| If you've written the tests for a class but you haven't yet written the implementation, mark the tests as TODO. That way, everyone will know that you expect them to fail. If they succeed, it'll be a nice surprise. How do I do that? Test::Class allows you to mark tests in the same manner as tests using Test::More . Simply localize the $TODO variable with the reason why you're putting them off. Ponder yet again the Queue module and its test module, Queue::Test , from "Writing Test Cases." Imagine that your boss wants you to modify enqueue( ) to refuse to queue undefined values. It's 4:45 p.m. and you want to code the tests so you'll remember your brilliant idea in the morning. Modify Queue/Test.pm as follows : sub enqueue : Test(3) { my $queue = Queue->new; isa_ok( $queue, 'Queue' ); $queue->enqueue($_) for qw( howdy bonjour ); is( $queue->size( ), 2, 'queue is now larger' ); local $TODO = 'decided to disallow undefined items'; $queue->enqueue(undef); is( $queue->size( ), 2, "queue size hasn't changed" ); }
Run queue.t to show that the test fails but has a TODO declaration, just as do the regular TODO tests of Test::More . Now you can go home, confident that you will remember what Queue.pm has to do when you return to work in the morning. What about... | Q: | Can I mark an entire class as TODO? | | A: | Unfortunately, Test::Class doesn't provide a simple way to do this. It's probably easier just to skip the tests (see "Skipping Tests with Test::Class," earlier in this chapter). | | 