Testing Nested Objects in Spring Boot with Mocking: A Simplified Approach

Описание: Learn how to effectively test nested objects in Spring Boot without loading the entire application or web layer, using Spring profiles and Mockito mock.
---
This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/63671893/ asked by the user 'tb189' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/869088/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/63697126/ provided by the user 'Manish Karki' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/4990961/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

Visit these links for original content and any more details, such as alternate solutions, latest updates/developments on topic, comments, revision history etc. For example, the original title of the Question was: Is there a way to test nested objects without the web or persistence layer in Spring Boot?

Also, Content (except music) licensed under CC BY-SA https://meta.stackexchange.com/help/l...
The original Question post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license, and the original Answer post is licensed under the 'CC BY-SA 4.0' ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... ) license.

If anything seems off to you, please feel free to write me at vlogize [AT] gmail [DOT] com.
---
Testing Nested Objects in Spring Boot with Mocking: A Simplified Approach

When developing in Spring Boot, particularly with JUnit testing, developers often encounter the challenge of testing nested objects without relying on the full web or persistence layers. This can lead to long test execution times and unnecessary complexity in your testing setup.

In this guide, we’ll dive into a practical solution to test a simple service setup in Spring Boot. We’ll explore how to configure your tests more efficiently using Spring profiles and Mockito to mock dependencies, allowing you to focus on your unit tests without the overhead of loading an entire application.

Understanding the Challenge

Consider the following Spring Boot service configuration:

MainService: The primary service being tested

SubService: A nested service that MainService depends on

StringService: A service that SubService depends on

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Testing Using @ SpringBootTest

In a typical scenario, a developer might write a test class like the one below. However, the use of @ SpringBootTest loads the full application context, which can be unnecessarily slow.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Issues Encountered

The challenge lies in the overhead of loading the entire application, especially when you don’t need the web or persistence layers. Developers might resort to using @ WebMvcTest or @ DataJpaTest, which are not suitable in this context as they focus on specific aspects of your application.

A More Efficient Solution

Using Spring Profiles

A preferable approach is to use Spring profiles to define a test configuration. This allows you to avoid loading the entire application context while still taking advantage of Spring's dependency injection.

Configuration Example

Here’s how to set up a simple test configuration using a profile:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Implementing the Test

You can then leverage the TestConfiguration class in your test class like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Benefits of This Approach

Performance: By only loading the necessary beans defined in your TestConfiguration class, your tests run significantly faster.

Simplicity: You can easily mock dependencies like StringService without excessive configuration.

Maintainability: This method allows for better organization and maintenance of your test code.

Conclusion

Mocking nested objects in Spring Boot can be straightforward by utilizing Spring’s profiles and Mockito. This approach enhances your testing capabilities while keeping performance optimal. By focusing your tests on the specific services you wish to assess without unnecessary overhead, you ensure your development process remains agile.

Explore more about Spring Boot's features for a smoother development and testing experience!