is there a faster way to write similar test cases for Django views?

Question

Basically, I realize that I am writing the same test case (test_update_with_only_1_field) for a similar URL for multiple models

from django.test import RequestFactory, TestCase
class BaseApiTest(TestCase):
def setUp(self):
    superuser = User.objects.create_superuser('test', '[email protected]', 'testpassword')
    self.factory = RequestFactory()
    self.user = superuser
    self.client.login(username=superuser.username, password='testpassword')

class SomeModelApiTests(base_tests.BaseApiTest):
def test_update_with_only_1_field(self):
    """
    Tests for update only 1 field 

    GIVEN the following shape and related are valid
    WHEN we update only with just 1 field
    THEN we expect the update to be successful
    """
    shape_data = {
        'name': 'test shape',
        'name_en': 'test shape en',
        'name_zh_hans': 'test shape zh hans',
        'serial_number': 'test shape serial number',
        'model_name': {
            'some_field': '123'
        }
    }

    data = json.dumps(shape_data)
    response = self.client.post(reverse('shape-list-create'), data, 'application/json')
    self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_201_CREATED)

    some_model = response.data['some_model']
    new_some_field = '12345'

    data = json.dumps({'some_field': new_some_field, 'id': response.data['some_model']['id']})
    response = self.client.put(reverse('some-model', args=[some_model['id']]), data, 'application/json')
    self.assertEqual(response.status_code, status.HTTP_200_OK)
    self.assertEqual(new_some_field, response.data['some_field'])

I need to do this for more than 10 times. Which I have already done so.

the only difference each time, is the following phrases "some_model", "some-model", and "some_field"

I was wondering if there's a faster way to do this.

I can think abstractly two ways:

1. create a template in a text editor that somehow can generate the final test case which I then copy and paste. I am using sublime text 3 though I am okay to switch to another text editor

2. There's a way I can write slightly more code in the form of converting this test case into a behavior class that the individual test class can call. aka composition.

Which one makes more sense or there's a different way to do this?

Please note that BaseApi class is also inherited by other test class that do NOT have that repetitive test case method.

Answer 1

I guess what you want is "parameterized tests", standard unittest could do this with parameterized package:

import unittest
from parameterized import parameterized

class SomeModelApiTests(unittest.TestCase):

    @parameterized.expand([
        ('case1', 'm1', 'f1', 'nf1'),
        ('case1', 'm2', 'f2', 'nf2'),
    ])
    def test_update_with_only_1_field(self, dummy_subtest_name, model_name, field_name, new_field_value):
        print(model_name, field_name, new_field_value)

will yields:

test_update_with_only_1_field_0_case1 (t.SomeModelApiTests) ... m1 f1 nf1
ok
test_update_with_only_1_field_1_case1 (t.SomeModelApiTests) ... m2 f2 nf2
ok

pytest testing framework has better support builtin on parameterized tests, worth looking at.