Bash:
Writing tests

How to:

Bash doesn’t have a built-in testing framework, but you can write simple test functions. For more sophisticated testing, third-party tools like bats-core are popular.

Basic Test Example in Pure Bash:

function test_example_function {
  result=$(your_function 'test_input')
  expected_output="expected_output"
  
  if [[ "$result" == "$expected_output" ]]; then
    echo "Test passed."
    return 0
  else
    echo "Test failed. Expected '$expected_output', got '$result'"
    return 1
  fi
}

# Invoking the test function
test_example_function

Sample Output:

Test passed.

Using bats-core for Testing:

First, install bats-core. This can usually be done through your package manager or by cloning its repository.

Then, write your tests in separate .bats files.

# File: example_function.bats

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "test example function" {
  result="$(your_function 'test_input')"
  expected_output="expected_output"
  
  [ "$result" == "$expected_output" ]
}

To run your tests, simply execute the .bats file:

bats example_function.bats

Sample Output:

 ✓ test example function

1 test, 0 failures

This approach allows you to easily integrate testing into your development workflow, ensuring the reliability and stability of your Bash scripts.