.NET 3.5 TDD Frameworks from the ALT.NET Scene

From the ALTNET mailing list this week, I've come across to very capable frameworks for enabling true test-driven development.  Both seem to be born out of a dissatisfaction with current implementations.

First up, I'll mention MoQ; pronounced "Maw-kyoo" or just "mawk", it is written alternatively as both moq and MoQ.  The tagline from the MoQ Google code site says it is "The simplest mocking library for .NET 3.5 with deep C# 3.0 integration."  From here, we can already say that his library isn't for everyone.  Folks working on greenfield projects or converting existing projects may be able to choose .NET 3.5, but many are working in situations where lambdas and LINQ are out-of-bounds.

Those of us lucky enough to be using Func and Action in our code will find moq to be an elegant approach to unit testing interfaces.  But, other Mocking frameworks support some of the new C# syntax, so why moq? According to Daniel Cazzulino (kzu), a developer on moq and a Microsoft XML MVP,

The value we think Moq brings to the community is simplicity through a more natural programming model.

So, what does kzu mean by "natural"?  Well, traditional mocking uses a record/playback model for setting expectations in TDD, and, due to a legacy that often extends back to .NET 1.0, they have "more than one way to do it", to use an oft invoked Perl-ism and a big reason why Perl is frequently referred to as "write once, read never".  Certainly, simpler APIs are to be preferred as long as they can get the job done, and APIs tend to become simpler and more natural over time as long as they aren't required to prevent breaking changes.  So, moq was meant to be a simpler mocking framework that leverages C# 3.0 language features.  And, so it does.

If you are just getting into TDD and are a little overwhelmed by the myriad mocking frameworks out there and their unfamiliar semantics, you should definitely look into MoQ.

Now, the next item on our agenda is Total Recall.  Okay, not Total Recall, but another story by Phillip K. Dick: Autofac; in any event, we're going to take a look at the eponymous Inversion of Control container.  Autofac is an MIT licensed project that has gotten some pixel time on the ALT.NET mailing list as of late.  The community around Autofac writes on Google code that:

Autofac was designed with modern .NET features and obsessive object-orientation in mind. It will change the way you approach dependency injection in .NET.

Well, if you aren't doing DI just yet, it will certainly change the way you do it.  If you're using many of the other .NET IoC containers out there, you're probably not leveraging lambda expressions and LINQ either, so Autofac would be a change.  Like MoQ, Autofac sheds some of the legacy cruft and fully embraces .NET 3.5 as a platform.  Also note that Autofac leverages LinqBridge to remain compatible with .NET 2.0 applications.

So, will I be doing my next greenfield project using DDD with moq, Autofac, and db4o?  Well, I don't think my clients are ready for that yet.