comparison.md

layout	default
title	ShellSpec vs shUnit2 vs Bats-core

ShellSpec vs shUnit2 vs Bats-core

Feature comparison list

	ShellSpec	shUnit2	Bats-core
Supported shells	all POSIX shell	Bourne shell, POSIX shell	bash only
Framework style	BDD	xUnit	original
Syntax	DSL (shell script compatible)	shell script	almost bash
Nestable block with scope	support	-	-
Before / After hooks	support	support	support
Skip / Pending / Focus	support (all)	support (skip only)	support (skip only)
Mock / Stub	support (built-in)	-	- (extension exists)
Parameterized tests	support	-	-
Assertion line number	support (all shells)	support (limited shells)	support (bash only)
Quick execution	support	-	-
Parallel execution	support	-	support (requires GNU parallel)
Random execution	support	-	-
Filtering by name	support	support	support
Filtering by line number	support	-	-
TAP formatter	support	-	support
JUnit XML formatter	support	-	support
Coverage	support (requires kcov)	-	-
Profiler	support	-	-

Syntax comparison with shUnit2

shUnit2 is a xUnit based unit test framework for Bourne based shell scripts.

shUnit2

#! /bin/sh
# file: examples/math_test.sh

testAdding() {
  result=`add_generic 1 2`
  assertEquals \
      "the result of '${result}' was wrong" \
      3 "${result}"

  # Disable non-generic tests.
  [ -z "${BASH_VERSION:-}" ] && startSkipping

  result=`add_bash 1 2`
  assertEquals \
      "the result of '${result}' was wrong" \
      3 "${result}"
}

oneTimeSetUp() {
  # Load include to test.
  . ./math.inc
}

# Load and run shUnit2.
. ./shunit2

ShellSpec

#shellcheck shell=sh

Include ./math.inc

Describe 'add_generic()'
  It 'adds values using expr'
    When call add_generic 1 2
    The output should eq 3
  End
End

Describe 'add_bash()'
  Skip if 'non-generic tests' [ -z "${BASH_VERSION:-}" ]

  It 'adds values using arithmetic expansion'
    When call add_bash 1 2
    The output should eq 3
  End
End

Syntax comparison with Bats-core

• Bats-core: Bash Automated Testing System (2018)

Bats-core

#!/usr/bin/env bats

@test "addition using bc" {
  result="$(echo 2+2 | bc)"
  [ "$result" -eq 4 ]
}

@test "addition using dc" {
  result="$(echo 2 2+p | dc)"
  [ "$result" -eq 4 ]
}

@test "invoking foo with a nonexistent file prints an error" {
  run foo nonexistent_filename
  [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
  [ "$output" = "foo: no such file 'nonexistent_filename'" ]
}

@test "invoking foo without arguments prints usage" {
  run foo
  [ "$status" -eq 1 ]
  [ "${lines[0]}" = "usage: foo <filename>" ]
}

ShellSpec

#shellcheck shell=sh

Example "addition using bc"
  Data "2+2"
  When run bc
  The output should eq 4
End

Example "addition using dc"
  Data "2 2+p"
  When run dc
  The output should eq 4
End

Example "invoking foo with a nonexistent file prints an error"
  When run foo nonexistent_filename
  The status should eq 1
  The output should eq "foo: no such file 'nonexistent_filename'"
End

Example "invoking foo without arguments prints usage"
  When run foo
  The status should eq 1
  The line 1 should eq "usage: foo <filename>"
End

Other comparison resources

• Bash test framework comparison 2020