SharePoint Workflow Unit Testing

Question

I was wondering if there are existing unit testing solutions for Windows Workflow. Fundamental processes running in the context of SharePoint .

Unfortunately, the SharePoint libraries were not designed with the ability to test or ridicule.
Such workflows are usually closely associated with SharePoint classes that require the installation and launch of a SharePoint instance, which is completely inefficient for testing.

The following is a list of issues that I encountered while trying to unit test an existing workflow:

• Workflows make calls to static SharePoint objects;
• Some of the mocking EventArgs classes are internal to the SharePoint assembly;
• Workflows can use special SharePoint Workflow Actions , which in turn cause calls to SharePoint;
• There is no convenient API for starting a workflow in the context of SharePoint and monitoring its status.

I solved these problems for a specific workflow that I had to test using Microsoft Moles and might someday release my solution as an open source.
Meanwhile, I am wondering if any of you have ever tested SharePoint Workflow. If so, I would like to hear about your solutions to these (and possibly some other) problems. I would also like to know if your library would be interesting if I release it.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Unit testing processes? In general, unit testing of Sharepoint is rather complicated.

I used two frames along with Sharepoint:

• Typemock
• MS Pex and Moles

None of these frameworks can test the actions of Microsoft Sharepoint or, in particular, the workflows created using SHarepoint Designer, since they are sealed, and you should consider them “workers” anyway - Microsoft made them, they are perfect !: - )

Your library is certainly of great interest, since not many people try unit test Sharepoint because of the nature of Sharepoints in my eyes: you use many built-in functions and just configure and possibly add to this functionality - basically you only want to check / unit test native code.

Sorry, I can’t give you details about the problems I encountered - Typemock was definitely more powerful to use because it is much older and more mature - Pex & Moles is fun (I found the Sharepoint tutorial quite enjoyable: Unit Testing SharePoint Foundation with Microsoft Pex and Mole .