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I like the idea of using an In-Memory Database such as SQLite when testing instead of creating Mocks for my Repositories. This way I can also test the code of my Repositories without any performance issues.
What are the pros and cons of this strategy?
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The main use case for in-memory databases is when real-time data is needed. With its very low latency, RAM can provide near-instantaneous access to the needed data. Because of the potential data losses, in-memory databases without a persistence mechanism should not be used for mission-critical applications.
EF Core In-Memory Database Provider The provider is maintained as part of the Entity Framework Core Project. The In-Memory provider was not designed for use outside of testing environments and should never be used as such.
Cons of in-memory databases The use of an RAM means faster access on the one hand, but also brings with it a key disadvantage: the data stored is only temporary. If the computer system should crash, all temporarily-stored data would be lost.
In-memory databases can persist data on disks by storing each operation in a log or by taking snapshots. In-memory databases are ideal for applications that require microsecond response times or have large spikes in traffic such as gaming leaderboards, session stores, and real-time analytics.
If I'm using an ORM, I generally tend to use a sqlite in memory database for testing my apps since I don't have the overhead of setting up the mocks and expected results. There's a speed boost over using a dummy database but I don't expect it to be faster than using a mock. If I were using an SQL adaptor, I would probably use a mock since otherwise, I'd probably have to rewrite the calls.
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