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  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Testing Frameworks
  4. Testing Frameworks
  5. Codeception vs PhpSpec

Codeception vs PhpSpec

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

Codeception
Codeception
Stacks155
Followers111
Votes5
PhpSpec
PhpSpec
Stacks540
Followers25
Votes3

Codeception vs PhpSpec: What are the differences?

  1. Test Scope: Codeception focuses on functional and acceptance testing by providing a unified framework for writing various types of tests like unit, functional, and acceptance. On the other hand, PhpSpec is specifically designed for Behavior Driven Development (BDD) and focuses primarily on unit testing with a behavior-driven approach.

  2. Syntax: Codeception uses a more traditional syntax for writing tests that resembles natural language and is similar to writing code in popular programming languages like PHP. In contrast, PhpSpec uses a very specific DSL (Domain Specific Language) that requires developers to follow a strict format and structure when writing tests.

  3. Isolation of Units: Codeception does not enforce strict isolation of units and allows for more flexibility in testing different components together. PhpSpec, on the other hand, emphasizes isolating units of code and promotes a more modular and independent testing approach for each unit.

  4. Test Documentation: Codeception generates detailed test reports and documentation automatically, making it easier for developers to understand and analyze test results. PhpSpec, while providing detailed test outputs, focuses more on the behavior and specification of the code being tested, making it useful for keeping track of code behavior.

  5. Mocking and Stubbing: Codeception provides built-in support for mocking and stubbing objects, making it easier to simulate dependencies and interactions in tests. PhpSpec, on the other hand, encourages the use of test doubles like mocks and stubs to isolate units and verify behavior, but does not provide direct support for these features.

  6. Community and Ecosystem: Codeception has a larger community and ecosystem with a wide range of extensions, plugins, and resources available for developers to enhance their testing capabilities. PhpSpec, being focused on BDD and unit testing, has a smaller but dedicated community that provides more specialized support and resources for behavior-driven testing.

In Summary, Codeception and PhpSpec differ in their test scope, syntax, unit isolation, test documentation, mocking capabilities, and community support.

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Detailed Comparison

Codeception
Codeception
PhpSpec
PhpSpec

Full-stack testing framework for PHP. Run browsers tests, framework tests, APIs tests, unit tests with ease.

It is a tool which can help you write clean and working PHP code using behaviour driven development or BDD. BDD is a technique derived from test-first development.

-
Specification-oriented BDD framework; write clean and working PHP code
Statistics
Stacks
155
Stacks
540
Followers
111
Followers
25
Votes
5
Votes
3
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 4
    Easy to get up and running some simple tests
Pros
  • 1
    Mocked dependant services by default
  • 1
    Better for code optimisation (BDD over TDD)
  • 1
    BDD Unit Testing
Cons
  • 1
    Less support; devs are more used to PHP Unit
Integrations
No integrations available
Laravel
Laravel
PHP
PHP

What are some alternatives to Codeception, PhpSpec?

Robot Framework

Robot Framework

It is a generic test automation framework for acceptance testing and acceptance test-driven development. It has easy-to-use tabular test data syntax and it utilizes the keyword-driven testing approach. Its testing capabilities can be extended by test libraries implemented either with Python or Java, and users can create new higher-level keywords from existing ones using the same syntax that is used for creating test cases.

Karate DSL

Karate DSL

Combines API test-automation, mocks and performance-testing into a single, unified framework. The BDD syntax popularized by Cucumber is language-neutral, and easy for even non-programmers. Besides powerful JSON & XML assertions, you can run tests in parallel for speed - which is critical for HTTP API testing.

Cucumber

Cucumber

Cucumber is a tool that supports Behaviour-Driven Development (BDD) - a software development process that aims to enhance software quality and reduce maintenance costs.

TestCafe

TestCafe

It is a pure node.js end-to-end solution for testing web apps. It takes care of all the stages: starting browsers, running tests, gathering test results and generating reports.

Spock Framework

Spock Framework

It is a testing and specification framework for Java and Groovy applications. What makes it stand out from the crowd is its beautiful and highly expressive specification language. It is compatible with most IDEs, build tools, and continuous integration servers.

Selenide

Selenide

It is a library for writing concise, readable, boilerplate-free tests in Java using Selenium WebDriver.

Capybara

Capybara

Capybara helps you test web applications by simulating how a real user would interact with your app. It is agnostic about the driver running your tests and comes with Rack::Test and Selenium support built in. WebKit is supported through an external gem.

PHPUnit

PHPUnit

PHPUnit is a programmer-oriented testing framework for PHP. It is an instance of the xUnit architecture for unit testing frameworks.

Detox

Detox

High velocity native mobile development requires us to adopt continuous integration workflows, which means our reliance on manual QA has to drop significantly. It tests your mobile app while it's running in a real device/simulator, interacting with it just like a real user.

Imagium

Imagium

Imagium provides AI based visual testing solution for various forms of testing. It makes the job easier for QA Automation, Mobile Testers, DevOps and Compliance teams. Imagium is easy to integrate with any programing language

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