1. Introduction

On the occasion of participating in the spring writing event organized by Viblo, I wish everyone a happy and successful new year!

In the software development process, writing Unit Tests is an indispensable part to ensure the stability and quality of the application. However, this process often requires a large investment of time and technical knowledge. Fortunately, with the emergence of Copilot – an artificial intelligence-based development support tool, writing Unit Tests has become easier and more enjoyable than ever.

In this article, we will explore how to use Copilot to write Unit Tests effectively and apply specifically to the Laravel project.

2. Overview of Unit Test

a. Meaning of Unit Test

• Check for correctness: Unit Test tests each small part (unit) of the source code to ensure it works as expected.
• Detect errors early: By testing individual parts of the code, Unit Testing helps detect and fix errors as soon as they appear.

b. Benefits of using Unit Test

• Increased stability: Thanks to Unit Testing, we can be more confident when making changes in the code, because we know that these changes do not affect other parts of the application.
• Supports code reuse: Writing testable code promotes flexible and reusable code design.
• Increase development efficiency: Automating testing reduces manual testing time and increases development efficiency.

c. Process of writing and running Unit Test

• Write test cases: Identify test cases and write corresponding test cases.
• Execute test cases: Run test cases to check the correctness of the source code.
• Validate results: Check the results of the test cases and correct the code if necessary.

d. Unit Test Tool in Laravel: PHPUnit Laravel uses PHPUnit as a testing framework to write and run Unit Tests. PHPUnit provides a series of assertions and methods to test the results of code snippets.

e. Integrate Unit Testing into the development process

Unit Testing is often integrated into Agile and Continuous Integration (CI) development processes, helping to ensure that the source code remains stable and reliable.

Through this outline, we have understood the meaning, benefits and basic process of Unit Testing in software development.

3. Introducing Copilot

GitHub Copilot is an artificial intelligence-based programming assistant, developed by Microsoft based on OpenAI ‘s GPT-4 model , and designed to assist in many tasks related to software development. Github Copilot is currently asking for a fairly reasonable fee compared to the value it can bring us (about $10/month or $100/year at the time of writing))) )

Some important features of Copilot:

a. Support coding

Copilot has the ability to suggest code snippets based on user context and requirements. This helps reduce the time and effort required to write new code, while also providing ideas and solutions to programming problems.

b. Language diversity

Copilot is capable of supporting many programming languages, from common languages ​​such as Python, JavaScript, Java,… to new languages ​​such as Rust and Go. This makes it possible for us to use Copilot in many different projects.

c. Integration with development tools Copilot integrates well with popular development tools such as Visual Studio Code, GitHub Desktop , and other source code editors. This makes using Copilot more convenient and flexible.

d. Learn from the community

Copilot learns from millions of lines of open source code on GitHub and uses this knowledge to suggest solutions to programming problems. This gives Copilot the ability to produce quality and contextual code.

e. Generate Test feature One of Copilot’s outstanding features is the ability to automatically generate Unit Test code. This reduces the time and effort required to write and maintain test suites, while ensuring the correctness and operation of the code.

4. How to use Copilot to write Unit Test in Laravel project on VSCode

Copilot has quite strong support for the ability to write Unit tests and can almost support us in writing every component of the project (Controller, Model, View, Jobs, Repository,…)

In this article, I will demo with VS Code. With other IDEs, you can research the installation method and application corresponding to that IDE (in general, it is quite similar).

First, we need to install the Github Copilot extension on VSCode with the following steps:

• Step 1: Go to extension, find Github Copilot and press Install
• Step 2: If you have not previously authorized Visual Studio Code in your GitHub account, you will be asked to log in to GitHub in Visual Studio Code. And make sure your account has been activated Copilot.
  • If you have previously authorized Visual Studio Code for your account on GitHub, GitHub Copilot will be automatically authorized.
  • If you don’t receive an authorization request, click the bell icon in the bottom panel bar of the Visual Studio Code window.
• Step 3: Check if Copilot is working by using its basic functions such as Chat, or automatic code suggestions, for example.

After completing the installation, let’s get to the main function of this article. Currently, I see there are a few ways for Copilot to generate Unit Test as follows:

• Create a test file and use prompt or write a test to Copilot suggest code

• Use copilot’s Chat and request to generate test for the code being selected
• Select the code you want to generate and right-click and select Copilot > Generate Tests
• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+ Shift+ P( Cmd+ Shift+ PMacOS) > search Github Copilot: Generate Tests then Enter

Our job is just to review the code, select accept if satisfied. If it is wrong in cases 2 and 3, a prompt can be added so that Copilot can correct it or Reject.

Of course, Copilot cannot always be 100% correct, it also depends on how it understands the context of that project. So please review carefully before accepting =)

5. Summary

Writing Unit Tests for Laravel projects using Copilot is not only a way to increase the accuracy and reliability of the source code, but also to increase productivity and save us time. By using Copilot, we can create test cases automatically and quickly, from creating test functions for models and controllers to writing assertions to check the correctness of the code.

However, the use of Copilot needs to be combined with a solid knowledge and understanding of Laravel or any other language or framework to ensure the accuracy and safety of the source code. Additionally, testing and tuning test cases is important to ensure that they reflect the actual use cases of the application.

Ultimately, using Copilot is not just a support tool, but also a way to explore and learn from millions of lines of open source code samples on GitHub, thereby improving programming and development skills our software.

Thank you everyone for reading my article.

Source : https://viblo.asia/p/viet-unit-test-de-dang-va-hieu-qua-voi-copilot-5OXLAAKZLGr