PHPUnit Best Practices
5 min read Quiz at the end
Best practices: AAA pattern, descriptive names, one behavior per test, mock external services.
PHPUnit Best Practices
- AAA pattern — Arrange, Act, Assert (one assertion focus per test)
- One concept per test — test one behavior, not everything
- Descriptive names —
testUserCannotLoginWithWrongPassword() - Independent tests — no test should depend on another test
- No logic in tests — avoid if/for in tests (use data providers)
- Test behaviors, not implementation — refactor code without changing tests
- Mock external services — email, payment, HTTP — no real calls
- Aim for 80%+ coverage — focus on critical paths
- Run tests in CI — fail the build on test failure
- Fast tests — use in-memory DB, avoid sleeps
Topic Quiz · 3 questions
Test your understanding before moving on
1. What does "test one thing per test" mean?
💡 Focused tests make failures immediately point to the broken behavior.
2. Why should test names be descriptive?
💡 Descriptive names serve as living documentation.
3. Should you test private methods directly?
💡 Private methods are implementation details. Test the public behavior instead.