page.title=Testing from Other IDEs
parent.title=Testing
parent.link=index.html
@jd:body
<div id="qv-wrapper">
<div id="qv">
<h2>In this document</h2>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="#CreateTestProjectCommand">Working with Test Projects</a>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="#CreateTestProject">Creating a test project</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#UpdateTestProject">Updating a test project</a>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#CreateTestApp">Creating a Test Package</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#RunTestsCommand">Running Tests</a>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="#RunTestsAnt">Quick build and run with Ant</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#RunTestsDevice">Running tests on a device or emulator</a>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#AMSyntax">Using the Instrument Command</a>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="#AMOptionsSyntax">Instrument options</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="#RunTestExamples">Instrument examples</a>
</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
<h2>See Also</h2>
<ol>
<li>
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/testing/testing_android.html">
Testing Fundamentals</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/adb.html">Android Debug Bridge</a>
</li>
</ol>
</div>
</div>
<p>
This document describes how to create and run tests directly from the command line.
You can use the techniques described here if you are developing in an IDE other than Eclipse
or if you prefer to work from the command line. This document assumes that you already know how
to create a Android application in your programming environment. Before you start this
document, you should read the topic
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/testing/testing_android.html">Testing Fundamentals</a>,
which provides an overview of Android testing.
</p>
<p>
If you are developing in Eclipse with ADT, you can set up and run your tests
directly in Eclipse. For more information, please read
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/testing/testing_eclipse.html">
Testing from Eclipse with ADT</a>.
</p>
<h2 id="CreateTestProjectCommand">Working with Test Projects</h2>
<p>
You use the <code>android</code> tool to create test projects.
You also use <code>android</code> to convert existing test code into an Android test project,
or to add the <code>run-tests</code> Ant target to an existing Android test project.
These operations are described in more detail in the section <a href="#UpdateTestProject">
Updating a test project</a>. The <code>run-tests</code> target is described in
<a href="#RunTestsAnt">Quick build and run with Ant</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="CreateTestProject">Creating a test project</h3>
<p>
To create a test project with the <code>android</code> tool, enter:
</p>
<pre>
android create test-project -m <main_path> -n <project_name> -p <test_path>
</pre>
<p>
You must supply all the flags. The following table explains them in detail:
</p>
<table>
<tr>
<th>Flag</th>
<th>Value</th>
<th>Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>-m, --main</code></td>
<td>
Path to the project of the application under test, relative to the test package
directory.
</td>
<td>
For example, if the application under test is in <code>source/HelloAndroid</code>, and
you want to create the test project in <code>source/HelloAndroidTest</code>, then the
value of <code>--main</code> should be <code>../HelloAndroid</code>.
<p>
To learn more about choosing the location of test projects, please read
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/testing/testing_android.html#TestProjects">
Testing Fundamentals</a>.
</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>-n, --name</code></td>
<td>Name that you want to give the test project.</td>
<td> </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>-p, --path</code></td>
<td>Directory in which you want to create the new test project.</td>
<td>
The <code>android</code> tool creates the test project files and directory structure
in this directory. If the directory does not exist, <code>android</code> creates it.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
If the operation is successful, <code>android</code> lists to STDOUT the names of the files
and directories it has created.
</p>
<p>
This creates a new test project with the appropriate directories and build files. The directory
structure and build file contents are identical to those in a regular Android application
project. They are described in detail in the topic
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/projects/index.html">Managing Projects</a>.
</p>
<p>
The operation also creates an <code>AndroidManifest.xml</code> file with instrumentation
information. When you run the test, Android uses this information to load the application you
are testing and control it with instrumentation.
