Debug School

rakesh kumar
rakesh kumar

Posted on

Assertions in Unit, Functional, UI, and Performance Testing

Unit testing assertion commands
Functinal testing assertion commands
UI testing assertion commands
Performance testing assertion commands

Unit testing assertion commands

assertSame() — exact value and type

Syntax: $this->assertSame($expected, $actual);
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$this->assertSame(
    ['confirmed', 'cancelled'],
    $transitions['pending']
);
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  1. assertEquals() — equivalent value 
Syntax: $this->assertEquals($expected, $actual);
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$this->assertEquals(4500, $calculatedTripPrice);
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For prices, prefer assertSame() when you also need to enforce the result’s type.

  1. assertTrue() — condition must be true 
Syntax: $this->assertTrue($condition);
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$this->assertTrue($booking->canBeCancelled());
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  1. assertFalse() — condition must be false 
Syntax: $this->assertFalse($condition);
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$this->assertFalse($completedBooking->canBeCancelled());
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  1. assertNull() — value must be null 
Syntax: $this->assertNull($actual);
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$this->assertNull($booking->cancelled_at);
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  1. assertNotNull() — value must exist 
Syntax: $this->assertNotNull($actual);
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$this->assertNotNull($confirmedBooking->confirmed_at);
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  1. assertEmpty() — collection or value must be empty 
Syntax: $this->assertEmpty($actual);
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$this->assertEmpty($transitions['completed']);
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  1. assertNotEmpty() — collection or value must contain something 
Syntax: $this->assertNotEmpty($actual);
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$this->assertNotEmpty($availableTripDates);
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  1. assertCount() — exact number of items 
Syntax: $this->assertCount($expectedCount, $actual);
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$this->assertCount(3, $trip->itineraryDays);
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  1. assertContains() — item appears in a collection 
Syntax: $this->assertContains($expectedItem, $actualCollection);
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$this->assertContains('confirmed', $transitions['pending']);
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11.** assertNotContains()** — item is absent from a collection

Syntax: $this->assertNotContains($unexpectedItem, $actualCollection);
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$this->assertNotContains('confirmed', $transitions['cancelled']);
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  1. assertArrayHasKey() — array contains a key 
Syntax: $this->assertArrayHasKey($key, $array);
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$this->assertArrayHasKey('pending', $transitions);
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  1. assertArrayNotHasKey() — array does not contain a key 
Syntax: $this->assertArrayNotHasKey($key, $array);
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$this->assertArrayNotHasKey('deleted', $transitions);
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  1. assertGreaterThan() — actual value is larger 
Syntax: $this->assertGreaterThan($minimum, $actual);
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$this->assertGreaterThan(0, $trip->availableSeats());
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  1. assertLessThanOrEqual() — actual value is at most the limit 
Syntax: $this->assertLessThanOrEqual($maximum, $actual);
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$this->assertLessThanOrEqual($trip->capacity, $requestedGuestCount);
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  1. assertInstanceOf() — object has the expected class 
Syntax: $this->assertInstanceOf($expectedClass, $actual);
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$this->assertInstanceOf(Booking::class, $booking);
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  1. assertIsArray() — value must be an array 
Syntax: $this->assertIsArray($actual);
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$this->assertIsArray($trip->getItinerary());
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  1. assertIsInt() — value must be an integer 
Syntax: $this->assertIsInt($actual);
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$this->assertIsInt($trip->availableSeats());
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  1. assertStringContainsString() — text contains a phrase 
Syntax: $this->assertStringContainsString($expectedText, $actualText);
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$this->assertStringContainsString(
    'Royal Family Luxury Getaway',
    $trip->title
);
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  1. assertMatchesRegularExpression() — text matches a pattern 
Syntax: $this->assertMatchesRegularExpression($pattern, $actualText);
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$this->assertMatchesRegularExpression(
    '/^HL-[0-9]{6}$/',
    $booking->reference
);
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For example, HL-123456 passes that
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Functinal testing assertion commands

Successful API response: assertStatus()

Syntax: $response->assertStatus($expectedStatus);

$response = $this->getJson('/api/trips/15');

$response->assertStatus(200);
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  1. JSON contains an exact field: assertJsonPath() 
Syntax: $response->assertJsonPath($path, $expectedValue);
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$response = $this->getJson('/api/trips/15');

$response->assertJsonPath('data.id', 15);
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  1. Invalid booking is rejected: assertUnprocessable() 
Syntax: $response->assertUnprocessable();
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$response = $this->postJson('/api/bookings', [
    'trip_id' => 15,
    'guests' => 0,
]);

$response->assertUnprocessable();
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  1. Validation identifies a field: assertJsonValidationErrors() 
Syntax: $response->assertJsonValidationErrors($fields);
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$response = $this->postJson('/api/bookings', [
    'trip_id' => 15,
    'guests' => 0,
]);

$response->assertJsonValidationErrors(['guests']);
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  1. Booking exists in the database: assertDatabaseHas() 
Syntax: $this->assertDatabaseHas($table, $matchingColumns);
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$this->postJson('/api/bookings', [
    'trip_id' => 15,
    'guests' => 2,
]);

$this->assertDatabaseHas('bookings', [
    'trip_id' => 15,
    'guests' => 2,
]);
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Use a dedicated test database for this example.

