DataSourceAttribute Class

Provides data source-specific information for data-driven testing. This class cannot be inherited.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
  System.Attribute
    Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting.DataSourceAttribute

Namespace:  Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting
Assembly:  Microsoft.VisualStudio.QualityTools.UnitTestFramework (in Microsoft.VisualStudio.QualityTools.UnitTestFramework.dll)

Syntax

'Declaration
<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple := False)> _
Public NotInheritable Class DataSourceAttribute _
    Inherits Attribute

[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = false)]
public sealed class DataSourceAttribute : Attribute

[AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets::Method, AllowMultiple = false)]
public ref class DataSourceAttribute sealed : public Attribute

[<Sealed>]
[<AttributeUsageAttribute(AttributeTargets.Method, AllowMultiple = false)>]
type DataSourceAttribute =  
    class
        inherit Attribute
    end

public final class DataSourceAttribute extends Attribute

The DataSourceAttribute type exposes the following members.

Constructors

	Name	Description
	DataSourceAttribute(String)	Initializes a new instance of the DataSourceAttribute class. This instance will be initialized with a data provider and connection string associated with the setting name.
	DataSourceAttribute(String, String)	Initializes a new instance of the DataSourceAttribute class. This instance will be initialized with a connection string and table name.
	DataSourceAttribute(String, String, String, DataAccessMethod)	Initializes a new instance of the DataSourceAttribute class. This instance will be initialized with a data provider, connection string, data table and data access method to access the data source.

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Properties

	Name	Description
	ConnectionString	Gets a value representing the connection string for the data source.
	DataAccessMethod	Gets the method used to access the data source.
	DataSourceSettingName	Gets a value indicating the setting name used to identify data source connection information stored in a configuration file.
	ProviderInvariantName	Gets a value representing the data provider of the data source.
	TableName	Gets a value indicating the table name providing data.
	TypeId	When implemented in a derived class, gets a unique identifier for this Attribute. (Inherited from Attribute.)

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Methods

	Name	Description
	Equals	Infrastructure. Returns a value that indicates whether this instance is equal to a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	Finalize	Allows an object to try to free resources and perform other cleanup operations before it is reclaimed by garbage collection. (Inherited from Object.)
	GetHashCode	Returns the hash code for this instance. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	GetType	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object.)
	IsDefaultAttribute	When overridden in a derived class, indicates whether the value of this instance is the default value for the derived class. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	Match	When overridden in a derived class, returns a value that indicates whether this instance equals a specified object. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	MemberwiseClone	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object.)
	ToString	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object.)

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Fields

	Name	Description
	DefaultDataAccessMethod	Represents the default data access method. This field is read-only.
	DefaultProviderName	Represents the default data provider name. This field is read-only.

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Explicit Interface Implementations

	Name	Description
	_Attribute.GetIDsOfNames	Maps a set of names to a corresponding set of dispatch identifiers. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	_Attribute.GetTypeInfo	Retrieves the type information for an object, which can be used to get the type information for an interface. (Inherited from Attribute.)
	_Attribute.GetTypeInfoCount	Retrieves the number of type information interfaces that an object provides (either 0 or 1). (Inherited from Attribute.)
	_Attribute.Invoke	Provides access to properties and methods exposed by an object. (Inherited from Attribute.)

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Remarks

The DataSourceAttribute class provides two ways to specify data source information for data-driven tests. The first way specifies information through a connection string, provider information, and source table name passed to the DataSourceAttribute.

Connection String Example:

[DataSource("Provider=SQLOLEDB.1;Data Source=MySource;Integrated] Security=SSPI;Initial Catalog=MyCatalog;Persist Security Info=False", "MyTable")]

The second way passes a single argument to the attribute that specifies the configuration setting located in the app.config file.

Configuration Setting Example:

[DataSource("dataSourceNameFromConfigFile")]

Note

Different data providers use different connection strings. The name of the provider is a part of connection string.

For more information about using the app.config file for specifying a data source, see Walkthrough: Using a Configuration File to Define a Data Source.

For more information about data-driven tests, see Data-Driven Unit Tests.

For more information about using attributes, see Extending Metadata Using Attributes.

Examples

The following code contains the class and method to test.

using System;

namespace BankAccountNS
{
    public class BankAccount
    {
        private string custName;
        private double bal;

        public BankAccount(string customerName, double balance)
        {
            custName = customerName;
            bal = balance;
        }

        public double Balance
        { get { return bal; } }

        public void Debit(double amount)
        {
            if (amount < 0)
                throw new ArgumentOutOfRangeException("amount");
            bal -= amount;
        }
    }
}

Imports System

Namespace BankAccountNS
    Public Class BankAccount
        Private customerName As String
        Private bal As Double

        Public Sub New(ByVal customerName2 As String, ByVal balance As Double)
            customerName = customerName2
            bal = balance
        End Sub

        Public ReadOnly Property Balance() As Double
            Get
                Return bal
            End Get
        End Property

        Public Sub Debit(ByVal amount As Double)
            If amount < 0 Then
                Throw New ArgumentOutOfRangeException("amount")
            End If
            bal -= amount
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

The following test will pass. It uses the sample.mdb access database that contains the following data in Table1.

Name	Balance	Amount
Jorg Bott	100	25
Pedro Ruivo	70	60
Mandar Samant	75	71.25
Russell King	159	158
Jun Cao	11.99	11.22

Note that the DataAccessMethod is sequential.

using Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting;
using BankAccountNS;
using System;

namespace MyCSTestProject
{
    [TestClass()]
    public class BankAccountTest
    {
        private TestContext testContextInstance;
        public TestContext TestContext
        {
            get { return testContextInstance; }
            set { testContextInstance = value; }
        }

        [TestMethod()]
        [DataSource("System.Data.OleDb",
           "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=\"C:\\sample.mdb\"",
           "Table1",
           DataAccessMethod.Sequential)]
        public void DebitTest()
        {
            string customerName = testContextInstance.DataRow["Name"].ToString();

            double bal = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow["Balance"]);
            double amt = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow["Amount"]);

            double newBalance = bal - amt;

            BankAccount target = new BankAccount(customerName, bal);
            target.Debit(amt);

            Assert.AreEqual(newBalance, target.Balance, .00);
        }
    }
}

Imports Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting
Imports BankAccountNS
Imports System

Namespace TestProject1
    <TestClass()> _
    Public Class BankAccountTest

        Private testContextInstance As TestContext
        Public Property TestContext() As TestContext
            Get
                Return testContextInstance
            End Get
            Set(ByVal Value As TestContext)
                testContextInstance = Value
            End Set
        End Property

        <TestMethod()> _
        <DataSource("System.Data.OleDb", _
        "Provider=Microsoft.Jet.OLEDB.4.0;Data Source=""D:\sample.mdb""", _
        "Table1", DataAccessMethod.Sequential)> _
        Public Sub DebitTest()
            Dim customerName As String = testContextInstance.DataRow("Name").ToString()

            Dim balance As Double = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow("Balance"))
            Dim amount As Double = Convert.ToDouble(testContextInstance.DataRow("Amount"))

            Dim NewBalance As Double = balance - amount

            Dim target As BankAccount = New BankAccount(customerName, balance)
            target.Debit(amount)

            Assert.AreEqual(NewBalance, target.Balance, 0.0)
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

Thread Safety

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

See Also

Reference

Microsoft.VisualStudio.TestTools.UnitTesting Namespace

DataAccessMethod

Other Resources

How to: Create a Data-Driven Unit Test

How to: Configure a Data-Driven Unit Test

Extending Metadata Using Attributes