</p>
<p>
For example, suppose you create a project in the directory <code>~/source/HelloAndroid</code>,
with the package name <code>com.example.helloandroid</code>,
and the activity name <code>HelloAndroid</code>. You can to create the test for this in
<code>~/source/HelloAndroidTest</code>. To do so, you enter:
</p>
<pre>
$ cd ~/source
$ android create test-project -m ../HelloAndroid -n HelloAndroidTest -p HelloAndroidTest
</pre>
<p>
This creates a directory called <code>~/src/HelloAndroidTest</code>. In the new directory you
see the file <code>AndroidManifest.xml</code>. This file contains the following
instrumentation-related elements and attributes:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<code><application></code>: to contain the
<code><uses-library></code> element.
</li>
<li>
<code><uses-library android:name="android.test.runner"</code>:
specifies this testing application uses the <code>android.test.runner</code> library.
</li>
<li>
<code><instrumentation></code>: contains attributes that control Android
instrumentation. The attributes are:
<ul>
<li>
<code>android:name="android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner"</code>:
{@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner} runs test cases. It extends both
JUnit test case runner classes and Android instrumentation classes.
</li>
<li>
<code>android:targetPackage="com.example.helloandroid"</code>: specifies
that the tests in HelloAndroidTest should be run against the application with the
<em>Android</em> package name <code>com.example.helloandroid</code>.
</li>
<li>
<code>android:label="Tests for .HelloAndroid"</code>: specifies a
user-readable label for the instrumentation class. By default,
the <code>android</code> tool gives it the value "Tests for " plus
the name of the main Activity of the application under test.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="UpdateTestProject">Updating a test project</h3>
<p>
You use the <code>android</code> tool when you need to change the path to the
project of the application under test. If you are changing an existing test project created in
Eclipse with ADT so that you can also build and run it from the command line, you must use the
"create" operation. See the section <a href="#CreateTestProject">Creating a test project</a>.
</p>
<p class="note">
<strong>Note:</strong> If you change the Android package name of the application under test,
you must <em>manually</em> change the value of the <code><android:targetPackage></code>
attribute within the <code>AndroidManifest.xml</code> file of the test package.
Running <code>android update test-project</code> does not do this.
</p>
<p>
To update a test project with the <code>android</code> tool, enter:
</p>
<pre>android update test-project -m <main_path> -p <test_path></pre>
<table>
<tr>
<th>Flag</th>
<th>Value</th>
<th>Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>-m, --main</code></td>
<td>The path to the project of the application under test, relative to the test project</td>
<td>
For example, if the application under test is in <code>source/HelloAndroid</code>, and
the test project is in <code>source/HelloAndroidTest</code>, then the value for
<code>--main</code> is <code>../HelloAndroid</code>.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>-p, --path</code></td>
<td>The of the test project.</td>
<td>
For example, if the test project is in <code>source/HelloAndroidTest</code>, then the
value for <code>--path</code> is <code>HelloAndroidTest</code>.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
If the operation is successful, <code>android</code> lists to STDOUT the names of the files
and directories it has created.
</p>
<h2 id="CreateTestApp">Creating a Test Package</h2>
<p>
Once you have created a test project, you populate it with a test package.
The application does not require an {@link android.app.Activity Activity},
although you can define one if you wish. Although your test package can
combine Activities, Android test class extensions, JUnit extensions, or
ordinary classes, you should extend one of the Android test classes or JUnit classes,
because these provide the best testing features.
</p>
<p>
If you run your tests with {@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner}
(or a related test runner), then it will run all the methods in each class. You can modify
this behavior by using the {@link junit.framework.TestSuite TestSuite} class.
</p>
<p>
To create a test package, start with one of Android's test classes in the Java package
{@link android.test android.test}. These extend the JUnit
{@link junit.framework.TestCase TestCase} class. With a few exceptions, the Android test
classes also provide instrumentation for testing.
</p>
<p>
For test classes that extend {@link junit.framework.TestCase TestCase}, you probably want to
override the <code>setUp()</code> and <code>tearDown()</code> methods:
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<code>setUp()</code>: This method is invoked before any of the test methods in the class.
Use it to set up the environment for the test. You can use <code>setUp()</code>
to instantiate a new <code>Intent</code> object with the action <code>ACTION_MAIN</code>.
