Unit Testing of plugin code

You can do that the same way you test any plug-in, all you need is:

1. A local Appian installation
2. Add <APPIAN_HOME>\\_admin\\_scripts\\classpath.jar to the build path
3. When initializing the unit testing invoke

ConfigurationLoader.initializeConfigurations();

For example

@Before
public void setUp() throws Exception {
ConfigurationLoader.initializeConfigurations();
}

then start from there.

Hi Eduardo,
Is there are a recommended alternative to the approach you described? The ConfigurationLoader.initializeConfigurations() method is currently marked as Deprecated.
Regards,
Philip

This might not be sufficient for your case, but one way to think about a plugin is as a two-piece component: the actual functionality and an integration layer. You can create jUnit tests for the functionality piece of the plugin (for example, communicating with an external service), but the integration layer would be tested by writing test rules/test process models in Appian.

Hi Carlos. Thank you for the reply but that is not going to achieve what I have in mind. I will continue my search. Thanks!

Ok, I thought you were still asking about unit testing, whereas you're now asking about a different approach to using the deprecated initializeConfigurations. The documentation states that using the service API from a standalone application is no longer supported, so you could still create unittests for logic that doesn't depend on Appian services. Alternatively, you could create mocks for the Appian services that you would use in the tests.

Ok, I thought you were still asking about unit testing, whereas you're now asking about a different approach to using the deprecated initializeConfigurations. The documentation states that using the service API from a standalone application is no longer supported, so you could still create unittests for logic that doesn't depend on Appian services. Alternatively, you could create mocks for the Appian services that you would use in the tests.

Yes, I am actually looking for a way to run automated regression testing for the Appian plugins we are implementing. Integration testing with other systems is not an issue at this point. Thanks.