Antler Framework: use the same syntax to work with different databases and different ORMs.

I am starting to contribute to Antler project which i believe may be useful for many .Net developers as well.

Antler is a simple framework for super-easy working with different databases(SQL CE, Sqlite, SqlExpress, SqlServer, Oracle etc) and different ORMs(NHibernate, EntityFramework Code First) using the same syntax.

Project is at an early stage, but we have a clear understanding of the requirements.

So, what are the requirements?

• Support for multiple storages at the same time.
• Use common syntax to work with them, so you can easily substitute one storage with another.
• Have strong architectural base including UnitOfWork/DataSession/Repository etc. notions.
• Be fully pluggable. For example, it should be damn easy to choose which storage or IoC container to use.
• Good coverage by Unit/Integration tests. Most of the integration tests should pass for any combination of Database/ORM.

Configuration example

 var configurator = new AntlerConfigurator();  
 configurator.UseWindsorContainer().UseStorage(NHibernatePlusSqlite.Use.WithMappings(Assembly.GetExecutingAssembly()));  

Usage example

Adding teams to database:

 UnitOfWork.Do(uow =>  
 {  
    uow.Repo<Team>().Insert(new Team() {Name = "Super", BusinessGroup = "Great"});  
    uow.Repo<Team>().Insert(new Team() {Name = "Good", BusinessGroup = "Great"});  
    uow.Repo<Team>().Insert(new Team() {Name = "Bad", BusinessGroup = "BadBg"});  
 });  

Querying teams from database:

 var found = UnitOfWork.Do(uow => uow.Repo<Team>().AsQueryable().Where(t => t.BusinessGroup == "Great").OrderBy(t => t.Name).ToArray());  

Project is available on GitHub: https://github.com/SmartElk/Antler.
Everyone is welcome!

Integration testing approaches: Should we use in-memory database?

Integration testing is a form of testing that verifies that components of our application properly work together & with external resources(database, disk-drive etc).

Let's say we have application that uses database in some way. How can we cover components that use database by Integration tests?

The most important principle of testing is Isolation:

Tests should be isolated in the data creating and quering from other tests.

So, each good Integration test that uses database should consists of the following steps:

• Cleaning database 
• Inserting testing data 
• Calling component being tested 
• Checking result / database state 

There are 3 popular ways to write Integration Tests:

1. Use the same development database for Integration tests 
2. Generate empty database before each test 
3. Use some in-memory database 

1. The first choice is to use the same development database for testing. This choice is the worst one, because we can't populate development database by testing data without breaking Isolation principle.

So, it's read-only mode testing. We can test some read-only requests to database, but even then, we are unable to make assertions well, because this data is fragile(we can make changes in our development database at any time and tests will be broken).

2. The second choice is to generate empty database with testing data before each test.
It's good practice to have testing environment that resembles real production environment as close as possible. So, in this case we use the same database-engine for testing as production's one, which makes possible to catch some database-specific problems early.

Disadvantage of this approach is that Integration tests can be pretty slow.

3. The third choice is a to use in-memory database.
If for some reasons we can't use the second choice then we can use in-memory database for testing. It's the compromise choice, because we can ensure Isolation of our tests + high speed of execution, but we sacrifice the closeness to the real environment.

Sqlite is a great example of such database.

For example, if we use NHibernate it's very easy to inject Sqlite database(instead of our real one) in our tests. This database will be based on the same NHibernate mappings and will use the same database-logic.

If you are interested in this approach, you can find example project of using NHibernate + Sqlite for testing on GitHub.

JasmineJs integration with ReSharper & TeamCity

JasmineJs is a great framework for testing JavaScript code.

We'll discuss here how to integrate it with other amazing products: ReSharper 7 & TeamCity.

Download

You can download standalone example here(with additional files to run tests from ReSharper & TeamCity).

This package contains two folders: SpecRunner and YourWebSite. We’ll need them later.

JasmineJs + ReSharper 7 = Friends

To run client-side tests without dependency on your browser we can use PhantomJs WebKit.

Put files from downloaded SpecRunner folder somewhere in your solution.

For example, in my solution these files are located in MyProject/Testing/Client/ folder.

Now we can configure ReSharper to use PhantomJs:

Now we can create JS-files with tests, and run them directly from Visual Studio(thanks to ReSharper) without running our browser(thanks to PhantomJs):

You need to include necessary scripts(scripts to be tested + their dependencies) using reference syntax.
However, note that we don’t need to include JasmineJs scripts, because ReSharper has it’s own inside.

JasmineJs + TeamCity = Friends

Preparing project for running JS-tests from TeamCity 

Put downloaded YourWebSite/lib/ folder in Scripts/Jasmine/ folder of your Web project.