  1. Invalid booking was not saved: assertDatabaseMissing() 
Syntax: $this->assertDatabaseMissing($table, $matchingColumns);
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$this->postJson('/api/bookings', [
    'trip_id' => 15,
    'guests' => 0,
]);

$this->assertDatabaseMissing('bookings', [
    'trip_id' => 15,
    'guests' => 0,
]);
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  1. Guest is sent to login: assertRedirect() 
Syntax: $response->assertRedirect($expectedUrl);
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$response = $this->get('/bookings/create?trip_id=15');

$response->assertRedirect('/login');
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UI testing assertion commands

hese examples run inside a Dusk browser test, typically in a callback such as:

$this->browse(function (Browser $browser) {
    // UI checks go here.
});
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  1. Text appears on a page: assertSee() 
Syntax: $browser->assertSee($text);
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$browser->visit('/trips/royal-family-getaway')
        ->assertSee('Royal Family Luxury Getaway');
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  1. Text does not appear: assertDontSee() 
Syntax: $browser->assertDontSee($text);
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$browser->visit('/trips/royal-family-getaway/reviews')
        ->assertDontSee('Reviews for Desert Safari');
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  1. Button is visible: assertVisible() 
Syntax: $browser->assertVisible($selector);
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$browser->visit('/trips/royal-family-getaway')
        ->assertVisible('@view-reviews');
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Here @view-reviews is a Dusk selector you add to the button.

11.** Click leads to the right page: assertPathIs()**

Syntax: $browser->assertPathIs($expectedPath);
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$browser->visit('/trips/royal-family-getaway')
        ->click('@view-reviews')
        ->assertPathIs('/trips/royal-family-getaway/reviews');
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  1. Form contains the expected value: assertInputValue() 
Syntax: $browser->assertInputValue($field, $expectedValue);
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$browser->visit('/bookings/create?trip_id=15')
        ->assertInputValue('guests', '1');
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Browser input values are strings, hence '1'.

  1. Booking button is disabled: assertDisabled() 
Syntax: $browser->assertDisabled($selector);
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$browser->visit('/bookings/create?trip_id=15')
        ->assertDisabled('@submit-booking');
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For example, this could check an unavailable trip date.

  1. Validation error appears after a click: assertSee() 
Syntax: $browser->assertSee($expectedMessage);
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$browser->visit('/bookings/create?trip_id=15')
        ->type('guests', '0')
        ->click('@submit-booking')
        ->assertSee('The guests field must be at least 1.');
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Performance testing assertion commands

For these examples, $elapsedMs means a measured duration in milliseconds. Choose the limit from your own environment and requirements; the numbers below are illustrations. Very tight timing assertions can fail when a test server is busy.

  1. Calculation completes under a limit: assertLessThan() 
Syntax: $this->assertLessThan($maximum, $actual);
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$start = hrtime(true);
$price = $calculator->totalForGuests(4500, 4);
$elapsedMs = (hrtime(true) - $start) / 1_000_000;

$this->assertSame(18000, $price);
$this->assertLessThan(50, $elapsedMs);
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  1. Search duration stays within a limit: assertLessThanOrEqual() 
Syntax: $this->assertLessThanOrEqual($maximum, $actual);
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$start = hrtime(true);
$results = $searchService->search('Nainital');
$elapsedMs = (hrtime(true) - $start) / 1_000_000;

$this->assertNotEmpty($results);
$this->assertLessThanOrEqual(200, $elapsedMs);
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  1. Query count stays within a limit: assertLessThanOrEqual() 
Syntax: $this->assertLessThanOrEqual($maximumQueries, $actualQueries);
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DB::enableQueryLog();

$response = $this->get('/trips/royal-family-getaway');
$queryCount = count(DB::getQueryLog());

$response->assertOk();
$this->assertLessThanOrEqual(20, $queryCount);

DB::disableQueryLog();
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Run this against a test database. Query count checks can reveal problems such as repeatedly loading reviews one at a time.

  1. Results are paginated: assertCount() 
Syntax: $this->assertCount($expectedCount, $collection);
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$reviews = $reviewService->forTrip(tripId: 15, limit: 10);

$this->assertCount(10, $reviews);
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This checks that the service does not return more reviews than requested; it does not measure speed.

  1. Memory growth stays within a limit: assertLessThan() 
Syntax: $this->assertLessThan($maximumBytes, $actualBytes);
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$before = memory_get_usage(true);
$reviews = $reviewService->forTrip(tripId: 15, limit: 10);
$growth = memory_get_usage(true) - $before;

$this->assertLessThan(10 * 1024 * 1024, $growth);
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PHP allocates memory in chunks, so use a sensible limit and repeat measurements before relying on this check.

  1. Response has a maximum payload size: assertLessThan() 
Syntax: $this->assertLessThan($maximumBytes, $actualBytes);
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$response = $this->getJson('/api/trips/15/reviews?limit=10');

$response->assertOk();
$this->assertLessThan(
    100 * 1024,
    strlen($response->getContent())
);
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This checks that the reviews API does not return an unexpectedly large body.

Key distinction: Tests 15–17 measure execution or queries; tests 18–20 check factors that can affect performance. For reliable real traffic performance numbers, use a load test alongside these PHPUnit checks.

Commands to run them 

cd /opt/lampp/htdocs/holiday-new/booking
php vendor/bin/phpunit --testdox tests/Feature
php artisan dusk
php vendor/bin/phpunit --testsuite Performance
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