Walkthrough: Testing Purchase Invoice Discounts

Before you release a customized Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 application to a production environment, you must test the application. This walkthrough demonstrates how to use the test codeunits and test libraries to test an application.

About This Walkthrough

This walkthrough illustrates the following tasks:

  • Creating a test codeunit.

Prerequisites

To complete this walkthrough, you will need:

  • Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2016 with a developer license.

  • The CRONUS International Ltd. demo data company.

Story

Isaac is a business application developer working for CRONUS International Ltd. He has modified codeunit 70, Purch-Calc.Discount, which is a codeunit in the CRONUS International Ltd. database. Isaac wants to test the functionality of his customized codeunit before he offers the customized application for sale. He creates a new test codeunit with new test functions to test the Purch-Calc.Discount codeunit. During development, Isaac uses the application test libraries to help him write a test with fewer lines of code.

Creating a Test Codeunit and Test Function

Isaac creates a new codeunit and specifies that it is a test codeunit. He defines the scenario that he wants to verify, adds a test function to tests the Purch-Calc.Discount functionality, and adds a helper function that can be reused if he decides to extend test coverage.

To create the test codeunit and test function

  1. In the development environment, in Object Designer, create a new codeunit.

  2. In the Properties window, in the Subtype field, select Test to specify that this is a test codeunit.

  3. In the C/AL Globals window, on the Variables tab, enter the following variables.

    Name DataType Subtype

    RandomNumberGenerator

    Codeunit

    Random Number Generator

    LibraryPurchase

    Codeunit

    Library - Purchase

    Assert

    Codeunit

    Assert

    This adds 3 codeunits from the application test libraries as global variables so that you can use them in your test code.

  4. In the C/AL Globals window, on the Text Constants tab, in the Name field, enter PurchInvDiscErr. In the ConstValue field, enter The Purchase Invoice Discount Amount was not calculated correctly.

  5. In the C/AL Globals window, on the Functions tab, enter PurchInvDiscCalculationPInvAbove. This is the name of the test function.

    In this example, the name of the test function consists of the tested functionality, Purchase Invoice Discount Calculation, and relevant parameters that affect the test result. We recommend that you follow this naming pattern for your test functions also. In our example, the following parameters are introduced:

    • PInv for the document that is tested, purchase invoices. You can apply the same test to purchase orders or purchase credit memos. Also, we recommend that you have mirrored sets of tests for the sales area.

    • Above. It is a good practice to have tests for positive and negative scenarios. In this test, Isaac wants to check that discount come into effect when the document amount is above a minimum amount. But the amount in the document can be also less than or equal to the minimum amount.

  6. On the Functions tab, choose Locals.

  7. In the C/AL Locals window, on the Variables tab, enter the following variables, which you will use in the PurchInvDiscCalculationPInvAbove test function.

    Name DataType Subtype

    PurchLine

    Record

    Purchase Line

    MinAmount

    Decimal

    DocAmount

    Decimal

     

    DiscountPct

    Decimal

    PurchCalcDisc

    Codeunit

    Purch.-Calc.Discount

    Important

    Make sure that you add these entries on the Variables tab, not on the Parameters tab. If you create them on the Parameters tab, you get an error when you compile that says the test method signature is invalid.

  8. In the C/AL Editor, in the PurchInvDiscCalculationPInvAbove function, enter the following code:

    // [SCENARIO] "Inv. Discount Amount" should be calculated on Purchase Invoice (in LCY), where Invoice amount is above the minimal amount required for invoice discount calculation.
    // [GIVEN] Vendor with invoice discount percentage "D" for minimal amount "A" in LCY
    // [GIVEN] Create purchase invoice with one line and amount >"A"
    DiscountPct := RandomNumberGenerator.RandDec(100,5);
    MinAmount := RandomNumberGenerator.RandDec(1000,2);
    DocAmount := MinAmount + RandomNumberGenerator.RandDec(100,2);
    CreatePurchDocument(PurchLine,PurchLine."Document Type"::Invoice,DocAmount,MinAmount,DiscountPct);
    // [WHEN] Calculate invoice discount for purchase document (line)
    PurchCalcDisc.RUN(PurchLine);
    // [THEN] "Inv. Discount Amount" = Amount "A" * discount "D" / 100
    PurchLine.FIND;
    Assert.AreEqual(ROUND(PurchLine."Line Amount" * DiscountPct / 100),PurchLine."Inv. Discount Amount", PurchInvDiscErr);
    

