# Go Testing — Derived Application

> Applies Atelier's domain principles to Go testing specifically.
> Derives from `domains/` docs; introduces no new P-rules (D-063).
> See `languages/go.md` for the language first-principles stub.

## Table-Driven Tests (Testing P1 Tests as Specification, C2 Clarity)

- **Table-driven is the Go idiom:** `cases := []struct{ name string; in X; want Y }{...}`; loop with `t.Run(c.name, ...)`. Each case is a subtest with its own name and failure output.
- **Test names read as a spec:** `{"rejects empty email", ...}`, `{"returns persisted id", ...}`. A reader understands the unit from the subtest names (Testing P1).
- **No `if got != want { t.Fatal() }` shared across cases:** each case asserts independently; a failure in case 3 does not skip cases 4 and 5.
- **`t.Run` enables `-run` filtering:** `go test -run TestCreateUser/rejects_empty_email` runs one case. Essential for debugging a single failure.

```go
func TestCreateUser(t *testing.T) {
    cases := []struct {
        name    string
        email   string
        wantErr bool
    }{
        {"rejects empty email", "", true},
        {"rejects missing @", "no-at-sign", true},
        {"accepts valid email", "a@b.co", false},
    }
    for _, c := range cases {
        t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
            _, err := CreateUser(c.email)
            if (err != nil) != c.wantErr {
                t.Fatalf("err=%v, wantErr=%v", err, c.wantErr)
            }
        })
    }
}
```

## t.Parallel for Independence (Testing P2 Independence, Concurrency P10 Test for Race Conditions)

- **`t.Parallel()` for independent subtests:** each subtest opts in; the runner executes them concurrently. A test that fails under `Parallel` has hidden state (Testing P2 Independence).
- **Capture loop variables:** `c := c` inside the loop, or rely on Go 1.22+ per-iteration scoping. A parallel subtest sharing `c` races on the last value.
- **Applies `concurrency/P10` (test for races):** parallel tests are the first line of race detection; combine with `-race` for the full safety net.

```go
for _, c := range cases {
    c := c  // capture for parallel
    t.Run(c.name, func(t *testing.T) {
        t.Parallel()
        _, err := CreateUser(c.email)
        if (err != nil) != c.wantErr {
            t.Fatalf("err=%v, wantErr=%v", err, c.wantErr)
        }
    })
}
```

## t.Cleanup for Teardown (Testing P3 Determinism, Testing P2 Independence)

- **`t.Cleanup(func() { ... })` for teardown:** runs in LIFO order after the test (and its subtests) complete. Replaces `defer` in a helper that does not know when the test ends.
- **Per-test state, not shared:** a `setup(t)` helper creates resources and registers cleanup; each test gets its own. A package-level `var` shared across tests is order coupling.
- **`t.TempDir()` for filesystem tests:** creates a unique temp dir and cleans up automatically. No manual `os.RemoveAll` and no cross-test contamination.
- **Applies `Testing P3` (determinism):** cleanup is tied to the test lifecycle, not a global teardown that may run before or after depending on order.

```go
func setupStore(t *testing.T) *Store {
    t.Parallel()
    dir := t.TempDir()  // auto-cleaned
    s, err := OpenStore(filepath.Join(dir, "db"))
    if err != nil { t.Fatal(err) }
    t.Cleanup(func() { s.Close() })
    return s
}
```

## Race Detector (Testing P9 Edge Case Coverage, Concurrency P6 No Silent Races)

- **`go test -race` in CI, always:** see `go-tooling.md`. The detector is the enforcement of `concurrency/P6`.
- **Tests must exercise the concurrent path:** a serial test of a `Mutex`-protected map finds no race. Write tests with N goroutines.
- **`-count=1` to disable result caching:** by default, Go caches passing tests. `-count=1` forces re-run; combine with `-race` and parallelism to surface heisenbugs.
- **Applies `Testing P9` (edge case coverage):** the race detector is the edge-case tool for concurrency — it finds the inputs the test author forgot to write.

```bash
# CI gate
go test -race -count=1 ./...
```

## Time and Determinism (Testing P3 Determinism, Testing P9 Edge Case Coverage)

- **No `time.Now()` in code under test:** inject a `Clock` interface. In tests, a fake clock advances deterministically.
- **`time.Sleep` in tests is a smell:** a sleep waits for a real timer, flaky under load. Use a channel or `Eventually`-style polling with a timeout.
- **`t.Deadline()` aware helpers:** a helper that may take long checks `t.Deadline()` and bails early. Prevents a slow test from timing out the suite.

```go
type Clock interface { Now() time.Time }

type fakeClock struct{ t time.Time }
func (f *fakeClock) Now() time.Time { return f.t }

func TestUserHasCreatedAt(t *testing.T) {
    clk := &fakeClock{time.Date(2024, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)}
    u, _ := CreateUserWithClock("a@b.co", clk)
    if u.CreatedAt.Year() != 2024 {
        t.Fatalf("year=%d, want 2024", u.CreatedAt.Year())
    }
}
```

## Mocks and Interfaces (Testing P7 Realism, API P1 Contract Fidelity)

- **Mock at the interface, not the struct:** `type Store interface { Get(id string) (*User, error) }` in production; `type mockStore struct{ ... }` in test. The interface is the contract (applies `api/P1`).
- **`httptest` for HTTP servers:** `httptest.NewServer` gives a real server on a loopback port; no manual socket plumbing.
- **`testify/mock` or hand-written mocks:** hand-written for one-off, `testify` for complex sequencing. Avoid mocking frameworks that generate code at runtime (reflection-heavy) — they hide failures behind stack traces.
- **Applies `Testing P7` (realism):** mock the boundary (HTTP, DB), not the unit. Mocking the unit under test tests the mock.

```go
type mockStore struct {
    users map[string]*User
    got  []string
}
func (m *mockStore) Get(id string) (*User, error) {
    m.got = append(m.got, id)
    return m.users[id], nil
}

func TestGetUserLogs(t *testing.T) {
    s := &mockStore{users: map[string]*User{"abc": {}}}
    svc := NewService(s)
    svc.GetUser("abc")
    if len(s.got) != 1 || s.got[0] != "abc" {
        t.Fatalf("got=%v", s.got)
    }
}
```

## Cross-References

- `domains/testing/pyramid.md` — where unit/integration/race tests sit; the race job is its own layer.
- `domains/testing/fixtures.md` — `t.TempDir` and `t.Cleanup` as the fixture discipline.
- `domains/testing/first-principles.md` — Testing P1 Specification, P2 Independence, P3 Determinism, P9 Edge Coverage.
- `domains/concurrency/first-principles.md` — Concurrency P6 (race detector), P10 (test for races).
- `languages/go-types.md` — the named types tests assert.
- `languages/go-concurrency.md` — concurrent tests exercise the patterns from that doc.
- `languages/go-tooling.md` — the `go test` flags (`-race`, `-count`, `-run`) detailed here.