Re: [xml-dev] Testing XML don't use xUnit

[Ihe Onwuka <ihe.onwuka@gmail.com>]

On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:11 PM, Andrew Welch <andrew.j.welch@gmail.com> wrote:
>> OK so things like XMLUnit fit well with the Java ecosystem but test
>> cases have a primary and dual purpose.
>>
>> 1. Highlight where a bug exists by failing a test.
>> 2. Pass tests where bugs do not exist...... i.e NOT to flag up false
>> positives because they need to be investigated and that wastes time.
>
> Test cases are for a lot more than just those 2.
>
>> Tools that expose xpaths are not good at 2.
>>
>> There is a ready made fix for this problem - write your assertions
>> with a tool that doesn't force you to expose your xpaths - Schematron.
>> This last point has been pretty much universally accepted and widely
>> known in the QA community since the turn of the millenium.
>
> It sounds like you are suggesting it's bad to have xpaths in junit
> tests?  ...and to use Schematron instead?
>

Yes. Because changes to the structure of the xml will break the JUnit
test whereas Schematron assertions are resilient to that.