You can then use this intent to start the Activity under test.
<p class="note">
<strong>Note:</strong> If you override this method, call
<code>super.setUp()</code> as the first statement in your code.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<code>tearDown()</code>: This method is invoked after all the test methods in the class. Use
it to do garbage collection and re-setting before moving on to the next set of tests.
<p class="note"><strong>Note:</strong> If you override this method, you must call
<code>super.tearDown()</code> as the <em>last</em> statement in your code.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Another useful convention is to add the method <code>testPreConditions()</code> to your test
class. Use this method to test that the application under test is initialized correctly. If this
test fails, you know that that the initial conditions were in error. When this happens, further
test results are suspect, regardless of whether or not the tests succeeded.
</p>
<p>
To learn more about creating test packages, see the topic <a
href="{@docRoot}tools/testing/testing_android.html">Testing Fundamentals</a>,
which provides an overview of Android testing. If you prefer to follow a tutorial,
try the <a href="{@docRoot}tools/testing/activity_test.html">Activity Testing</a>
tutorial, which leads you through the creation of tests for an actual Android application.
</p>
<h2 id="RunTestsCommand">Running Tests</h2>
<p>
You run tests from the command line, either with Ant or with an
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/adb.html">
Android Debug Bridge (adb)</a> shell.
</p>
<h3 id="RunTestsAnt">Quick build and run with Ant</h3>
<p>
You can use Ant to run all the tests in your test project, using the target
<code>run-tests</code>, which is created automatically when you create a test project with
the <code>android</code> tool.
</p>
<p>
This target re-builds your main project and test project if necessary, installs the test
application to the current AVD or device, and then runs all the test classes in the test
application. The results are directed to <code>STDOUT</code>.
</p>
<p>
You can update an existing test project to use this feature. To do this, use the
<code>android</code> tool with the <code>update test-project</code> option. This is described
in the section <a href="#UpdateTestProject">Updating a test project</a>.
</p>
<h3 id="RunTestsDevice">Running tests on a device or emulator</h3>
<p>
When you run tests from the command line with
<a href="{@docRoot}tools/help/adb.html">
Android Debug Bridge (adb)</a>, you get more options for choosing the tests
to run than with any other method. You can select individual test methods, filter tests
according to their annotation, or specify testing options. Since the test run is controlled
entirely from a command line, you can customize your testing with shell scripts in various ways.
</p>
<p>
To run a test from the command line, you run <code>adb shell</code> to start a command-line
shell on your device or emulator, and then in the shell run the <code>am instrument</code>
command. You control <code>am</code> and your tests with command-line flags.
</p>
<p>
As a shortcut, you can start an <code>adb</code> shell, call <code>am instrument</code>, and
specify command-line flags all on one input line. The shell opens on the device or emulator,
runs your tests, produces output, and then returns to the command line on your computer.
</p>
<p>
To run a test with <code>am instrument</code>:
</p>
<ol>
<li>
If necessary, rebuild your main application and test package.
</li>
<li>
Install your test package and main application Android package files
(<code>.apk</code> files) to your current Android device or emulator</li>
<li>
At the command line, enter:
<pre>
$ adb shell am instrument -w <test_package_name>/<runner_class>
</pre>
<p>
where <code><test_package_name></code> is the Android package name of your test
application, and <code><runner_class></code> is the name of the Android test
runner class you are using. The Android package name is the value of the
<code>package</code> attribute of the <code>manifest</code> element in the manifest file
(<code>AndroidManifest.xml</code>) of your test package. The Android test runner
class is usually {@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner}.
</p>
<p>
Your test results appear in <code>STDOUT</code>.
</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>
This operation starts an <code>adb</code> shell, then runs <code>am instrument</code>
with the specified parameters. This particular form of the command will run all of the tests
in your test package. You can control this behavior with flags that you pass to
<code>am instrument</code>. These flags are described in the next section.
