Boost Your PHP Testing Speed with Paratest

Are you tired of running test files one by one and waiting for the results? Do you want to improve the efficiency and accuracy of your PHP code coverage report? If you are nodding your head in agreement, then you need to know about Paratest.

As a newbie in developing something, you may feel overwhelmed with the amount of work that goes into testing your code. Fortunately, Paratest makes testing less stressful and more efficient. In this article, we will introduce you to Paratest, what it is, how it works, and how it can benefit you.

What is Paratest?

Paratest is a tool that allows developers to support parallel testing in their PHP codebase. With Paratest, you can run your PHPUnit tests simultaneously across multiple CPU cores, improving your testing speed and overall efficiency.

How does Paratest work?

Paratest works by using separate processes to run your tests. When you run your tests using it, it will spin up a specified number of processes to execute your tests in parallel. These processes will work together to execute your tests quickly and accurately, improving the speed and accuracy of your testing process.

Why Should You Use Paratest?

It offers several benefits to developers, making it a worthwhile tool to consider. Here are some of the reasons why you should use Paratest:

Faster Testing

Running tests on a large codebase can be time-consuming, but with Paratest, you can run your tests in parallel and speed up your testing process.

Accurate Code Coverage Report

Paratest’s parallel testing feature ensures that you get an accurate code coverage report for your tests. This helps you identify areas of your codebase that may need further attention and refinement.

Increased Efficiency

By running tests in parallel, you can test your codebase more efficiently, which helps identify issues early and ensures that your code runs smoothly.

Easy to Use

It is simple to set up and use. You only need to install it and then run your tests using the “ paratest " command.

Compatible with PHPUnit: It is compatible with PHPUnit, so you can run your existing tests using Paratest without any additional configuration.

How to Use Paratest?

To use Paratest, you first need to install it. You can do this by running the following command:

composer require --dev brianium/paratest

After you have installed Paratest, you can run your tests using the “ paratest " command. For example, to run all of your tests in parallel, you can use the following command:

./vendor/bin/paratest

This will run all your tests in parallel, using the default number of processes. You can use the “-p” option to specify the number of processes. For example, to run your tests using four processes, you can use the following command:

./vendor/bin/paratest -p 4

How Can You Use Paratest with Laravel?

It’s worth noting that if you’re using Laravel, there’s another package option for running parallel tests called “ nunomaduro/collision “. To use this package, you’ll need to install it using the following command:

composer require --dev nunomaduro/collision

After you’ve installed the package, you can run your tests using the following command:

php artisan est --parallel

This command will execute your tests in parallel, improving the speed and efficiency of your testing process. So, if you’re using Laravel, Collision is another option for running parallel tests.

Testing is essential to software development but can be time-consuming and inefficient. Paratest is a tool that can help you support parallel testing and generate accurate code coverage reports, improving the speed and accuracy of your testing process. As a newbie in developing something, using it can help you overcome the challenges of testing your codebase and ensure that your code runs smoothly.

Originally published at https://ilyasozkurt.com on February 27, 2023.