How should I unit test threaded code?

Question

I have thus far avoided the nightmare that is testing multi-threaded code since it just seems like too much of a minefield. I\'d like to ask how people have gone about test

Answer 1

I like to write two or more test methods to execute on parallel threads, and each of them make calls into the object under test. I've been using Sleep() calls to coordinate the order of the calls from the different threads, but that's not really reliable. It's also a lot slower because you have to sleep long enough that the timing usually works.

I found the Multithreaded TC Java library from the same group that wrote FindBugs. It lets you specify the order of events without using Sleep(), and it's reliable. I haven't tried it yet.

The biggest limitation to this approach is that it only lets you test the scenarios you suspect will cause trouble. As others have said, you really need to isolate your multithreaded code into a small number of simple classes to have any hope of thoroughly testing them.

Once you've carefully tested the scenarios you expect to cause trouble, an unscientific test that throws a bunch of simultaneous requests at the class for a while is a good way to look for unexpected trouble.

Update: I've played a bit with the Multithreaded TC Java library, and it works well. I've also ported some of its features to a .NET version I call TickingTest.