Provided by: libtest-database-perl_1.11-2_all 
NAME
Test::Database - Database handles ready for testing
SYNOPSIS
Maybe you wrote generic code you want to test on all available databases:
use Test::More;
use Test::Database;
# get all available handles
my @handles = Test::Database->handles();
# plan the tests
plan tests => 3 + 4 * @handles;
# run the tests
for my $handle (@handles) {
diag "Testing with " . $handle->dbd(); # mysql, SQLite, etc.
# there are several ways to access the dbh:
# let $handle do the connect()
my $dbh = $handle->dbh();
# do the connect() yourself
my $dbh = DBI->connect( $handle->connection_info() );
my $dbh = DBI->connect( $handle->dsn(), $handle->username(),
$handle->password() );
}
It's possible to limit the results, based on the databases your code supports:
my @handles = Test::Database->handles(
'SQLite', # SQLite database
{ dbd => 'mysql' }, # or mysql database
{ driver => 'Pg' }, # or Postgres database
);
# use them as above
If you only need a single database handle, all the following return the same one:
my $handle = ( Test::Database->handles(@requests) )[0];
my ($handle) = Test::Database->handles(@requests);
my $handle = Test::Database->handles(@requests); # scalar context
my $handle = Test::Database->handle(@requests); # singular!
my @handles = Test::Database->handle(@requests); # one or zero item
You can use the same requests again if you need to use the same test databases over
several test scripts.
DESCRIPTION
Quoting Michael Schwern:
There's plenty of modules which need a database, and they all have to be configured
differently and they're always a PITA when you first install and each and every time they
upgrade.
User setup can be dealt with by making Test::Database a build dependency. As part of
Test::Database's install process it walks the user through the configuration process. Once
it's done, it writes out a config file and then it's done for good.
See <http://www.nntp.perl.org/group/perl.qa/2008/10/msg11645.html> for the thread that led
to the creation of "Test::Database".
"Test::Database" provides a simple way for test authors to request a test database,
without worrying about environment variables or the test host configuration.
See SYNOPSIS for typical usage.
METHODS
"Test::Database" provides the following methods:
list_drivers( [$type] )
Return a list of driver names of the given "type".
"all" returns the list of all existing "Test::Database::Driver" subclasses.
"available" returns the list of "Test::Database::Driver" subclasses for which the
matching "DBD" class is available.
Called with no parameter (or anything not matching "all" or "available"), it will
return the list of currently loaded drivers.
drivers()
Returns the "Test::Database::Driver" instances that are setup by "load_drivers()" and
updated by "load_config()".
load_drivers()
Load the available drivers from the system (file-based drivers, usually).
load_config( @files )
Read configuration from the files in @files.
If no file is provided, the local equivalent of ~/.test-database is used.
clean_config()
Empties whatever configuration has already been loaded. Also removes the loaded
drivers list.
handles( @requests )
Return a set of "Test::Database::Handle" objects that match the given @requests.
If @requests is not provided, return all the available handles.
See REQUESTS for details about writing requests.
handle( @request )
Singular version of "handles()", that returns the first matching handle.
REQUESTS
The "handles()" method takes requests as parameters. A request is a simple hash reference,
with a number of recognized keys.
• "dbd": driver name (based on the "DBD::" name).
"driver" is an alias for "dbd". If the two keys are present, the "driver" key will be
ignored.
If missing, all available drivers will match.
• "version": exact database engine version
Only database engines having a version string identical to the given version string
will match.
• "min_version": minimum database engine version
Only database engines having a version number greater or equal to the given minimum
version will match.
• "max_version": maximum database engine version
Only database engines having a version number lower (and not equal) to the given
maximum version will match.
• "regex_version": matching database engine version
Only database engines having a version string that matches the given regular
expression will match.
A request can also consist of a single string, in which case it is interpreted as a
shortcut for "{ dbd =" $string }>.
FILES
The list of available, authorized DSN is stored in the local equivalent of
~/.test-database. It's a simple list of key/value pairs, with the "dsn", "driver_dsn" or
"key" keys being used to split successive entries:
# mysql
dsn = dbi:mysql:database=mydb;host=localhost;port=1234
username = user
password = s3k r3t
# Oracle
dsn = dbi:Oracle:test
# set a unique key when creating databases
key = thwapp
# a "driver" with full access (create/drop databases)
driver_dsn = dbi:mysql:
username = root
The "username" and "password" keys are optional and empty strings will be used if they are
not provided.
Empty lines and comments are ignored.
Optionaly, the "key" section is used to add a "unique" element to the databases created by
the drivers (as defined by "driver_dsn"). It allows several hosts to share access to the
same database server without risking a race condition when creating a new database. See
Test::Database::Tutorial for a longer explanation.
Individual drivers may accept extra parameters. See their documetation for details.
Unrecognized parameters and not used, and therefore ignored.
AUTHOR
Philippe Bruhat (BooK), "<book@cpan.org>"
BUGS
Please report any bugs or feature requests to "bug-test-database at rt.cpan.org", or
through the web interface at http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Test-Database
<http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/ReportBug.html?Queue=Test-Database>. I will be notified, and
then you'll automatically be notified of progress on your bug as I make changes.
SUPPORT
You can find documentation for this module with the perldoc command.
perldoc Test::Database
You can also look for information at:
• RT: CPAN's request tracker
http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Test-Database
<http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Test-Database>
• AnnoCPAN: Annotated CPAN documentation
http://annocpan.org/dist/Test-Database <http://annocpan.org/dist/Test-Database>
• CPAN Ratings
http://cpanratings.perl.org/d/Test-Database <http://cpanratings.perl.org/d/Test-
Database>
• Search CPAN
http://search.cpan.org/dist/Test-Database <http://search.cpan.org/dist/Test-Database>
TODO
Some of the items on the TODO list:
• Add a database engine autodetection script/module, to automatically write the
.test-database configuration file.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to "<perl-qa@perl.org>" for early comments.
Thanks to Nelson Ferraz for writing "DBIx::Slice", the testing of which made me want to
have a generic way to obtain a test database.
Thanks to Mark Lawrence for discussing this module with me, and sending me an alternative
implementation to show me what he needed.
Thanks to Kristian Koehntopp for helping me write a mysql driver, and to Greg Sabino
Mullane for writing a full Postgres driver, none of which made it into the final release
because of the complete change in goals and implementation between versions 0.02 and 0.03.
The work leading to the new implementation (version 0.99 and later) was carried on during
the Perl QA Hackathon, held in Birmingham in March 2009. Thanks to Birmingham.pm for
organizing it and to Booking.com for sending me there.
Thanks to the early adopters: Alexis Sukrieh (SUKRIA), Nicholas Bamber (SILASMONK) and
Adam Kennedy (ADAMK).
COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2008-2010 Philippe Bruhat (BooK), all rights reserved.
LICENSE
This module is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same
terms as Perl itself.