Automate JUnit tests for functionality on the server in Eclipse? - eclipse

Question

I would have added some JUnit tests to an Eclipse project that test functionality on the server to an Eclipse web project.
I can run the web application from inside Eclipse on an external Tomcat server (Run As | Run on Server) and then run the JUnit tests also from inside Eclipse while the first is still up.
I understand that is should be possible to fully automate both steps as one by making use of a Jetty (instead of Tomcat) server that runs inside Eclipse and that could be booted e.g. in #BeforeClass (or earlier).
Does Eclipse support this kind of unit testing out-of-the-box. I am currently using Eclipse Java EE IDE for Web Developers (Version: Kepler Service Release 2).

Answer 1

Eclipse (and any other IDE for that matter) doesn't stop you from doing anything in unit tests. It doesn't really support much, either, which is the core of your problem: Eclipse won't start a server for your unit tests. The same is true for all other IDEs that I know of.
Instead, you need to read up on how to embed Jetty in a Java application (= your unit tests) so the first test can start the server. Use a lazy init pattern for this:
private static JettyManager jetty;
#Before public void startServer() {
if( null == jetty ) {
jetty = new JettyManager();
jetty.start();
}
}
You can use a JVM shutdown hook to cleanly stop the server.
I use the same pattern to create the database which should be used during the tests to make sure it's clean. For this, I embed an H2 database.
If you want more automation, look at Maven. It can run integration tests (including deploying the WAR before starting the tests). See http://www.benoitschweblin.com/2013/03/run-jetty-in-maven-life-cycle.html
With the Maven Cargo plugin, you can deploy to almost every J2EE container.
Or use Jenkins: http://programmaticponderings.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/building-a-deployment-pipeline-using-git-maven-jenkins-and-glassfish-part-2-of-2/