Put downloaded YourWebSite/SpecRunner.htm file in the root of your Web project.

For example:

Then you need to configure SpecRunner.htm to include all necessary scripts:

• JasmineJs scripts(ReSharper doesn’t need them, but TeamCity does); 
• Source files to be tested + their dependencies; 
• Spec files with tests; 
• jasmine.teamcity_reporter.js 

Note, that we include jasmine.teamcity_reporter.js that is needed for integration with TeamCity.

Example of SpecRunner.htm:

Configuring TeamCity for running JS-tests from our project

We need to create additional Build Step in TeamCity:

Note, that we specify Working directory as Testing/Client/ folder of our solution(where we put downloaded files from SpecRunner folder).

Creating and Installing Windows Services with TopShelf

TopShelf  is a library for .NET that makes it very easy to create and install a Windows service.

For example, all necessary code for creating Windows Service might look like:

 static void Main()  
 {  
   HostFactory.Run(x =>  
   {  
     x.UseLog4Net("log4net.config");  
     x.Service(s =>   
      {  
        s.ConstructUsing(name => new MyService());  
        s.WhenStarted(tc => tc.OnStart());  
        s.WhenStopped(tc => tc.OnStop());  
      });  
     x.SetDescription("My Service is Great!");  
     x.SetDisplayName("My Service");  
     x.SetServiceName("MyService");  
     x.RunAsLocalSystem();  
  });  
 }  

MyService is a class with two public methods(OnStart and OnStop). OnStart contains code to preform in service. OnStop may do some cleanup.

The best benefit that comes with TopShelf is that service is started as Console application during development(running, debugging etc).
But if you want to install service as real Windows Service, you just need to run you exe file with special parameter:

 MyService.exe install  

Using Oracle in a standalone .NET application

Our goal is to set up standalone .NET application without dependency on installed Oracle client in our system. In other words, our application should contain all necessary dll's in the bin folder of our project .

We need following dll's from Oracle client :

• oci.dll
• OraOps11w.dll
• oraocci11.dll
• orannzsbb11.dll
• oraociei11.dll
• Oracle.DataAccess.dll

You can get them from installed version of your Oracle client. In my case it was 11.2 version of Oracle client.
You can put this assemblies in some folder in your solution, let's say this folder is named "Components".

Now you can refer Oracle.DataAccess in your solution projects whenever you need. So, Oracle.DataAccess will get to the bin folder of your project when you'll build it.

But we need other Oracle libs to be in the bin folder too! How to force this to happen?

You can achieve this using Pre-Build Events of your project. Go to Properties of your project, then select the Build Events tab and paste the following lines in Pre-build event box:

copy $(ProjectDir)\..\..\Components\oci.dll $(TargetDir)
copy $(ProjectDir)\..\..\Components\OraOps11w.dll $(TargetDir)
copy $(ProjectDir)\..\..\Components\oraocci11.dll $(TargetDir)
copy $(ProjectDir)\..\..\Components\orannzsbb11.dll $(TargetDir)
copy $(ProjectDir)\..\..\Components\oraociei11.dll $(TargetDir)

Maybe, you'll need to correct paths for your case, but you should get the idea: these Oracle libraries will be copied into the bin folder of your project before the each build.
So, after each build you will get standalone application(with all necessary Oracle client libs), that can run on any computer without the need to install Oracle on this computer.

Using Rhino Mocks after FakeItEasy experience

Recent years i always use FakeItEasy as my favorite mock framework. And i was very happy about it.

But few weeks ago i have joined team that uses Rhino Mocks. So, i've got a chance to compare them.

Both frameworks provide just about the same facilities, but i found FakeItEasy syntax more convenient to use. Plus, there is no difference between stub and mock in FakeItEasy- everything is just a fake! You don't need to remember which one to use. In Rhino Mocks i sometimes create stub, then later, decide to create expectations on it and then wonder: "Why my expectations are always pass?" Then i realize that i need to refactor my code to use mock instead of stub. There are no such problems in FakeItEasy.

Maybe it's a matter of habit, but my advice is to use FakeItEasy, it's much cooler. 

Programming in Seychelles

Just kidding... It's impossible to concentrate on serious work in Seychelles, because it's paradise without any doubt. 

I had long vacation on Seychelles islands and i tell you now: i have never seen such a beautiful country before.

Anse Georgette beach(Praslin island):

Giant Tortoise on Curious island:

Petite Anse Kerlan beach(Praslin island):

Small and beautiful Coco island:

Sunset on Anse Lazio beach(Praslin island):

Grand Anse beach(La Digue island):