Test runner
A test runner is software that discovers or receives automated tests, executes them, and reports their results.
Django in Action
A test runner is a software component that discovers, selects, and executes automated tests.
- How it is used
- Organizes automated test discovery, selection, execution, and result reporting in Python and Django projects.
- How deep it goes
- Explains discovery conventions, database isolation, transactions, and command-line selection, but stops short of runner implementation internals.
- Examples
- Uses tests.py discovery, test_ methods, a Django test database, and commands selecting one test or matching test names.
- What you can do after
- Operate Django’s test management command to run complete suites, individual methods, or selected groups of tests.
Modern Angular
A test runner is a program that discovers test files, executes their tests, and reports results and failures.
- How it is used
- Runs discovered Angular spec files and reports successes, failures, and problems during unit-test development.
- How deep it goes
- Defines discovery and execution, compares browser and Node.js models, and demonstrates Jest configuration without detailing runner internals.
- Examples
- Uses .spec.ts files, AppComponent dummy tests, ng test, and an HRMS Jest migration.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure it through Angular CLI, tsconfig.spec.json, angular.json, Jest dependencies, and setup files.
BDD in Action, Second Edition
A test runner is a tool or framework component that discovers, schedules, and executes automated tests.
- How it is used
- Runs Cucumber scenarios by locating feature files and connecting them to executable step definitions.
- How deep it goes
- Explains Java runner configuration, feature discovery, glue packages, tags, and plugins; it stops short of runner implementation internals.
- Examples
- Uses Java AcceptanceTestSuite classes configured for train-timetable scenarios and selected Cucumber tags.
- What you can do after
- Operate Cucumber with configured feature paths, glue packages, tag filters, and reporting plugins.
Read how BDD in Action, Second Edition explains test runner →
The Art of Unit Testing 3e
Software that executes tests, reports their results, and proceeds between test cases according to its execution rules.
- How it is used
- Runs unit tests repeatedly and communicates their status and failures during development or automated builds.
- How deep it goes
- Explains test identification, automatic execution, status reporting, and failure details without describing runner internals.
- Examples
- Uses Jest, command-line or IDE execution, grouped tests, and reports containing counts, failures, reasons, locations, and stack traces.
- What you can do after
- Operate/configure Jest to run individual, complete, or path-selected test groups and inspect the resulting failures.
F# in Action: A Revised Edition of Get Programming with F#
A test runner is software that discovers tests and executes them, typically reporting their results.
- How it is used
- Connects automated F# tests to IDEs, command-line workflows, and continuous-integration execution.
- How deep it goes
- Explains discovery, execution, reporting, composition, and framework trade-offs, but stops short of runner implementation internals.
- Examples
- Uses Expecto lists, CI-controlled tests, input-file-driven addition tests, result summaries, and XUnit functions marked with Fact attributes.
- What you can do after
- Operate Expecto or XUnit to compose, discover, execute, and evaluate F# tests from programs or the command line.
Read how F# in Action: A Revised Edition of Get Programming with F# explains test runner →
Related concepts
- Jestincludes · Jest is a JavaScript testing framework for defining, running, and asserting automated tests.
- go testused by · go test is the Go command that builds and runs tests for specified packages and can also execute benchmarks and report coverage.
- feature fileuses · A feature file is a human-readable Gherkin document that specifies a software feature and its behavior through scenarios for execution by behavior-driven development tools.
- unittestproduced by · unittest is Python’s standard-library framework for defining, organizing, executing, and reporting automated tests.
- test databaseproduces · A test database is an isolated database instance or data store containing controlled data for executing software tests without affecting production data.
These guides are generated from the text of Manning books by Manning's knowledge graph and link to the sections they draw on. The full books are available on liveBook and at manning.com.