</p>
<h2 id="AMSyntax">Using the am instrument Command</h2>
<p>
The general syntax of the <code>am instrument</code> command is:
</p>
<pre>
am instrument [flags] <test_package>/<runner_class>
</pre>
<p>
The main input parameters to <code>am instrument</code> are described in the following table:
</p>
<table>
<tr>
<th>
Parameter
</th>
<th>
Value
</th>
<th>
Description
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<code><test_package></code>
</td>
<td>
The Android package name of the test package.
</td>
<td>
The value of the <code>package</code> attribute of the <code>manifest</code>
element in the test package's manifest file.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<code><runner_class></code>
</td>
<td>
The class name of the instrumented test runner you are using.
</td>
<td>
This is usually {@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner}.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
The flags for <code>am instrument</code> are described in the following table:
</p>
<table>
<tr>
<th>
Flag
</th>
<th>
Value
</th>
<th>
Description
</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<code>-w</code>
</td>
<td>
(none)
</td>
<td>
Forces <code>am instrument</code> to wait until the instrumentation terminates
before terminating itself. The net effect is to keep the shell open until the tests
have finished. This flag is not required, but if you do not use it, you will not
see the results of your tests.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<code>-r</code>
</td>
<td>
(none)
</td>
<td>
Outputs results in raw format. Use this flag when you want to collect
performance measurements, so that they are not formatted as test results. This flag is
designed for use with the flag <code>-e perf true</code> (documented in the section
<a href="#AMOptionsSyntax">Instrument options</a>).
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<code>-e</code>
</td>
<td>
<test_options>
</td>
<td>
Provides testing options as key-value pairs. The
<code>am instrument</code> tool passes these to the specified instrumentation class
via its <code>onCreate()</code> method. You can specify multiple occurrences of
<code>-e <test_options></code>. The keys and values are described in the
section <a href="#AMOptionsSyntax">am instrument options</a>.
<p>
The only instrumentation class that uses these key-value pairs is
{@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner} (or a subclass). Using them with
any other class has no effect.
</p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 id="AMOptionsSyntax">am instrument options</h3>
<p>
The <code>am instrument</code> tool passes testing options to
<code>InstrumentationTestRunner</code> or a subclass in the form of key-value pairs,
using the <code>-e</code> flag, with this syntax:
</p>
<pre>
-e <key> <value>
</pre>
<p>
Some keys accept multiple values. You specify multiple values in a comma-separated list.
For example, this invocation of <code>InstrumentationTestRunner</code> provides multiple
values for the <code>package</code> key:
</p>
<pre>
$ adb shell am instrument -w -e package com.android.test.package1,com.android.test.package2 \
> com.android.test/android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner
</pre>
<p>
The following table describes the key-value pairs and their result. Please review the
<strong>Usage Notes</strong> following the table.
</p>
<table>
<tr>
<th>Key</th>
<th>Value</th>
<th>Description</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<code>package</code>
</td>
<td>
<Java_package_name>
</td>
<td>
The fully-qualified <em>Java</em> package name for one of the packages in the test
application. Any test case class that uses this package name is executed. Notice that
this is not an <em>Android</em> package name; a test package has a single
Android package name but may have several Java packages within it.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2"><code>class</code></td>
<td><class_name></td>
<td>
The fully-qualified Java class name for one of the test case classes. Only this test
case class is executed.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><class_name><strong>#</strong>method name</td>
<td>
A fully-qualified test case class name, and one of its methods. Only this method is
executed. Note the hash mark (#) between the class name and the method name.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>func</code></td>
<td><code>true</code></td>
<td>
Runs all test classes that extend {@link android.test.InstrumentationTestCase}.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>unit</code></td>
<td><code>true</code></td>
<td>
Runs all test classes that do <em>not</em> extend either
{@link android.test.InstrumentationTestCase} or
{@link android.test.PerformanceTestCase}.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>size</code></td>
<td>
[<code>small</code> | <code>medium</code> | <code>large</code>]
</td>
<td>
Runs a test method annotated by size. The annotations are <code>@SmallTest</code>,
<code>@MediumTest</code>, and <code>@LargeTest</code>.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>perf</code></td>
<td><code>true</code></td>
<td>
Runs all test classes that implement {@link android.test.PerformanceTestCase}.
