JavaScript unit test tools for TDD

Answer 1

Chutzpah - A JavaScript Test Runner

I created an open source project called Chutzpah which is a test runner for JavaScript unit tests. Chutzpah enables you to run JavaScript unit tests from the command line and from inside of Visual Studio. It also supports running in the TeamCity continuous integration server.

Answer 2

We are now using Qunit with Pavlov and JSTestDriver all together. This approach works well for us.

QUnit

Pavlov, source

jsTestDriver, source

Answer 3

You have "runs on actual browser" as a pro, but in my experience that is a con because it is slow. But what makes it valuable is the lack of sufficient JS emulation from the non-browser alternatives. It could be that if your JS is complex enough that only an in browser test will suffice, but there are a couple more options to consider:

HtmlUnit: "It has fairly good JavaScript support (which is constantly improving) and is able to work even with quite complex AJAX libraries, simulating either Firefox or Internet Explorer depending on the configuration you want to use." If its emulation is good enough for your use then it will be much faster than driving a browser.

But maybe HtmlUnit has good enough JS support but you don't like Java? Then maybe:

Celerity: Watir API running on JRuby backed by HtmlUnit.

or similarly

Schnell: another JRuby wrapper of HtmlUnit.

Of course if HtmlUnit isn't good enough and you have to drive a browser then you might consider Watir to drive your JS.

Answer 4

You might also be interested in the unit testing framework that is part of qooxdoo, an open source RIA framework similar to Dojo, ExtJS, etc. but with quite a comprehensive tool chain.

Try the online version of the testrunner. Hint: hit the gray arrow at the top left (should be made more obvious). It's a "play" button that runs the selected tests.

To find out more about the JS classes that let you define your unit tests, see the online API viewer.

For automated UI testing (based on Selenium RC), check out the Simulator project.

Answer 5

You should have a look at env.js. See my blog for an example how to write unit tests with env.js.

Answer 6

MochiKit has a testing framework called SimpleTest that seems to have caught on. Here's a blog post from the original author.