| Name | Size | License | Age | Last Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| jest | 2.27 kB | MIT | 11 Years | 12 Sep 2023 |
| chai | 137.11 kB | MIT | 12 Years | 24 Aug 2023 |
| kind-of | 7.47 kB | MIT | 9 Years | 16 Jan 2020 |
| mocha | 469.71 kB | MIT | 12 Years | 11 Dec 2022 |
| ansi-regex | 2.7 kB | MIT | 9 Years | 10 Sep 2021 |
| sinon | 1.25 MB | BSD-3-Clause | 13 Years | 13 Sep 2023 |
| is-number | 3.64 kB | MIT | 9 Years | 4 Jul 2018 |
| invariant | 3.01 kB | MIT | 9 Years | 13 Mar 2018 |
| p-locate | 3 kB | MIT | 7 Years | 25 Aug 2021 |
| jest-cli | 9.85 kB | MIT | 9 Years | 12 Sep 2023 |
| balanced-match | 2.66 kB | MIT | 10 Years | 6 Apr 2021 |
| is-glob | 4.16 kB | MIT | 9 Years | 29 Sep 2021 |
| supertest | 7.43 kB | MIT | 11 Years | 7 Dec 2022 |
| shebang-regex | 1.67 kB | MIT | 8 Years | 13 Aug 2021 |
| is-plain-obj | 1.92 kB | MIT | 8 Years | 15 Jun 2022 |
Testing in software development is fundamental to ensure reliability and effectiveness of your software. Your software dependencies, especially those managed with npm package manager, need to be tested at two different stages:
Before installation: It is recommended to test a package before installing it into your project by looking through its documentation and source code if available. This allows you to understand what the package does, how it does it, and if there might be any future compatibility issues.
After installation: Once installed, testing is necessary to confirm the package's functionality and it doesn't harm any existing functionality of your project.
Testing dependencies mainly provide two functionalities:
Unit Testing: The smallest parts of the software, known as units, are tested individually. The goal is to verify that each unit works as intended.
Integration Testing: After unit testing, the different units of the software are combined and tested as a group. This is done to ensure that the units work well together.
Some advanced testing dependencies also provide functionalities including end-to-end testing, performance testing, and security testing amongst others.
Despite the numerous benefits offered by testing dependencies, several pitfalls may hamper their effectiveness:
Version Conflicts: In case you are using multiple packages in your npm project, there may be several dependencies with different versions which could lead to conflicts.
Poor Documentation: Some dependencies come with poor documentation which makes it difficult to understand their functionality or to debug issues when they arise.
Unmaintained Dependencies: Packages that are old or no longer maintained may have vulnerabilities that can risk your project's security.
Breaking Changes in Updates: Frequent updates are common in npm packages. However, these updates may include breaking changes. Testing should be done extensively when updates are involved.
Always remember to delve into a package's documentation before usage, and ensure to keep your packages updated given you've tested them thoroughly in your development environment first.
Attention to these details decreases software defects, improves reliability, and ensures a smooth user experience.
