controllers, and managing the presentation of the data in the table view.

It is a good practice to split up the responsibility into several classes. Therefore, we will use a helper class to act as the data source and delegate for the table view. The communication between the Table View Controller and the helper class will be defined using a protocol. Protocols define what the interface of a class looks like. This...

Getting started with Xcode

Now, let's start our journey by creating a project that we will implement using TDD.

Open Xcode and create a new iOS project using the Single View Application template. In the options window, add ToDo as the product name, select Swift as language, choose iPhone in the Devices option, and check the box next to Include Unit Tests. Let the Use Core Data and Include UI Tests boxes stay unchecked.

Xcode creates a small iOS project with two targets: one for the implementation code and the other for the unit tests. The template contains code that presents a single view on screen. We could have chosen to start with the master-detail application template because the app will show a master and a detail view. However, we have chosen the Single View Application template because it comes with hardly any code, and in TDD, we want to have all the implementation code demanded by failing tests.

To take a look at how the application target and test target fit together, select...

Task list view


When starting the app, the user sees a list of to-do items. The items in the list consist of a title, an optional location, and the due date. New items can be added to the list by an add (+) button, which is shown in the navigation bar of the view. The task list view will look like this:

User stories:

  • As a user, I want to see the list of to-do items when I open the app

  • As a user, I want to add to-do items to the list

In a to-do list app, the user will obviously need to be able to check items when they are finished. The checked items are shown below the unchecked items, and it is possible to uncheck them again. The app uses the delete button in the UI of UITableView to check and uncheck items. Checked items will be put at the end of the list in a section with the Finished header. The user can also delete all the items from the list by tapping the trash button. The UI for the to-do item list will look like this:

User stories:

  • As a user, I want to check a to-do item to mark it as...

Task detail view


The tasks detail view shows all the information that's stored for a to-do item. The information consists of a title, due date, location (name and address), and a description. If an address is given, a map with an address is shown. The detail view also allows checking the item as finished. The detail view looks like this:

User stories:

  • As a user, given that I have tapped a to-do item in the list, I want to see its details

  • As a user, I want to check a to-do item from its details view

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Key benefits

  • Learn test-driven principles to help you build apps with fewer bugs and better designs
  • Become more efficient while working with Swift to move on to your next project faster!
  • Learn how to incorporate all of the principles of test-driven development (TDD) in to your daily programming workflow

Description

Test-driven development (TDD) is a proven way to find software bugs early. Writing tests before your code improves the structure and maintainability of your app. Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift will help you understand the process of TDD and how it impacts your applications written in Swift. Through practical, real-world examples, you’ll start seeing how to implement TDD in context. We will begin with an overview of your TDD workflow and then deep-dive into unit testing concepts and code cycles. We will showcase the workings of functional tests, which will help you improve the user interface. Finally, you will learn about automating deployments and continuous integration to run an environment.

Who is this book for?

If debugging iOS apps is a nerve-racking task for you and you are looking for a fix, this book is for you.

What you will learn

  • Implement TDD in swift application development
  • Get to know the fundamentals, life cycle, and benefits of TDD
  • Explore the tools and frameworks to effectively use TDD
  • Develop models and controllers driven by tests
  • Construct the network layer using stubs
  • Use functional tests to ensure the app works as planned
  • Automate and streamline the building, analysing, testing, and archiving of your iOS apps

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Feb 22, 2016
Length: 218 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785880049
Vendor :
Apple
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Tools :

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Product feature icon Download this book in EPUB and PDF formats
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Product Details

Publication date : Feb 22, 2016
Length: 218 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785880049
Vendor :
Apple
Languages :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

9 Chapters
1. Your First Unit Tests Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Planning and Structuring Your Test-Driven iOS App Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. A Test-Driven Data Model Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. A Test-Driven View Controller Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Testing Network Code Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Putting It All Together Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Code Coverage and Continuous Integration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Where to Go from Here Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Randy Mc Lain Oct 24, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Book clearly explains the concepts of TDD and how to implement the concepts with strict typing Swift code base. Covers a variety of useful concepts from Stubs, Mocks, and Network request ect.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Oct 03, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
So I literally just started reading and practicing the book. I have no prior experience with TDD... I am doing Xcode 8 & Swift 3, but the syntax isn't much different still doable, although there is Swift 3 version coming out.So far the Red, Green, refactor approach (from the first chapter) has change my whole thought process about what TDD is. He is literally walking you step by step.I have some problem with downloading the code. Wish it was made easier. The lack of code color is unpleasing to meI will update my review per each chapter I read...
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Florian Schlosser Apr 11, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The Book is really nice written and good structured. The only thing I miss is TDD with core data. Maybe in the next book ;)
Amazon Verified review Amazon
W. Adlani Oct 30, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
TDD has always proven to be a best practice to quickly make robust code and catch bugs before they happen. This book is essential if you want to add unit tests to your code. It's great as a guide and reference with all the buzz words and best practises rolled in to one.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
drollig28 Feb 27, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I was very (!) sceptical because there are already lot's of tutorials and short problem-solvers concerning TDD on the internet. Most of them give a good introduction or help solving a specific problem. What I was missing was a Testdriven example on a real project.Hauser has absolutely convinced me after a few lines of reading that his book is worthwhile bying. It goes far beyond some tutorial you find on the internet. And he has a great style of writing.He leads you through complete test-driven development of an example project on a very high level. Everything is explained in a very clear and structured way. He also covers the question, how to get from use cases to a good design that is testable. Also I like the way he integrates Interface Builder (also I am looking forward to his next book where he maybe will explain a "big" project doing UI stuff programmatically - I hope).Great Book! All Thumbs Up!
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