Test-Proto

This module simplifies writing tests for deep structures and objects.

	use Test::Proto qw(p pArray pHash pObject pSeries);
	
	pArray	->contains_only(pSeries('', pHash), 
			"ArrayRef must contain only an empty string followed by a hashref")
		->ok(["", {a=>'b'}]);
		# provides diagnostics, including subtests as TAP, using Test::Builder
	
	p	->like(qr/^\d+$/, 'looks like a positive integer')
		->unlike(qr/^0\d+$/, 'no leading zeros')
		->validate('123');
		# returns an object with a true value
	
	pObject	->is_a('XML::LibXML::Node', 'must inherit from XML::LibXML::Node')
		->is_a('XML::LibXML::Element', 'what it really is')
		->method_exists('findnodes', 'must have the findnodes method')
		->method_scalar_context('localName', [], 
			p->like(qr/blockquote|li|p/, 'We can add normal text here')
		)
		->ok(XML::LibXML::Element->new('li'));
		# have a look at the nested prototype in try_can

The idea behind Test::Proto is that test scripts for code written on modern, OO principles should themselves resemble the target code rather than sequential code. 

Tests for deep structures and objects tend should not be repetitive and should be flexible so that when you decide you need $got->{'wurple'}{'diddle'}{'do'} to look like $got->{'wurple'}->diddle->[$i]{'do'} you can make a much smaller change to your script. Test::Proto is a framework primarily for testing the same thing for multiple conditions, and testing the things it contains/produces in a similar manner. 

The way it works is that you create a "prototype" (using a subclass of Test::Proto::Base), add tests to the prototype, and validate then your string/arryref/object against the prototype. 


INSTALLATION

To install this module, run the following commands:

	perl Makefile.PL
	make
	make test
	make install

SUPPORT AND DOCUMENTATION

After installing, you can find documentation for this module with the
perldoc command.

    perldoc Test::Proto

Once it's on CPAN, you can also look for information at:

    RT, CPAN's request tracker (report bugs here)
        http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Test-Proto

    AnnoCPAN, Annotated CPAN documentation
        http://annocpan.org/dist/Test-Proto

    CPAN Ratings
        http://cpanratings.perl.org/d/Test-Proto

    Search CPAN
        http://search.cpan.org/dist/Test-Proto/


LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT

Copyright (C) 2012 Daniel Perrett

This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of either: the GNU General Public License as published
by the Free Software Foundation; or the Artistic License.

See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.