When you use this option, also specify the <code>-r</code> flag for
<code>am instrument</code>, so that the output is kept in raw format and not
re-formatted as test results.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>debug</code></td>
<td><code>true</code></td>
<td>
Runs tests in debug mode.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>log</code></td>
<td><code>true</code></td>
<td>
Loads and logs all specified tests, but does not run them. The test
information appears in <code>STDOUT</code>. Use this to verify combinations of other
filters and test specifications.
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>emma</code></td>
<td><code>true</code></td>
<td>
Runs an EMMA code coverage analysis and writes the output to
<code>/data//coverage.ec</code> on the device. To override the file location, use the
<code>coverageFile</code> key that is described in the following entry.
<p class="note">
<strong>Note:</strong> This option requires an EMMA-instrumented build of the test
application, which you can generate with the <code>coverage</code> target.
</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td><code>coverageFile</code></td>
<td><code><filename></code></td>
<td>
Overrides the default location of the EMMA coverage file on the device. Specify this
value as a path and filename in UNIX format. The default filename is described in the
entry for the <code>emma</code> key.
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<strong><code>-e</code> Flag Usage Notes</strong>
<ul>
<li>
<code>am instrument</code> invokes
{@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner#onCreate(Bundle)}
with a {@link android.os.Bundle} containing the key-value pairs.
</li>
<li>
The <code>package</code> key takes precedence over the <code>class</code> key. If you
specifiy a package, and then separately specify a class within that package, Android
will run all the tests in the package and ignore the <code>class</code> key.
</li>
<li>
The <code>func</code> key and <code>unit</code> key are mutually exclusive.
</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="RunTestExamples">Usage examples</h3>
<p>
The following sections provide examples of using <code>am instrument</code> to run tests.
They are based on the following structure:</p>
<ul>
<li>
The test package has the Android package name <code>com.android.demo.app.tests</code>
</li>
<li>
There are three test classes:
<ul>
<li>
<code>UnitTests</code>, which contains the methods
<code>testPermissions</code> and <code>testSaveState</code>.
</li>
<li>
<code>FunctionTests</code>, which contains the methods
<code>testCamera</code>, <code>testXVGA</code>, and <code>testHardKeyboard</code>.
</li>
<li>
<code>IntegrationTests</code>,
which contains the method <code>testActivityProvider</code>.
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>
The test runner is {@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner}.
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Running the entire test package</h4>
<p>
To run all of the test classes in the test package, enter:
</p>
<pre>
$ adb shell am instrument -w com.android.demo.app.tests/android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner
</pre>
<h4>Running all tests in a test case class</h4>
<p>
To run all of the tests in the class <code>UnitTests</code>, enter:
</p>
<pre>
$ adb shell am instrument -w \
> -e class com.android.demo.app.tests.UnitTests \
> com.android.demo.app.tests/android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner
</pre>
<p>
<code>am instrument</code> gets the value of the <code>-e</code> flag, detects the
<code>class</code> keyword, and runs all the methods in the <code>UnitTests</code> class.
</p>
<h4>Selecting a subset of tests</h4>
<p>
To run all of the tests in <code>UnitTests</code>, and the <code>testCamera</code> method in
<code>FunctionTests</code>, enter:
</p>
<pre>
$ adb shell am instrument -w \
> -e class com.android.demo.app.tests.UnitTests,com.android.demo.app.tests.FunctionTests#testCamera \
> com.android.demo.app.tests/android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner
</pre>
<p>
You can find more examples of the command in the documentation for
{@link android.test.InstrumentationTestRunner}.
</p>