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ubibot-test

A library to support testing of domain packages.

Currently alpha code

installation

npm install @numical/ubibot-test

usage

Use this library along with a channel-specific test runner to create 'black-box' tests of your domain.

  1. install necessary packages 
    npm install @numical/ubibot-test @numical/ubibot-config @numical/{channel package}
  2. Create a directory containing one or more test script files of the form: 
    bot:aaaaaa
user:bbbbb
bot:cccccc
bot:dddddd
user:eeeee 
bot:ffffff
  3. Point the configuration scriptsDir value to this directory;
  4. Select a test runner supplied by a channel package such as ubibot-channel-cli;
  5. Combine in a test module - see bankbot.test.js for an example.

test file syntax

  • first line can optionally contain one of these commands:
    • ignore ignore this script
    • only run only this (and other only) scripts
  • otherwise all lines must be prefixed with the source:
    • bot: what ubibot is expected to say;
    • user: what the user is expected to say;
  • there should be no space between the prefix and the expected value: 
    ubibot:Hello << correct
ubibot: Hello << incorrect
  • the first prefixed line will be ubibot's initial prompt when started;
  • the last line should be ubitbot's final response;
  • where you want to accept any output from Ubibot, use the special syntax: 
    ubibot:[*]
  • for cases where you wish to test multiple user inputs that incur the same ubibot response use the following syntax: 
    user:[hello|hllo|hi]
    This will cause the script to be run three times, eaach time using one of these values.
    Beware of the combinatorial explosion if you use multiple multi-option lines in a single script.

the future

Basic conversational user interfaces lend themselves to straightforward 'black box' testing, due to their repl -style semantics.
The above approach offers a simple means to assert a script of question/answers.

However 'cleverer' bots may not lend themselves to such simplistic testing.
More complex channels might offer bot-instigated communications via some form of notification mechanism.
Trickier, bots may be (or at least appear to be) less deterministic - offering several versions of an answer to a specific question.
This library will attempt to offer testing mechanisms for such cases.

notes

  • When this library is used, it has explicit side effects designed to help testing and debugging.