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Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift 4
Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift 4

Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift 4: Write Swift code that is maintainable, flexible, and easily extensible , Third Edition

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Profile Icon Dr. Dominik Hauser
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Paperback Oct 2017 222 pages 3rd Edition
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Arrow left icon
Profile Icon Dr. Dominik Hauser
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Paperback Oct 2017 222 pages 3rd Edition
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Test-Driven iOS Development with Swift 4

Planning and Structuring Your Test-Driven iOS App

In the previous chapter, you learned how to write unit tests and saw an easy example of TDD. When starting TDD, writing unit tests is easy for most people. The hard part is to transfer knowledge from writing test to driving 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. 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...

The 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 task detail view

The task 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

The 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 on the list. The Cancel button dismisses the view. The task input view will look like this:

User stories:

  • As a user, given that I 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...

The structure of the app

The following diagram shows the 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.

Sometimes, it's a good idea to split up the responsibility...

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, 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. In TDD, we want to have all the implementation code demanded by failing tests.

To take...

Setting up useful Xcode behaviors for testing

Xcode has a feature called behaviors. With the use of behaviors and tabs, Xcode can show useful information depending on its state.

Open the Behaviors window by navigating to Xcode | Behaviors | Edit Behaviors. On the left-hand side are the different stages for which you can add behaviors (Build, Testing, Running, and so on). The following behaviors are useful when doing TDD.

The behaviors shown here are those that I find useful. Play around with the settings to find the ones most useful for you. Overall, I recommend using behaviors because I think they speed up development.

Useful build behaviors

When the building starts, Xcode compiles the files and links them together. To see...

Summary

In this chapter, we took a look at the app that we are going to build throughout the course of this book. We took a look at how the screens of the app will look when we are finished with it. We created the project that we will use later on and learned about Xcode behaviors.

In the next chapter, we will develop the data model of the app using TDD. We will use structs for the model wherever we can, because models are best represented in Swift by value types. We will add some conformance to the Equatable protocol to make the comparison of the model instances easier.

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Key benefits

  • A practical guide to writing effective, organized, and clean code that works well
  • Learn test-driven principles to help you build better-designed apps with fewer bugs
  • A comprehensive overview of the techniques available for TDD in Swift

Description

Test-driven development (TDD) is a proven way to find software bugs early. Writing tests before you code improves the structure and maintainability of your apps. Using TDD, in combination with Swift 4's improved syntax, means there is no longer any excuse for writing bad code. This book will help you understand the process of TDD and how to apply it to your apps written in Swift. Through practical, real-world examples, you’ll learn how to implement TDD in context. You will begin with an overview of the TDD workflow and then delve into unit-testing concepts and code cycles. You will also plan and structure your test-driven iOS app, and write tests to drive the development of view controllers and helper classes. Next, you’ll learn how to write tests for network code and explore how the test-driven approach—in combination with stubs—helps you write network code even before the backend component is finished. Finally, the book will guide you through the next steps to becoming a testing expert by discussing integration tests, Behavior Driven Development (BDD), open source testing frameworks, and UI Tests (introduced in Xcode 9).

Who is this book for?

To get the most out of this book, you will need some prior experience with Swift application development. You may have already heard about Test-Driven Development (TDD) but you don't need any prior experience of applying it to Swift applications.

What you will learn

  • Implement TDD in Swift application development
  • Find bugs before you enter code using the TDD approach
  • Use TDD to build models, view controllers, and views
  • Test network code with asynchronous tests and stubs
  • Write code that is a joy to read and maintain
  • Develop functional tests to ensure the app works as planned

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Oct 30, 2017
Length: 222 pages
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788475709
Vendor :
Apple
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Product Details

Publication date : Oct 30, 2017
Length: 222 pages
Edition : 3rd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781788475709
Vendor :
Apple
Languages :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

8 Chapters
Your First Unit Tests Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Planning and Structuring Your Test-Driven iOS App Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A Test-Driven Data Model Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A Test-Driven View Controller Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Testing Network Code Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Putting It All Together Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Code Coverage Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Where to Go from Here Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Ignacio Arias Jul 10, 2018
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Super recommended, awesome! Great Author, Example, Code, Beautiful, Short, and very effective!
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