    Isaac first defines the test scenario [SCENARIO], then details it with the GIVEN-THEN-WHEN notation. Finally, he adds the C/AL code.The code in this test function prepares the test data by setting a random discount percent, a minimum amount, and a document amount. Then, it creates a purchase document with a line and runs the Purch-Calc.Discount codeunit, which contains the code that is being tested. Finally, it verifies the results of running the Purch-Calc.Discount codeunit and raises an error if the results are not as expected.

    Isaac has created the test function. Next, he creates a helper function that generates data for the test.

Isaac can now create additional test functions in this test codeunit to test other aspects of vendor discounts. These test functions should include negative tests, which validate that the code being tested works as intended under failing conditions.

Adding a Test Helper Function

In the test codeunit, Isaac adds a second function that generates data for the test itself.

To add a test helper function

  1. In the C/AL Globals window, on the Functions tab, in the Name field, enter CreatePurchDocument.

  2. In the Properties window for the new function, set the FunctionType property to Normal and the Local property to Yes.

  3. In the C/AL Locals window for the CreatePurchDocument function, on the Parameters tab, enter the following parameters.

    Var Name DataType Subtype

    Yes

    PurchLine

    Record

    Purchase Line

    DocumentType

    Option

    DocAmount

    Decimal

     

    MinAmount

    Decimal

    DiscountPct

    Decimal

  4. In the C/AL Locals window, on the Variables tab, enter the following variables.

    Name DataType Subtype Length

    VendorInvoiceDisc

    Record

    Vendor Invoice Disc.

    PurchaseHeader

    Record

    Purchase Header

    VendorNo

    Code

     

    20

  5. In the C/AL Editor, in the CreatePurchDocument function, enter the following code.

    // Create vendor
    VendorNo := LibraryPurchase.CreateVendorNo;
    // Create vendor invoice discount
    VendorInvoiceDisc.INIT;
    VendorInvoiceDisc.Code := VendorNo;
    VendorInvoiceDisc.VALIDATE("Currency Code",'');
    VendorInvoiceDisc.VALIDATE("Minimum Amount",MinAmount);
    VendorInvoiceDisc.VALIDATE("Discount %", DiscountPct);
    VendorInvoiceDisc.INSERT(TRUE);
    // Create purchase line
    LibraryPurchase.CreatePurchaseDocumentWithItem(PurchaseHeader,PurchaseLine,DocumentType,VendorNo,'',1,'',0D);
    PurchaseLine.VALIDATE("Direct Unit Cost",DocAmount);
    PurchaseLine.MODIFY(TRUE);
    

    The code in this helper function prepares data for the test by creating a new vendor, setting up the invoice discount, and creating a purchase document with an item. Because this helper function is not specific to the test itself, Isaac can reuse it for similar tests. For example, he can call it with other parameters and create a purchase credit memo, or set up 0% discount, or create a document where the total amount is less than the minimum amount that is specified in Vendor Invoice Disc. table.

    Note

    This test code does not guarantee that the state of the database after you run the test is the same as the state of the database before you run the test.

  6. On the File menu, choose Save.

  7. In the Save As window, in the ID field, enter 50005. In the Name field, enter ERM Vendor Discount. Verify that the Compiled check box is selected, and then choose the OK button.

Next Steps

The next steps are:

  • Create additional test functions to test different aspects of vendor discounts. These test functions should include negative tests that validate that the code being tested works as intended under failing conditions.

  • Run the test codeunit in the Test Tool page.

See Also

Concepts

Testing the Application